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{{Short description|Amiga preservation, emulation and support package published by Cloanto}}
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{{ infobox Software
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
⚫
| name = Amiga Forever
{{multiple issues|
⚫
| screenshot = Amiga Forever 2008 on Vista.png
{{Third-party|date=March 2020}}
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| caption = Amiga Forever 2008 on Windows Vista.
{{Advert|date=March 2020}}
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| developer = Cloanto Italia srl
}}
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| released = {{Start date and age|1997}}
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{{infobox software
⚫
| latest release version = Version 7 - {{Start date and age|2017}}
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| name = Amiga Forever
⚫
| operating_system = [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], {{nowrap|[[Mac OS X]],}} [[Linux distribution |Linux]]
⚫
| screenshot = Amiga Forever 2008 on Vista.png
⚫
| license = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]
⚫
| caption = Amiga Forever 2008 on [[Windows Vista]].
⚫
| website = {{URL|www.amigaforever.com}}
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| developer = Cloanto IT srl
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| released = {{Start date and age|1997|11|14}}
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| latest release version = {{Start date and age|2024|04|26}} - 10.3.2
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| operating_system = [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], {{nowrap|[[macOS]],}} [[Linux distribution|Linux]]
⚫
| license = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]
⚫
| website = {{URL|www.amigaforever.com}}
}}
}}


'''Amiga Forever''' is an [[Amiga]] preservation, [[emulator | emulation]] and support package produced by Cloanto,<ref>{{citeweb
'''Amiga Forever''' is an [[Amiga]] preservation, [[emulator|emulation]] and support package published by Cloanto,<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.cloanto.it/
|url=https://cloanto.it/
|title=Cloanto Italia srl
|title=Cloanto IT srl
|publisher=Cloanto Italia srl
|publisher=Cloanto IT srl
|accessdate=2010-03-13 }}</ref> which allows Amiga software to run on non-Amiga hardware legally and without complex configuration.
|access-date=2010-03-13 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Barton|first=Matt|title=Vintage Games 2.0: An Insider Look at the Most Influential Games of All Time. United Kingdom|publisher=CRC Press.|year=2019}}</ref> allowing Amiga software to run on non-Amiga hardware legally without complex configuration.


The Windows version of Amiga Forever includes a "player" software developed by Cloanto which seamlessly uses "plugins" such as [[WinUAE]] as emulation engines, while relying on its own user interface for configuration and authoring. In addition to supporting common disk image formats, Amiga Forever can play back and author files in Cloanto's proprietary RP9 format. RP9 packages are compressed files that embed all media images, plus XML-based configuration and description data, and ancillary content like documentation, screenshots, audio tracks, etc.
The [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lambert|first=Kole|title=Computer Applications to Library. United Kingdom|publisher=EDTECH|year=1990|pages=113}}</ref> version of Amiga Forever includes a "player" software developed by Cloanto which uses [[Plug-in (computing)|plugins]] such as [[WinUAE]] as emulation engines, while relying on its own user interface for configuration and authoring. In addition to supporting common [[disk image]] formats, Amiga Forever can also play back .Author files in Cloanto's proprietary RP9 format, which are [[data compression|compressed]] files, embed all media images including [[XML]]-based configuration and description data, and ancillary content like documentation, screenshots, and audio tracks.


Beginning from the 2012 version, Amiga Forever includes Cloanto's RP9 Editor for content authoring. Besides its own authoring and playback environment, and Cloanto's floppy disk conversion service, Amiga Forever includes [[WinUAE]] and [[Fellow (computing)|WinFellow]], and different versions of UAE and E-UAE for other platforms. All versions of Amiga Forever include different [[AmigaOS]] ([[m68k]]) environments and support to run a large range of [[Amiga games]] and [[Amiga demos|demoscene]] productions which are available for free download from different software publishers and Amiga history sites. The Windows version also includes Cloanto's Amiga Explorer<ref>{{citeweb
Beginning from the 2012 version, Amiga Forever ships with an RP9 Editor for content authoring. Besides its own authoring and playback environment and Cloanto's [[floppy disk]] conversion service, Amiga Forever includes [[WinUAE]] and [[Fellow (computing)|WinFellow]], and different versions of [[UAE (emulator)|UAE]] and E-UAE for other platforms. All versions of Amiga Forever include different [[AmigaOS]] ([[m68k]]) environments and support to run a large range of [[Amiga games]] and [[Amiga demos|demoscene]] productions which are available for download from different software publishers and Amiga history sites. The Windows version also includes Cloanto's Amiga Explorer networking software, which allows access to Amiga resources (including virtual floppy, hard disk and [[ROM image]] files) from the Windows Desktop.
|url=http://www.amigaforever.com/ae/
|title=Amiga Explorer
|publisher=Amiga Forever
|accessdate=2009-03-06 }}</ref> networking software, which allows access to Amiga resources (including virtual floppy, hard disk and [[ROM image]] files) from the Windows Desktop.


== History ==
== History ==
Amiga International, the owner of the [[intellectual property rights]] to the AmigaOS, sought to protect its property from people distributing unauthorized copies of the ROM files required for emulating Amiga software over the Internet.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/CUAmigaIssue097Mar98/page/n98|title=Q&A|last=Sheriff|first=Alan|magazine=[[CU Amiga]]|date=March 1998|access-date=2022-05-13|issue=97|page=99}}</ref> On October 7, 1997, it announced on its website that it had granted Cloanto, publisher of Amiga productivity applications, the rights to publish an Amiga emulator containing the AmigaOS software. The first version of Amiga Forever was released on November 14, 1997, after its debut at the Computer '97 show in [[Cologne]], Germany.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Amiga_Informer_The_Issue_11_1997-12_Eldritch_Enterprises_US/page/n9|title="Amiga Forever" ... Licensed Amiga Emulation From Cloanto|last=Webb|first=Brad|magazine=Amiga Informer|publisher=Eldritch Enterprises|date=December 1997 – January 1998|access-date=2022-05-13|issue=11|page=10}}</ref> It was contained on a [[CD-ROM]] which contained a front-end for Windows and different versions of UAE for Windows, [[DOS]], [[MacOS]] and [[Linux]], plus Fellow for DOS and a selection of [[Kickstart (Amiga)|Amiga Kickstart]] ROM images and [[Workbench (AmigaOS)|Workbench]] disks.<ref>{{cite web
The first version of Amiga Forever was released in 1997 on a CD-ROM which contained different versions of UAE for Windows, [[DOS]], Mac and Linux, Fellow for DOS and a selection of Amiga Kickstart ROM images and [[Workbench]] disks. There was also an Amiga [[floppy disk]] available which contained the Amiga side of Amiga Explorer.<ref>{{citeweb
|url=http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/aforever.html
|url=http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/aforever.html
|title=Amiga Forever
|title=Amiga Forever
|publisher=Amiga History Guide
|publisher=Amiga History Guide
|date=2006-08-09
|date=2006-08-09
|accessdate=2009-03-06 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090308122202/http://amigahistory.co.uk/aforever.html| archivedate= 8 March 2009 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> The new plugin-based player software was introduced in 2007.
|access-date=2009-03-06 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090308122202/http://amigahistory.co.uk/aforever.html| archive-date= 8 March 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2022}} The new plugin-based player software was introduced in 2007.

Amiga Forever was ported to [[Android (operating system)|Android]] and appeared as a [[Google Chrome extension]], both in 2013 as Amiga Forever essentials. In both cases, the application provides the necessary [[ROM file|ROM files]] for emulators designed for Android and Google Chrome respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2013-04-23-amiga-forever-essentials-android-emulator.html|title=Amiga Forever Essentials for Android promises to expand your emulation options|last=Melanson|first=Donald|work=[[Engadget]]|date=2013-04-23|access-date=2022-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513210730/https://www.engadget.com/2013-04-23-amiga-forever-essentials-android-emulator.html|archive-date=2022-05-13|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Amiga-Emulator-im-Chrome-Browser-2064645.html|title=Amiga-Emulator im Chrome-Browser|language=de|trans-title=Amiga emulator for Chrome browser|last=Zota|first=Volker|work=[[Heise Online]]|date=2013-12-12|access-date=2022-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220225746/https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Amiga-Emulator-im-Chrome-Browser-2064645.html|archive-date=2013-12-20|url-status=live}}</ref>


== Features ==
== Features ==
[[Image:Amiga Forever 2008 Player.png|right|thumb|160px|The Player in Amiga Forever 2008.]]
[[File:Amiga Forever 2008 Player.png|right|thumb|The Player in Amiga Forever 2008]]

Amiga Forever comes bundled with [[AmigaOS versions|all versions]] of the official Amiga ROM and OS files, from versions 0.7 to 3.1.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tweakers.net/downloads/20877/amiga-forever-2009.html|title=Software-update: Amiga Forever 2009|language=nl|last=van Klaveren|first=Bart|work=[[Tweakers.net]]|date=2009-07-09|access-date=2022-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513220944/https://tweakers.net/downloads/20877/amiga-forever-2009.html|archive-date=2022-05-13|url-status=live}}</ref> It is also bundled with two preconfigured [[free and open-source software|free and open source]] emulators: [[UAE (emulator)|UAE]] and [[Fellow (emulator)|Fellow]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theregister.com/2019/01/03/amiga_forever/|title=Found yet another plastic nostalgia knock-off under the tree? You, sir, need an emulator|last=Speed|first=Richard|work=[[The Register]]|date=2019-01-03|access-date=2022-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513223621/https://www.theregister.com/2019/01/03/amiga_forever/|archive-date=2022-05-13|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Amiga Explorer is a networking framework that facilitates data sharing between a PC and an actual Amiga computer. It readily converts files stored on Amiga disk files into the [[Amiga Disk File]] format, and also allows PC users to [[Mount (computing)|mount]] drives on an Amiga machine, both for PC use.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/cuamiga-magazine-101/page/n60|title=Product Test: Amiga Forever|last=Korn|first=Andrew|magazine=[[CU Amiga]]|date=July 1998|access-date=2022-05-13|issue=101|page=61}}</ref>


Other features include:
Features, among others:
* Emulation of Amiga hardware (allows Amiga software to run on a PC or mobile device)
* Emulation of Amiga hardware (allows Amiga software to run on a PC or mobile device)
⚫
* Additional emulation and [[device driver|drivers]] ([[Retargetable graphics|RTG]] graphics, [[SCSI]], [[TCP/IP]], [[AHI (Amiga)|AHI]], [[Commodore CDTV|CDTV]], [[Amiga CD32|CD³²]], etc.)
* Officially licensed Amiga ROM and OS files ([[AmigaOS versions |all versions]] from 0.7 to 3.X)
* Officially licensed Picasso RTG graphics subsystem
⚫
* Additional emulation and drivers (SCSI, TCP/IP, AHI, [[Commodore CDTV | CDTV]], [[Amiga CD32 | CD³²]], etc.)
* Amiga Forever player software for Windows to access and launch content
* Amiga Forever player software for Windows to access and launch content
* Preconfigured [[WinUAE]] and WinFellow emulation engines with auto-updates
* Preinstalled games, demos and applications (web browser, paint, etc.)
* Preinstalled games, demos and applications (web browser, paint, etc.)
* Support for a large amount of downloadable [[Amiga games]], [[Amiga demos| demos]] and [[Amiga software | applications]]
* Support for a large amount of downloadable [[Amiga games]], [[Amiga demos|demos]] and [[Amiga software|applications]]
⚫
* Optional [[Live CD]], based on [[Knoppix]] Light (boots a PC or [[Intel Mac]] directly into Workbench)
* Amiga Explorer and Amiga Files data sharing framework
⚫
* Optional [[Live CD]], based on [[Knoppix]] Light (boots a PC or Intel Mac directly into Workbench)
* More than five hours of Amiga videos (two DVDs)
* More than five hours of Amiga videos (two DVDs)
* Gallery of items of historical interest
* Gallery of items of historical interest.


== See also ==
== See also ==
{{Portal|Amiga}}
{{Portal|Amiga}}
* [[Amiga]]
* [[AmigaOS]]
* [[AmigaOS]]
* [[Minimig]]
* [[Minimig]]
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{{AmigaOS}}
{{AmigaOS}}


[[Category:1997 software]]
[[Category:Amiga]]
[[Category:Amiga]]
[[Category:Android emulation software]]
[[Category:Google Chrome extensions]]
[[Category:Linux emulation software]]
[[Category:MacOS emulation software]]
[[Category:Windows emulation software]]

Latest revision as of 18:41, 11 September 2024

Amiga Forever
Developer(s)Cloanto IT srl
Initial releaseNovember 14, 1997; 27 years ago (1997-11-14)
Stable release
April 26, 2024; 7 months ago (2024-04-26) - 10.3.2
Operating systemWindows, macOS, Linux
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.amigaforever.com

Amiga Forever is an Amiga preservation, emulation and support package published by Cloanto,[1][2] allowing Amiga software to run on non-Amiga hardware legally without complex configuration.

The Windows[3] version of Amiga Forever includes a "player" software developed by Cloanto which uses plugins such as WinUAE as emulation engines, while relying on its own user interface for configuration and authoring. In addition to supporting common disk image formats, Amiga Forever can also play back .Author files in Cloanto's proprietary RP9 format, which are compressed files, embed all media images including XML-based configuration and description data, and ancillary content like documentation, screenshots, and audio tracks.

Beginning from the 2012 version, Amiga Forever ships with an RP9 Editor for content authoring. Besides its own authoring and playback environment and Cloanto's floppy disk conversion service, Amiga Forever includes WinUAE and WinFellow, and different versions of UAE and E-UAE for other platforms. All versions of Amiga Forever include different AmigaOS (m68k) environments and support to run a large range of Amiga games and demoscene productions which are available for download from different software publishers and Amiga history sites. The Windows version also includes Cloanto's Amiga Explorer networking software, which allows access to Amiga resources (including virtual floppy, hard disk and ROM image files) from the Windows Desktop.

History

[edit]

Amiga International, the owner of the intellectual property rights to the AmigaOS, sought to protect its property from people distributing unauthorized copies of the ROM files required for emulating Amiga software over the Internet.[4] On October 7, 1997, it announced on its website that it had granted Cloanto, publisher of Amiga productivity applications, the rights to publish an Amiga emulator containing the AmigaOS software. The first version of Amiga Forever was released on November 14, 1997, after its debut at the Computer '97 show in Cologne, Germany.[5] It was contained on a CD-ROM which contained a front-end for Windows and different versions of UAE for Windows, DOS, MacOS and Linux, plus Fellow for DOS and a selection of Amiga Kickstart ROM images and Workbench disks.[6][better source needed] The new plugin-based player software was introduced in 2007.

Amiga Forever was ported to Android and appeared as a Google Chrome extension, both in 2013 as Amiga Forever essentials. In both cases, the application provides the necessary ROM files for emulators designed for Android and Google Chrome respectively.[7][8]

Features

[edit]
The Player in Amiga Forever 2008

Amiga Forever comes bundled with all versions of the official Amiga ROM and OS files, from versions 0.7 to 3.1.[9] It is also bundled with two preconfigured free and open source emulators: UAE and Fellow.[10]

The Amiga Explorer is a networking framework that facilitates data sharing between a PC and an actual Amiga computer. It readily converts files stored on Amiga disk files into the Amiga Disk File format, and also allows PC users to mount drives on an Amiga machine, both for PC use.[11]

Other features include:

  • Emulation of Amiga hardware (allows Amiga software to run on a PC or mobile device)
  • Additional emulation and drivers (RTG graphics, SCSI, TCP/IP, AHI, CDTV, CD³², etc.)
  • Amiga Forever player software for Windows to access and launch content
  • Preinstalled games, demos and applications (web browser, paint, etc.)
  • Support for a large amount of downloadable Amiga games, demos and applications
  • Optional Live CD, based on Knoppix Light (boots a PC or Intel Mac directly into Workbench)
  • More than five hours of Amiga videos (two DVDs)
  • Gallery of items of historical interest.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Cloanto IT srl". Cloanto IT srl. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  2. ^ Barton, Matt (2019). Vintage Games 2.0: An Insider Look at the Most Influential Games of All Time. United Kingdom. CRC Press.
  3. ^ Lambert, Kole (1990). Computer Applications to Library. United Kingdom. EDTECH. p. 113.
  4. ^ Sheriff, Alan (March 1998). "Q&A". CU Amiga. No. 97. p. 99. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  5. ^ Webb, Brad (December 1997 – January 1998). ""Amiga Forever" ... Licensed Amiga Emulation From Cloanto". Amiga Informer. No. 11. Eldritch Enterprises. p. 10. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  6. ^ "Amiga Forever". Amiga History Guide. August 9, 2006. Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved March 6, 2009.
  7. ^ Melanson, Donald (April 23, 2013). "Amiga Forever Essentials for Android promises to expand your emulation options". Engadget. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  8. ^ Zota, Volker (December 12, 2013). "Amiga-Emulator im Chrome-Browser" [Amiga emulator for Chrome browser]. Heise Online (in German). Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  9. ^ van Klaveren, Bart (July 9, 2009). "Software-update: Amiga Forever 2009". Tweakers.net (in Dutch). Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  10. ^ Speed, Richard (January 3, 2019). "Found yet another plastic nostalgia knock-off under the tree? You, sir, need an emulator". The Register. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  11. ^ Korn, Andrew (July 1998). "Product Test: Amiga Forever". CU Amiga. No. 101. p. 61. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
[edit]
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