Bil Herd

Bil Herd is an American computer engineer known for designing several of Commodore's later 8-bit computers. A largely self-taught electronics engineer, he joined Commodore in the early 1980s and worked in the company's demanding hardware-development environment.

Herd became principal engineer for the 264 family, which included the Commodore 16 and Plus/4. These machines were intended to extend Commodore's low-cost range and used a new TED chip for graphics, sound and system control.

He then led the team that created the Commodore 128 under a five-month deadline for the January 1985 Consumer Electronics Show. The machine combined a 6502-family processor with a Z80, supported Commodore 64 compatibility, included a native 128 mode and could run CP/M. Its flexible design made it the most capable of Commodore's mass-produced 8-bit computers.

After leaving Commodore, Herd continued working in electronics and technology. He has also documented the engineering history of Commodore through articles, interviews, talks and hardware demonstrations.