This blog entry will be a bit off the topic of DotNetNuke, but there is a link.

I have to set the stage, in 1975, I was 20 years old. I was just starting out in the computer industry and the stories of the early “home brew” computer clubs and the beginning of “hobby” computing were part of the times I lived.  I read about all the hobbyist computing through the pages of “Byte” magazine – still regret throwing out 10 years worth of the magazine.  

I remember going to what must have been the first computer store in Toronto – a short walk from my job as a University of Waterloo Co-op student working at King and University in downtown Toronto – to see the current state of the art in “personal” or “enthusiast” computing.  I was in awe – pure lust!.  The names are now mentioned in history books as the first generation of personal computers -names such as MITS 8080 and IMSAI 8080, and Altair.  They were all based on the 8080 processor chip by a small – but growing - company in Texas - Intel.

But my lust for what these machines were was always tempered by “what can they do – other than get hot?” question posed by others.  This is where my ramblings come to Ed Roberts.  I never met the man, but I can believe he was attempting to solve the same problem that was stopping me and others from acquiring a MITS 8080b – well by 1977 I wanted the beautiful IMSAI 8080.

Ed Roberts was the owner of MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems), the company in Albuquerque, New Mexico that built the MITS 8080 featured on the front page of Popular Electronics in January 1975. - Which I saw and read with interest.  The magazine lead to Ed Roberts saying “Yes” to two kids from Boston regarding the creation of a high level language for the MITS 8080.   The kids were Paul Allen and Bill Gates, and the product as Altair BASIC.  The rest, as they say, is “History”.   Read about the early year of Gates and Allen at MITS here

Well I remember those days as I was in my first of university in 1975.  I would have jumped at the opportunity to do the same as Bill and Paul did in the spring of 1975. 

Ed sold MITS at the end of 1976 and eventually moved Georgia in 1977.  Ed studied medicine and in 1986 graduated and began practicing medicine in Cochran Georgia.  "Micro-soft" (yes, there was a hyphen) was created in 1976 and later moved to Bellview Washington in 1979.  The year I graduated from University.

So I was very sad to hear the passing of Ed Roberts on April 1st.  In-directly, he was part of my youth.

Ed Roberts will be remembered by the Personal Computing Industry as one of the founding members of the PC industry.  While his contributions to community were short lived, they were extremely timely.  And with many things in life – timing is everything.

So what is the link to DotNetNuke? – If it were not for Ed Roberts, would Microsoft exist as it does today?

Rest in Peace