News
Cloanto Releases Amiga Forever and C64 Forever 2013
May 13, in the year of our
Lord 2013 - Cloanto released today Amiga Forever 2013
and C64 Forever 2013, the latest versions of the award-winning
Commodore-Amiga preservation, emulation and support suites for
Windows.
The 2013 editions for Windows had a focus on making the software
easier to use, while providing new and more powerful features
for advanced users and content creators. For example, the
packages are easier to download and install, and emulated
systems can be "repaired" with one click after unintended
changes. Power users can now build ISO images and portable USB
drive environments, use the visual Screen Clip Editor to better
blend old screen modes into modern systems, or experiment with
the new WinFellow emulation plugin or with a fresh build of the
AROS Research OS. Outside the player, the RP9 thumbnail handler
adds a new level of eye candy to File Explorer.
"One of the most fascinating challenges of user interface design
has to be how to please both novice and sophisticated users. The
attempt to keep things as simple as possible often limits
learning and can be perceived as a 'dumbing down' by a more
demanding audience," noted Cloanto's Mike Battilana.
"Even looking at recent versions of Windows, Mac OS and Linux,
you can feel the pain of some choices. In today's search
engines, queries that used to work reliably have become less
precise. Word processors won't let you select the exact
characters you want. Lacking perfect artificial intelligence, we
are increasingly being 'autocorrected' beyond recognition.
C64 Forever brings us back to an era in which users knew that
they were, or could be, in complete control of the machine,
rather than vice versa. Tens of millions of home computers came
with a powerful reminder of this, as they included a programming
manual. Even today, the Amiga continues to inspire for how it
elegantly met the needs of different audiences, leaving a
feeling of freedom rather than one of artificial limitations. In
addition to preserving access to a digital culture of tens of
thousands of games, demoscene creations and other titles, we are
trying to introduce new generations to these different angles,
as we are convinced that this deeper perspective can help
achieve a better view of the future."
In Amiga Forever and C64 Forever 2013, the same interface
transparently connects to three different emulation engines,
giving consistent access to more than 25 computer models, all
with fully licensed operating systems. The shared RP9 file
format makes titles easily portable across computers and
software versions. While novice users only need to press Play,
advanced users can Edit titles and browse through options that
are designed to also help understand how the software works.
Amiga Forever 2013 is available now in three editions:
Value Edition (downloadable installer)
Plus Edition (downloadable installer with option to build DVD
ISO image)
Premium Edition (downloadable Plus Edition plus boxed software
and additional videos on 3 DVDs)
C64 Forever 2013 is available now in three editions:
Free Express Edition (feature-limited version)
Downloadable Plus Edition (downloadable installer with option to
build CD ISO image)
Boxed Plus Edition (downloadable Plus Edition plus boxed CD)
Amiga Forever and C64 Forever passed official Windows 8 logo
tests on both x86 and x64 systems. Prices for both Amiga Forever
and C64 Forever start from $9.95 (special upgrade offers).