Chuck Peddle, one of the most important engineers of the early home computer era, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 82.
ο Chuck Peddle was known as the lead designer of the low-cost 6502 processor, MOS Technology (costing just $ 25 in 1975), used in the first home computers, such as the Apple II and Commodore PET. Variations of this kernel have affected consoles such as the Atari 2600 and the NES. If you miss the days of 8-bit computers, then you owe a debt of gratitude to Peddle.
Peddle wanted to draw on Motorola an affordable chip. But when Motorola did not respond to his proposal, Peddle and six team members knocked on the door of MOS Technology. Commodore then bought MOS, making Peddle chief engineer and changing the computing landscape.
Peddle left the MOS group in 1980 and worked at projects lower end such as Sirius Systems Technology's Victor PC and removable hard drives disks which were the forerunners of external disks and USB sticks. But he had left his legacy. It helped spread computing by making home computers affordable.
And to some extent, it introduced the concept of ubiquitous computing, where technology spread everywhere rather than sitting on monolithic servers. In this sense, smartphones and connected homea, are rooted in Peddle's ideas, formulated 45 years ago.