Chuck Peddle passed away

[Christian Liendo]

https://www.team6502.org/

This was on the Team 6502 facebook page
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I just received an email from Bill Mensch that Chuck Peddle has died.
He died on December 15. Chuck Peddle was one of the team of eight
Motorola employees and engineers who worked on the 6800 microprocessor
and left the company for MOS Technology in 1974 along with Harry
Bawcom, Wil Mathys, Rod Orgill, Ray Hirt, Mike Janes, Terry Holdt, and
Bill Mensch.

Peddle considered the $300 price point of the 6800 a disadvantage, and
urged Motorola management to pursue a more affordable microprocessor
that could be used in a wider array of applications. When they
refused, Peddle convinced seven other Motorola employees, including my
father Terry Holdt, to pack up their homes and move across the country
to begin work on what would become the 6502 microprocessor at MOS
Technology, a wafer-fab company in Valley Forge, PA founded by a
former colleague of his from General Electric, John Paivinen. After
Commodore Business Machines purchased MOS Technology in 1976, Peddle
oversaw the creation of the Commodore PET computer, the predecessor of
the Commodore 64, the best-selling personal computer of all time.

While curating the information for the team6502.org website, one of my
favorite anecdotes comes from MOS Technology employee, Frank Slattery,
who wrote:

"What a great bunch of guys the Motorola eight were. I was the manager
of the layout people and it was my duty to make sure that the Motorola
eight had every opportunity to do their design work with no problems.
I was standing next to Chuck Peddle when he said to Jack Tramiel, the
CEO of Commodore Business Machines, 'With this chip we can build a
personal computer.' It was the first time I ever heard the words,
'Personal Computer.'"

The rest, as they say, is history...

Chuck was one of the giants of the personal computing industry. Now he
belongs to the ages.