Oral History of Chuck Peddle

Chuck Peddle shares the history of designing the MOS 6502 microprocessor and his work at Motorola, MOS Technology, and Commodore.

Interviewed by Doug Fairbairn and Stephen Diamond on 2014-06-12 in Mountain View, CA X7180.2014 © Computer History Museum Chuck Peddle is not one of the better known names in the world of microprocessors and personal computers, but he has had as much influence on the evolution of those industries as anyone. He began his career at General Electric, where he had a wide range of engineering experiences in defense and commercial systems. He became convinced that the future was distributed intelligence rather than centralized computing. He started a company, Intelligent Terminal Systems, to design a point of sale system. He found himself ahead of the technology curve and was not able to get the company funded. He then took a job building a typesetting system based on the PDP-11. This experience was a real eye-opener for him, as the PDP-11 architecture would significantly influence his future work. Chuck joined the Motorola team working on the 6800 microprocessor in 1971. His major contribution was the development of the Programmable Interface Adapter (PIA), which provided enhanced I/O capability to the microprocessor. After disagreements with Motorola, Peddle joined with former colleagues at MOS Technology to create what became the most popular microprocessor of the personal computer age: the 6502. It was designed into Apple, Atari, Commordore, and so many other personal computers. He later went to work for Commodore, where he designed the wildly popular Commodore PET computer and several personal computers after that, working deals with Victor, Microsoft, Shugart, Tandon and many others. Peddle’s impact on the personal computer industry through the 1970’s and ‘80’s is truly remarkable. * Note: Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information - computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102739939 Visit computerhistory.org/collections/oralhistories/ for more information about the Computer History Museum's Oral History Collection. Catalog Number: 102739938 Lot Number: X7180.2014