Nux
Banned
C64 Forever
When the C64 was launched by Commodore in 1982 it immediately set the standard for 8-bit home computers. Its low cost, superior graphics, high quality sound and a massive 64 KB of RAM positioned it as the winner in the home computer wars, knocking out competitors from the likes of Atari, Texas Instruments, Sinclair, Apple and IBM.
Selling over 30 million units and introducing a whole generation to computers and programming, the C64 shook up the video games industry and sparked cultural phenomena such as computer music and the demoscene. In recent years the C64 has enjoyed a spectacular revival manifesting itself once again as a retrocomputing platform.
To allow you to experience and relive the wonders of this unique computer, Cloanto, developers of Commodore/Amiga software since the 1980s, has introduced C64 Forever, the official CBM 8-bit preservation, emulation and support package. C64 Forever embodies an intuitive player interface, backed by a built-in database containing more than 5,000 C64 game entries. Support for the innovative RP9 format allows for advanced title authoring and easy cross-platform playback.
Features
Features of C64 Forever include:
Emulation of C64 hardware (allows you to run C64 software on your PC)
Additional emulation of other CBM 8-bit systems: PET 2001, CBM 3032, CBM 4032, CBM 8032, VIC 20, CBM 610, C16, Plus/4, C128 (40-column and 80-column) and more
Optional integration with Amiga Forever (if installed)
More than 200 preinstalled games and demoscene productions
One-click play support for thousands of downloadable C64 and other 8-bit games, demos and applications
Sophisticated input options include Unicode-enabled keyboard and clipboard integration, and physical and emulated game controllers (standard USB and Xbox devices, arcade joysticks, customizable keyboard layouts to play joystick games with a keyboard and vice versa, etc.)
RP9 Editor allows you to create and edit content for playback on the local system or elsewhere
RP9 Toolbox to convert between RP9 and other popular formats (D64, T64, etc.) and to export to devices (hardware-based emulators)
RetroPlatform Library includes title and configuration data for more than 5,000 C64 games, with online updates
Preconfigured and enhanced VICE emulation engine with auto-updates
Special features and gallery of items of historical interest
Build Image tool to create personalized CD ISO images or portable runtime environments
"Now Playing" updates and manual status posts to Facebook, Twitter and Skype
Direct screenshot uploads to Facebook and Twitter
Gorgeous support for high-DPI displays
Much, much more...
Commodore Business Machines was originally founded as a typewriter repair and assembly business in 1954 by Jack Tramiel, an Auschwitz concentration camp survivor who became legendary for his ability of spotting trends and for sayings that included "live in the future", "computers for the masses, not the classes" and "business is war".
In 1965, following the bankruptcy and indictment of one of the original investors (Atlantic Acceptance), Jack Tramiel found a new investor, Irving Gould. This partnership saved Commodore more than once, but also shaped its future along repeat struggles for control and direction.
By the early 1970s Commodore had diversified into a successful line of calculators, until in 1975 Texas Instruments, Commodore's main supplier of calculator chips, entered the marked directly, introducing devices priced less than what it was selling the parts to Commodore.
Commodore learned from the 1975 experience, and in 1976 it purchased MOS Technology, which brought in not only semiconductor design and fabrication capabilities, but also engineers like Chuck Peddle, the designer of the 6502 CPU and of Commodore's KIM-1 and PET computers.
Having an in-house chip foundry gave Commodore several key advantages, which included:
Shorter times from design to manufacturing
Tighter improvement loops
Highly customized and integrated components
Fewer parts in its computers
Lower overall costs
Better control over its supplies
[ Dottie Says Hello! ]
As some engineers described, having the Pennsylvania production plant practically next-door from engineering allowed Commodore to manufacture, test and modify real production samples in less time than it took competitors to produce one-time prototypes. Commodore's MOS unit further possessed the ability to keep improving its chip masks during manufacturing, whereas its competitors typically had a decreasing chip yield as production went on.
On the flip side, the plant also was a source of contaminants that led the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) to intervene repeatedly and ultimately shut the plant down (in 2001, after it had already been sold by Commodore), with decontamination still ongoing into the 2000s.
In the 1970s Commodore restructured into an increasingly complex scheme of international companies, subsidiaries and affiliated organizations, moving its financial headquarters to the Bahamas and leading to the creation of more than 30 different "Commodore" companies. The name Commodore Business Machines was retained for the operational headquarters in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
In 1977, Commodore debuted the PET 2001, which consisted of a modified KIM-1 single-board computer packaged into a metal case that included a built-in cassette drive, keyboard and monitor. By 1979 Commodore had released improved models with more RAM, including the CBM 3032 and 4032. A first 80-column model, the CBM 8032, followed in 1980.
In 1981 Commodore released the VIC 20, the first computer to sell one million units. Building on that experience, in 1982 Commodore released the C64, the best-selling computer of all time.
1983 and 1984 were years of great conflict and change. On the outside, Commodore placed increasing focus on market share and won the "home computer wars", driving out of business companies like its former supplier-turned-competitor Texas Instruments. In the process, Commodore consumed its own reserves and Jack Tramiel resigned. On the products front, Commodore introduced the CBM-II series, which included the CBM 610, meant to succeed the PET/CBM line, and the C16 line, which was launched as the low-cost successor to the VIC 20, also with built-in productivity software (Plus/4). Further attempts to revitalize the success of the C64 included the C128 and the C65 (which never made it beyond the prototype stage). By the end of 1984 Commodore had also acquired the Amiga, which debuted in 1985 and which brought with it cuts to other product lines.
Ultimately, in spite of the initial technological superiority of the Amiga line, faced with an increasingly mature PC market and with the ups and downs of the video games industry, Commodore failed to maintain its leadership in either the business or the home computing front. By the early 1990s, Commodore had lost its culture of innovation together with some of its most creative teams. It is reported that a combination of circumstances, including an excess of hard-to-sell A600 stock, and the inability to sell sufficient quantities of the new CD32 Amiga-based gaming console, contributed to pushing Commodore into voluntary liquidation in 1994.
Products like the C64 and the Amiga can still be enjoyed via the official C64 Forever and Amiga Forever software packages by Cloanto, a Commodore/Amiga developer since the early days, active in the field of emulation and preservation since 1997, and assignee of the Commodore/Amiga copyrights.
When the C64 was launched by Commodore in 1982 it immediately set the standard for 8-bit home computers. Its low cost, superior graphics, high quality sound and a massive 64 KB of RAM positioned it as the winner in the home computer wars, knocking out competitors from the likes of Atari, Texas Instruments, Sinclair, Apple and IBM.
Selling over 30 million units and introducing a whole generation to computers and programming, the C64 shook up the video games industry and sparked cultural phenomena such as computer music and the demoscene. In recent years the C64 has enjoyed a spectacular revival manifesting itself once again as a retrocomputing platform.
To allow you to experience and relive the wonders of this unique computer, Cloanto, developers of Commodore/Amiga software since the 1980s, has introduced C64 Forever, the official CBM 8-bit preservation, emulation and support package. C64 Forever embodies an intuitive player interface, backed by a built-in database containing more than 5,000 C64 game entries. Support for the innovative RP9 format allows for advanced title authoring and easy cross-platform playback.
Features
Features of C64 Forever include:
Emulation of C64 hardware (allows you to run C64 software on your PC)
Additional emulation of other CBM 8-bit systems: PET 2001, CBM 3032, CBM 4032, CBM 8032, VIC 20, CBM 610, C16, Plus/4, C128 (40-column and 80-column) and more
Optional integration with Amiga Forever (if installed)
More than 200 preinstalled games and demoscene productions
One-click play support for thousands of downloadable C64 and other 8-bit games, demos and applications
Sophisticated input options include Unicode-enabled keyboard and clipboard integration, and physical and emulated game controllers (standard USB and Xbox devices, arcade joysticks, customizable keyboard layouts to play joystick games with a keyboard and vice versa, etc.)
RP9 Editor allows you to create and edit content for playback on the local system or elsewhere
RP9 Toolbox to convert between RP9 and other popular formats (D64, T64, etc.) and to export to devices (hardware-based emulators)
RetroPlatform Library includes title and configuration data for more than 5,000 C64 games, with online updates
Preconfigured and enhanced VICE emulation engine with auto-updates
Special features and gallery of items of historical interest
Build Image tool to create personalized CD ISO images or portable runtime environments
"Now Playing" updates and manual status posts to Facebook, Twitter and Skype
Direct screenshot uploads to Facebook and Twitter
Gorgeous support for high-DPI displays
Much, much more...
History of Commodore
Commodore Business Machines was originally founded as a typewriter repair and assembly business in 1954 by Jack Tramiel, an Auschwitz concentration camp survivor who became legendary for his ability of spotting trends and for sayings that included "live in the future", "computers for the masses, not the classes" and "business is war".
In 1965, following the bankruptcy and indictment of one of the original investors (Atlantic Acceptance), Jack Tramiel found a new investor, Irving Gould. This partnership saved Commodore more than once, but also shaped its future along repeat struggles for control and direction.
By the early 1970s Commodore had diversified into a successful line of calculators, until in 1975 Texas Instruments, Commodore's main supplier of calculator chips, entered the marked directly, introducing devices priced less than what it was selling the parts to Commodore.
Commodore learned from the 1975 experience, and in 1976 it purchased MOS Technology, which brought in not only semiconductor design and fabrication capabilities, but also engineers like Chuck Peddle, the designer of the 6502 CPU and of Commodore's KIM-1 and PET computers.
Having an in-house chip foundry gave Commodore several key advantages, which included:
Shorter times from design to manufacturing
Tighter improvement loops
Highly customized and integrated components
Fewer parts in its computers
Lower overall costs
Better control over its supplies
[ Dottie Says Hello! ]
As some engineers described, having the Pennsylvania production plant practically next-door from engineering allowed Commodore to manufacture, test and modify real production samples in less time than it took competitors to produce one-time prototypes. Commodore's MOS unit further possessed the ability to keep improving its chip masks during manufacturing, whereas its competitors typically had a decreasing chip yield as production went on.
On the flip side, the plant also was a source of contaminants that led the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) to intervene repeatedly and ultimately shut the plant down (in 2001, after it had already been sold by Commodore), with decontamination still ongoing into the 2000s.
In the 1970s Commodore restructured into an increasingly complex scheme of international companies, subsidiaries and affiliated organizations, moving its financial headquarters to the Bahamas and leading to the creation of more than 30 different "Commodore" companies. The name Commodore Business Machines was retained for the operational headquarters in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
In 1977, Commodore debuted the PET 2001, which consisted of a modified KIM-1 single-board computer packaged into a metal case that included a built-in cassette drive, keyboard and monitor. By 1979 Commodore had released improved models with more RAM, including the CBM 3032 and 4032. A first 80-column model, the CBM 8032, followed in 1980.
In 1981 Commodore released the VIC 20, the first computer to sell one million units. Building on that experience, in 1982 Commodore released the C64, the best-selling computer of all time.
1983 and 1984 were years of great conflict and change. On the outside, Commodore placed increasing focus on market share and won the "home computer wars", driving out of business companies like its former supplier-turned-competitor Texas Instruments. In the process, Commodore consumed its own reserves and Jack Tramiel resigned. On the products front, Commodore introduced the CBM-II series, which included the CBM 610, meant to succeed the PET/CBM line, and the C16 line, which was launched as the low-cost successor to the VIC 20, also with built-in productivity software (Plus/4). Further attempts to revitalize the success of the C64 included the C128 and the C65 (which never made it beyond the prototype stage). By the end of 1984 Commodore had also acquired the Amiga, which debuted in 1985 and which brought with it cuts to other product lines.
Ultimately, in spite of the initial technological superiority of the Amiga line, faced with an increasingly mature PC market and with the ups and downs of the video games industry, Commodore failed to maintain its leadership in either the business or the home computing front. By the early 1990s, Commodore had lost its culture of innovation together with some of its most creative teams. It is reported that a combination of circumstances, including an excess of hard-to-sell A600 stock, and the inability to sell sufficient quantities of the new CD32 Amiga-based gaming console, contributed to pushing Commodore into voluntary liquidation in 1994.
Products like the C64 and the Amiga can still be enjoyed via the official C64 Forever and Amiga Forever software packages by Cloanto, a Commodore/Amiga developer since the early days, active in the field of emulation and preservation since 1997, and assignee of the Commodore/Amiga copyrights.
