-
The Pioneering Scientist is Born
Henry Edward Roberts was born on September 14, 1941, in Miami Florida. He was born the son of a repairman and the son of a nurse. -
Birth of Inspiration
Ed Roberts had a keen interest in electronics at an early age. In high school, he built his first microcomputer. -
Graduated from University
Robert's keen interest in electronics inspired him to pursue an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. He earned this degree from Oklahoma State University in 1968. -
MITS
Shortly after graduation, Roberts began working with the Air Force in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His productive time spent in New Mexico led to designing a computer, shown in the 1975 issue of Popular Electronics. The issue credited Roberts for his computer creation, which skyrocketed the revenue for his Model Instrumentation Telemetry Systems (MITS) company. -
Into the Fire
By the middle of 1974, Ed Robert's company was suffering financially. Most of the debt incursions were from the high shipping costs of the calculators made by MITS. -
The Great Idea - Publishing the Altair, Our First Computer Kit
Ed Roberts needed a way to transition his company out of debt. Throughout the rest of 1974, Roberts would discuss computer chip plans and prices with his childhood friend Eddie Currie. After receiving some feedback, Roberts theorized on how to build an affordable computer kit for his company. With the assistance of designer Bill Yates, an offer was published in a 1975 article to sell the computer kit for $397. His kit profited his company over $250,000. This erased his concerns for bankruptcy. -
Allegiances Made
Ed Robert's childhood friend, Eddie Currie, joins MITS to assist with the production of the highly demanded Altair kits. -
Popular Consumer Electronics
The first issue of the Popular Consumer Electronics article is published to the public. The article brilliantly advertises the potentials for the Altair computer kit, beginning the revolution for consumer electronics. -
Introduction of Gates and Allen
After the publication of the Altair article, Roberts received a phone call from Paul Allen and Bill Gates. They were excited, although not impressed, with the Altair's capabilities. Allen and Gates pitched a business idea with Roberts, explaining that they would like to write BASIC for Altair, or a form of code. Roberts agreed to purchase the program from the first seller who could present the program to the company. -
Paul Allen Visits MITS
Paul Allen took a plane to Albuquerque to visit Roberts at MITS. Allen brought along a software packet of the Allen-Gates BASIC programming. He presented this information to Roberts, then coded the program into the Altair. Allen had no initial hope of BASIC initially working on the computer at MITS. To his astonishment, the program worked, and Roberts hired Allen to work for his company. -
MITS Visits Rickeys Hyatt House in Palo Alto
MITS visited Rickeys Hyatt house in 1975 as part of a marketing incentive. The attending audience mainly composed of Altair innovators and users, most with questions about future applications for the Altair. The Homebrew Computer Club was present at this event. -
Onto the Next Vision
By mid 1976, Roberts was tired of the politics and energy consuming atmosphere that MITS had become. He was trying to build a more powerful and compact version of the Altair, but his focus was skewed by his company's demands. Shortly after, he shocked the world by selling his company to Pertec. He then moved to Georgia to become a farmer. -
From Engineer to Doctor
In 1986, Ed Roberts earned his medical degree from Mercer University, carrying with him the moral that not all engineers are destined to run companies. Finding the right fit isn't a simple task either. -
Medical Practitioner
Roberts practiced medicine for the next 35 years in Cochran, Georgia. -
Always Remembered
Ed Roberts succumbed to illness at the age of 68. His passion, innovation, and inventions will continue to inspire the current and next generation of computer enthusiasts. Works Cited:
Guru, Web Design & SEO. “Remembering a Forgotten PC Pioneer: Ed Roberts.” NETWORTECH, NETWORTECH, 19 Dec. 2017, https://netwebdesign.com/remembering-a-forgotten-pc-pioneer-ed-roberts/.
Levy, Steven. Hackers Heroes of the Computer Revolution. O'Reilly, 2012.