Re: Past Blast - "Wonder Woman 1984" - Corp Guy Using PET

On 4/6/25 11:16 PM, Rich wrote:

rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:

On Sat, 5 Apr 2025 19:47:22 -0400, c186282 wrote:
>

    I still see debate over whether the 6502 was 'better' than the 6809.
    The 6502 was envisioned as the 'improved'
    6809 by the Motorola defectors - and in some ways was. However they
    also left out some registers that were convenient to compiler
    writers. So, no verdict.

>
One thing cannot be debated -- the 6502 was a hell of a lot cheaper than
the 6800. Peddle was working at Motorola when he first tried designing a
processor that wasn't a pricey as a 6800. Motorola said 'Not interested!'.

 That was the big draw to the 6502.  MOS Tech had a processor that sold
for $25 when the Moto competitors were selling for $275 (or some such
large markup).

   Exactly correct. When in doubt, FOLLOW THE MONEY.
   The 65xx was also "more efficient" - did similar
   instructions in fewer cycles. MOS was Motorola
   defectors ... SAW where the 68xx could be improved
   but Motorola WASN'T INTERESTED.
   As mentioned here before, there's no clear "superiority"
   arg for either family of CPUs. However the sheer cheapness
   of the 65xx series was the deciding argument for many.

Yeah, compared to the 6800 or 6809 a lot was lost to hit the $25
target.  But for scrappy startups looking to do more with less, it
worked just as well as the pricer options.

   Yep.
   The old CoCo people will laud the 68xx, the old Apple/CBM
   people will laud the 65xx. The big-picture technical equation
   didn't really favor either. It was MOSTLY The Money. What
   you could do on one CPU you could do on the other - sometimes
   a little better or worse - but still $$$ ruled .......
   My regret - Motorola and derivs - they were SO damned good
   back in the day. What the fuck HAPPENED ??? "Management"
   most likely .........
   There SHOULD be a 68xxx CPU as a constant competitor
   to Intel and such ... but NO. SO damned sad ! Personally
   I liked the Motorola paradigm over the Intel.