History of MOS Technology microprocessors
MOS Technology was famous for its MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor.
MOS began as a secondary supplier of calculators and internal chips designed by Texas Instruments. It also briefly manufactured the custom chip used by Atari for its PONG consoles.
Over time, it became the largest supplier of Commodore Business Machines calculators. In 1976, Commodore ended up buying the company.
Chuck Peedle, the MOS engineer who designed the 6502 microprocessor, convinced Jack Tramiel, the founder of Commodore, that the calculator market was lost and that the company's new direction should be the development of computers. Tramiel authorized Peedle to develop a microcomputer. And so CommodoreCommodore computers were born.
MOS 6502 Launched: 1975
Bits: 8
It was one-sixth cheaper than its competitors, Intel and Motorola, at the time, and faster.
Along with the Z80, they gave rise to the first personal computers.
MOS 6510 Launched: 1982
Bits: 8
The MOS 6510 is the direct successor to the famous 6502.
The main change from the 6502 is the addition of an 8-bit general-purpose I/O port.
It was used as the CPU in the Commodore 64 home computer.
MOS 7501 Launched: 1984
Bits: 8
It was a variant of the MOS 6510 introduced in 1984.
It expanded the number of I/O port pins from 6 to 8, but omitted the pins for the non-maskable interrupt and the clock output.
It was used in Commodore's C16, C116, and Plus/4 home computers.
A variant called the MOS 8501 later appeared, with improved manufacturing technology that allowed for higher clock speeds.
