Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
You’ve heard of Amiga Forever, but did you know there was a C64 Forever for Windows as well?
The ownership of Commodore properties is confusing, and I don’t want to get into it here. Suffice to say, one company, Cloanto, maintains and licences the Amiga OS and Commodore (or CBM) DOS. As such, they issue new versions of the systems from time to time, compatible with Windows. This gives anyone interested the opportunity to revisit the operating systems without having to buy and/or upgrade old gear, and play around with emulator settings.
Amiga Forever 11 and C64 Forever 11 have just been released, and are available to buy now. C64 Forever has a free version, incidentally. Unique features are on offer with each.
Amiga Forever 11
The key attraction here is an improved printing experience.
Print like it’s 2025? Start “Amiga 4000 Enhanced 3.X” from the Systems folder, click Clown.pic at the bottom, then select Print from the Project menu. Explore the new print and preview features. Press Ctrl + Scroll wheel to zoom in and out. To preview in color, make sure the selected Destination printer supports it (e.g. Microsoft Print to PDF). Prefer a slower experience where you can literally watch yellow, magenta and cyan stripes appear one by one? Start “Amiga 2000 Enhanced 1.3”, then launch GraphicDump (inside Utilities). Be patient, as this configuration emulates a CPU running at the speed it had 40 years ago.
Amiga Forever 11 also features a virtual keyboard, and is available now in three editions:
- Value Edition (downloadable installer)
- Plus Edition (downloadable installer with optional DVD ISO image)
- Premium Edition (downloadable Plus Edition, plus boxed software and additional videos on 3 DVDs)
Note that if you have an older version of Amiga Forever, the upgrade has a discount.
C64 Forever 11
As mentioned, the key new feature in C64 Forever is printing:
Curious about how the iconic MPS 803 6×7 dot matrix printer worked, or want to introduce a new generation to vintage computing? Check out the “MPS 803 Printer Playground” title in C64 Forever (under Applications). It includes the MPS 803 User Guide and all sample listings ready to load from disk, where they are named after the corresponding manual page. For example, to load the zodiac listing from pages 31-32 type LOAD”PAGE31B”,8. When you RUN the program, the Print dialog opens automatically to preview the output.
However, the C64 stuff isn’t limited to the breadbox. There’s some PET stuff in there too, such as changing PET/CBM system colours, and a virtual mouse that lets you move the text cursor around in the C64 environment. Which is kind of a big deal, if 40 years too late. Oh, there’s a BBS tool too, which lets you connect to modern bulletin boards, just as you might have done in the 1980s.
C64 Forever 11 is available now in three editions:
- Free Express Edition (feature-limited version)
- Downloadable Plus Edition (downloadable installer with optional CD ISO image)
- Boxed Plus Edition (downloadable Plus Edition, plus boxed CD)
I’ve really only touched the surface of features, which also include full screen views, copy and paste clipboard support, and much more. Learn more at Amiga Forever.
(Image credits: Cloanto/Amiga Forever)
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
