Re: Amiga, Mac, Atari

["richard cortese" <ricortes@earthlink.net>]

"Skipper Smith" <skipper@no-spam.calweb.com> wrote in message
slrnaopfai.24rb.skipper@web1.calweb.com">news:slrnaopfai.24rb.skipper@web1.calweb.com...
> Roger Johnstone <rojaws@es.co.nz> wrote:
> >In <slrnaomot0.168i.skipper@web1.calweb.com> Skipper Smith wrote:
> >> Roger Johnstone <rojaws@es.co.nz> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>WDC are the creators of the 65C02 and the 65C816.
> >>
> >> Actually, they (under that name) weren't.
> >>
> >> Motorola created the 6800.  A few designers walked out the door with
> >> the masks to it and started a company called MOS Technologies and made
> >> a chip called the 6500.  Motorola sued MOS Technologies.  A judge
> >> decidedthat since Motorola made no attempt to secure their
> >> intellectual property, the 6800/6500 would from then on be considered
> >> public domain.  Motorolans have had to have the contents of their bags
> >> perused upon entering or exiting Motorola property ever since.
> >>
> >> MOS Technologies did a respin of the 6500 to make the 6502 (Motorola
> >> also did a respin) so that they could have proprietary rights to what
> >> they were selling.  They also started other more complicated designs.
> >> Then, for some reason, decided to sell themselves, lock, stock, and
> >> barrel to CBM.  Commodore renamed that part of the company to
> >> something I can't remember, and proceeded to completely abuse the fab (
> >> personal opinion).  Nintendo decided to use the 6502 in their original
> >> game machine.  Found out that parts of the design were in the public
> >> domain and proceeded to make a duplicate of the 6502 but without the
> >> proprietary information and thus avoided giving CBM a single penny of
> >> licensing fees that probably could have kept CBM afloat in bad times (
> >> but more likely would have just been siphoned off by Mehdi Ali and
> >> Irving Gould).
> >>
> >> When Commodore went bankrupt, their physical equipment was sold at
> >> auction.  Those parts that had originally been part of MOS
> >> Technologies along with the IP that was part of the 65XX family then
> >> went on to become "Western Design Center".  Everything they say about
> >> the estimates for sockets inhabited by 65XX parts is pretty reasonable,
> >> though.
> >>
> >> This is all IIRC, but based on my association with Motorola and CBM
> >> and discussions with Dave Haynie, so take it for what it is worth.
> >
> >That's basically the way I've heard the story too, but WDC (which is
> >basically William Mensch) did create the 65C02 (the enhanced CMOS chip)
> >and the 16-bit 65C816.
>
> That is correct.  I was mistake on that part.  He left MOS Technologies
> when Commodore bought them and went their seperate ways.

I realize the difficulties in trying to remember and relate stories from ~25
years ago. There are a few problems with the way things add up.
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