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Ed Roberts, Personal Computer Pioneer, 1941-2010

Posted by timothy on from the set-things-in-motion dept.

jcr writes "CNET and the Huffington Post both report the death of Henry Edward Roberts, best known to all of us as the inventor of the Altair computer, at the age of 68 from pneumonia. As it happens, I never got to use an Altair, but I did meet Ed once, back in the mid-1980s. Since that time, I've never referred to the Altair bus as the 'S100' bus, since I agree with him that an inventor is entitled to name his invention." Updated 7:40 GMT by timothy: Roberts was 68, not 88 as originally stated; thanks to the readers who pointed out the typo.

5 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Re:88? Not that lucky. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    His age was computed using a Pentium, not an Altair.

  2. Ok, ok! I'm Sorry for the typo... by jcr · · Score: 3, Funny

    Give it a rest, will you?

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  3. Re:He started something big by nicolas.kassis · · Score: 4, Funny

    could it be because apple is simply a dictionary word?

  4. Re:88? Not that lucky. by jcr · · Score: 3, Funny

    When did Fred Phelps' little family of douchebags start trolling /.?

    If you're going to heaven, and Ed Roberts is in Hell, then I think I'd rather go where he is.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  5. Re:April 1st by Tetsujin · · Score: 3, Funny

    People needs to stop dying on April 1st. Nobody takes the news seriously (at first).

    Hey, dying isn't fun, let me tell you. I expect if I were dying, I'd be looking for ways to make it fun.

    --
    Bow-ties are cool.