Draft:Nicholas F. Talesfore

Comment: there is nothing here to suggest that your father is notable in Wikipedia terms and no indication that the subject has received significant coverage in reliable sources which is what we base articles on. Theroadislong (talk) 17:16, 13 June 2025 (UTC)

Nicholas F. Talesfore is an American industrial designer and inventor renowned for his pioneering contributions to early calculators, home video games, and consumer electronics.

As the Manager of Industrial Design at Novus Consumer Products, the consumer electronics division of National Semiconductor, Talesfore designed the 1974-1975 calculator line sold under the Novus brand. This line included the Mathematician series, the Mathematician PR 100-step programmable calculator, and educational products such as Quiz Kid and Whiz Kid.

In 1975, Talesfore left Novus to establish his own design firm, Talesfore Design & Engineering. He was subsequently hired by Gene Landrum to provide ideation designs for a business plan outlining the vast financial potential of the burgeoning home video game market. Presented to Fairchild Camera & Instrument, this report convinced Fairchild to enter the home video game market through its Exetron Division. Atari, also exploring the home market following the success of Pong, offered Talesfore the position of Industrial Design Manager. However, after informing Landrum and Fairchild of the Atari offer, Fairchild countered with the same position, which Talesfore ultimately accepted. In 1976, Talesfore's original concepts were put into production.

At Fairchild, Talesfore continued designing what would become the world’s first programmable microprocessor-based home video game system, Channel F. In addition to designing the console's physical plug-in cartridges, known as Videocarts, Talesfore also collaborated with fine artist Tom Kamifuji to art-direct the cartridges' graphic labels. Talesfore was recognized as the inventor or co-inventor on many design and mechanical patents, including those for the Channel F console, an 8 degrees of motion hand controller, and the plug-in Videocarts, which reprogrammed the console.^[1]

After leaving Fairchild, Talesfore joined the founders of Compression Labs Inc. in 1978 developing early video compression technologies. Talesfore later established Talesfore Design & Engineering in 1981, later changing its name to ID-3D Design, a consulting firm whose clients included such brands as Apple, Bruker, Sony, Abbott Labs, Aruba, Ettore, and Juniper Networks.

Early life and education

Nicholas Talesfore was born in San Jose California in O’Conner’s Hospital on Race Street. Talesfore attended St. Leo the Great Grammar School 1950-1958, Bellarmine College Prep 1958-1962. He completed electrical engineering coursework at the University of Santa Clara 1962-1964. He earned an Associate of Arts Degree (AA) from San Jose City College from 1964 to 1966. Talesfore received a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design (BSID) from San Jose State University in 1969.

Career

Early career

Talesfore began his career as a design/detail draftsman at Kasper Instruments in (1967-1968). He later worked for IBM (1968-1969) as a supplemental in IBM’s Monterey & Cottle Campus’ Design Center in the Industrial Design department. While at IBM, Talesfore worked on the industrial design of equipment for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), including the System 3330 Disc Drive Disc Pack and System 370 mainframe control panel and various custom systems projects.

In 1969 Talesfore was hired as a Technology Engineer in the Human Factors Department at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. While there, Talesfore contributed to NASA-related projects such as Space Shuttle orbiting maneuvering system (OMS) and missions to service the Hubbel Telescope. While at Lockheed Talesfore was involved in a program called the Integrated Medical and Behavioral Laboratories and Measurement Systems (IMBLMS) whose goal was to develop mobile health vans to provide medical care supporting Native Americans. Talesfore was involved in various Top Secret “green door” programs during the cold war.

National Semiconductor, Novus Consumer Products Division

In 1974 Talesfore joined National Semiconductor as project engineer and industrial designer on the early calculators sold under the Novus Consumer Products brand. The calculator line Talesfore designed included the 4500 Mathematician product line and the 4515 Mathematician PR, which was one of the first 100 step programable calculator lines. Talesfore also designed an educational calculator line that consisted of the Quiz Kid and the Whiz Kid educational calculators.

Fairchild Camera & Instrument, Exetron Consumer Products Division

In 1976, Talesfore joined the Exetron Division of Fairchild Camera & Instrument, where he served as Manager of Industrial Design. He contributed significantly to the development of the Fairchild Channel F video game console—the first home console to utilize interchangeable ROM cartridges. He also designed cases for the Videocarts and an 8 degree of motion hand controller.

Talesfore art directed the Videocarts label design with Tom Kamifuji. He was inventor and co-inventor on several design and mechanical patents, including those for the Channel F console, hand-held controllers, and plug-in cartridges. United States Patents 4,095,791;D247,754; D247,755; D248,270

Compression Labs & founding of ID-3D Design nee Talesfore Design & Engineering

After leaving Fairchild in 1977, Talesfore joined the founders of Compression Labs Inc., which developed early video compression technologies. In 1981, he founded his own firm, originally named Talesfore Design & Engineering and later renamed ID-3D Design. The company focused on rapid product development and supported over 300 projects, spanning industries such as biotechnology, telecommunications, medical devices, and consumer electronics.

Interviews

External links

Selected clients

Notable clients of ID-3D Design have included:

Apple, 1990 Nick Talesfore was the product designer for The Mac Classic, code named XO.
Abbott Labs
Sony
Aruba Networks
Bio-Rad Laboratories
Juniper Networks
Beckman Instruments

Awards and affiliations

Member of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), 1978–present
Recipient of an IDSA - IDEA National Design Award
Former advisory board member at the Academy of Art College, San Francisco
Former advisory board member at The Enterprise Network (TEN)

Patents

Nicholas Talesfore has been awarded over two dozen patents both mechanical and design patents consigned to various clients. They include:

D744,880 2015 Molecular Devices - Scientific Instrument
D660,839 2012 Aruba Networks - Wireless Network Device
D571,968 2008 Ettore Products - Handle for a squeegee or the like
D564,161 2008 Ettore Products - Squeegee
D562,516 2008 Ettore Products - Handle for a squeegee or the like
D561,962 2008 Ettore Products - Handle for a squeegee or the like
D561,961 2008 Ettore Products - Handle for a squeegee or the like
D555,855 2007 Ettore Products - Handle for a squeegee or the like
D554,817 2007 Ettore Products - Portion of a handle for a squeegee or the like
D554,313 2007 Ettore Products - Handle for a squeegee or the like
D536,496 2007 Ettore Products - Handle for a squeegee or the like
7,000,282 2006 Ettore Products - 4-Spring-biased pivoting squeegee
D474,610 2003 Shower Squares- Modular system for stimulation/ exfoliation of skin
D433,381 2000 Dazzle Multimedia - Adapter and Adapter Stand
D411,523 1999 Dazzle Multimedia - Video Capture Hardware
5,884,992 1999 Jet Lights - 3-Modular Individual Lighting for Sport Activities
5,544,011 1996 Apple - 2-Bracket & Module for a Portable Personal Computer
D322,313 1991 InSite Vision - Liquid Droplet Dispenser for the Eye
D287,486 1986 General Electric - Control Panel with Display
D255,432 1980 Fairchild Camera and Instrument - Digital Clock
D254,601 1980 Fairchild Camera and Instrument - Programmable Digital Clock
D252,854 1979 Fairchild Camera and Instrument - Digital Clock
D251,057 1979 Marvin B. Rudin - Electronic Timer Case
4,095,791 1978 Fairchild Camera and Instr. Cartridge Programmable Video Game
D248,470 1978 Fairchild Camera and Instr.- Plug-in Cartridge for Video Game
D247,755 1978 Fairchild Camera and Instrument - Video Game Console
D247,754 1978 Hand-Held Controller for a Video Game and the Like

Legal consulting and expert testimony

Talesfore has served as a design expert in multiple intellectual property and patent litigation cases, including:

National Semiconductor v. Nintendo (1994)
LG Philips v. Tantung & ViewSonic (2004–2005)
Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (2012)

^ United States Patent 4,095,791, D247,754, D247,755, D248,270

[1] United States Patent 4,095,791, D247,754, D247,755, D248,270

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