Dr. Henry Edward Roberts, personal computing pioneer, loses battle with pneumonia
By Tim Stevens 
posted April 2nd 2010 7:37AM
posted April 2nd 2010 7:37AM
Sad news out of Georgia this morning, Dr. Ed Roberts, pioneer of personal computing, has died of pneumonia at the age of 68. Roberts founded Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) in 1970. In 1974 his company released the $395 Altair 8800. It was based on Intel's revolutionary 8080 processor and, after being featured on the cover of Popular Electronics (included after the break), would become the world's first truly popular personal computer. It would be on this machine that the former Micro-Soft would get its start, with Bill Gates and Paul Allen being contracted by Roberts to write Altair BASIC, a version of the simple programming language that Allen delivered by hand on paper tape to the MITS office in Albuquerque.Those two are remembering him today with the following statement:
Our thoughts go out to the Roberts family this morning.Ed was willing to take a chance on us -- two young guys interested in computers long before they were commonplace -- and we have always been grateful to him... The day our first untested software worked on his Altair was the start of a lot of great things. We will always have many fond memories of working with Ed in Albuquerque, in the MITS office right on Route 66 -- where so many exciting things happened that none of us could have imagined back then.
RIP
@futurerheza
How is that related to this guy's obituary again? I mean, I've been known to hijack a thread or two from time to time, but not on a post about a tech giant passing away . . .
I sure hope that was the comment system's fault.
@(Unverified)
We are diminished.
This made me really sad.
He was a very, very nice man. He treated me for a sinus infection when I
was traveling for work in Cochran, GA. When he saw I was from
Oklahoma, he told me that a couple of weeks after that he was traveling
to Oklahoma himself. His nurse then explained he was being inducted
into the OSU Hal......l of Fame for his IT accomplishments. I will
never forget meeting him - how sweet and humble he was.
**RIP Dr
Roberts - it was an honor to have met you.**
This sucks. I didn't know him personally, but he seemed like a great guy.
And he gave Bill Gates and Paul Allen a great shot to make money while they were just starting Microsoft.
R.I.P.
Wow. A truly great man. A pioneer. This is a sad day. Thank you, Dr. Henry, on behalf of the entire computing community.
WTF? Pneumonia!? I'm seriously angry. We can keep people who are brain dead alive for years, use high-tech robots to reach into people's still-beating hearts, create super powered antibiotics, and yet we can't stop a little pneumonia.
@Mike10010100
i know, its so sad, i just hope he went painlessly RIP, i didnt even know your name or the impact youve had on society but you seemed like a great guy
@Mike10010100
Peace to his Soul.
I am a physician And yes it is sad but maybe he died of pneumonia as complication, at his age the immune sustenta is not in the best condition.
RIP
Save over $1000? Thats a deal even today, much more in the 70's. What a drastic change in economics made personal computing the thing it is today.
RIP.....you are a legend and I will remember and appreciate your work always!
Rest in peace Ed, you will be truly missed.
Former Homebrew Computer Club members should make a statue of this guy, he really was a major player in the computer revolution.
Is it Popular Mechanics or Popular Electronics?
@engadgetreader5 Electronics, thanks, fixed it.
Sad day indeed.
Stay hard, Hank!!!
A say day for anyone who owns a computer.
Not old enough to remember the impact he had, but still see the results to this day. RIP Ed, you will be missed.
I was a teenager when MITS was in its heyday, and I remember the picture of the Altair on the cover of Popular Electronics, all toggle switches and blinkin' lights. Roberts had his hands full running the typical small business and he probably didn't realize at the time what this product would lead to. It's a good example of American entrepreneurship and why we need more of it. Thanks Dr. Roberts, R.I.P.
I was a college student when the Altair (and others) came out - I lusted after that machine (reminded me totally of the PDP11 console). A year or three later (maybe more) when I could afford it I built a z80-based "S100" computer and never looked back. Fun and fantastic-learning times.
Everyone should watch Pirates of Silicon Valley...there were some real funny scenes with bill \ paul back in their college days when they were writing code for the altair.
@DoctarPeppar And Ed is one of the characters in the movie!
May he rest in peace, a very very intelligent and visionary man.
@DoctarPeppar This film sir is simply the best one I've ever seen on industry's early days, Apple or MS. After reading many books and stories on companies' histories and persons (hey, visit folklore.org for some early Mac group and Apple first-hand accounts) it was really fascinating to see this act which is full on surprises, has a fine selection of actual scenes, actors and delivers on atmosphere. A must see, without questions asked.
On the topic: I did not know that.. R.I.P., dear sir.
Peace to your soul good sir....and thank you.
RIP
Sad news.
Definitely the man and the idea (Altair 8800) symbolize the beggining of an era . The industry should honor him accordingly.
What an impact this man had on tech.
BTW - did anyone else notice the prediction of the "CCD" article on the PE cover shot?
@jyjohnson
I did.. that was pretty cool.
May his soul rest in peace.
Rest in peace
RIP Dr. Ed Roberts : The man who gave the nod for the birth of Microsoft
IMMENSE RESPECT
In the middle of reading What the Dormouse Said.. lots of good stories about this era, very good read — highly recommended.
I've shed a real tear just now.
God blessed us all, putting such a guy amongst us. Sad that he left so soon, but what a life he had, eh? The easiest epitaph, ever, to sum up this warrior/scientist/physician's life: "That's how you do it!"
RIP
If you have NOT seen "Pirates of Silicon Valley" find it, and watch it now. It will explain all ...
my condolences
Funny how we never hear any work towards defeating pneumonia; the nearly universal ultimate killer of those with weakened or absent immune systems.