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This electronic newsletter is registered – ISSN 1441-6840
Welcome to the CFS Weekly Newsletter.
The programs listed here are completely free for non-commercial use, even though some may be shareware or commercial products. None are time-limited and all are fully functional. If you know any that aren't exactly as specified, please let us know and they will be removed immediately.
If the link below does not work (does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid. Please use the CFS Site Search facility (above) to locate the program.
COMPLETELY FREE SOFTWARE
Legacy Family Tree v3.0 – Win9x/ME
Legacy is a comprehensive but easy-to-use genealogy (family history) program. It features: both GedCom & PAF import/export; most categories can hold unlimited data; you can include pictures, sound & video; it is fully LDS compliant; it has extensive search facilities, including Web searches for individuals; etc. This is a tremendous family history program which covers so many bases that it is hard to list even a small number of its excellent features. It offers virtually everything a genealogist would require but, unlike some other similar programs, Legacy offers it in a remarkably easy format. This is one program which you will have to try for yourself. To us it fitted like a glove and easily handled a 9,000+ person (600+ families) GedCom file. Unfortunately the native FDB format was nearly ten times larger than the GedCom file it was imported from (793kB to 7.22MB!). However you can always export it back into the GedCom format if you like (our 7.22MB Legacy file became a 1.48MB GedCom file). With the data entry facilities available through Legacy we did not begrudge the larger FDB file. Overall we consider this a superb genealogy program which everyone who studies family history should look at. We don't think you will be disappointed... Note: it requires on-line registration (free) before you can load the program (a key is e-mailed to you). Access this 12.9MB download from: Win9x General Programs
ipAddress v2.41.0 – Win9x/ME
ipAddress is a simple utility that displays the IP (Internet Protocol) address(es) of the user's computer. It is often not easy to discover the IP address of a computer because these are generally allocated by the host ISP every time a user logs on and can vary from session to session. ipAddress makes it easy by displaying a small window with the current IP address. This window can be "always on top" and can be re-sized. It requires free on-line registration (the author states that "ipAddress is shareware; however, it is free if you take the time to register") and a key is e-mailed to the registered user. The company's privacy statement says that information will not be sold or given to a third party which means that you will probably get e-mail information from the program's publisher (ads, etc). The program does exactly what it sets out to do. It offers no frills though you can change its background color and decide if you want it to always remain on top of other programs. ipAddress is an easy way of getting your current IP address. Access this 1.18MB download from: Win9x Internet Related
Moraff's MarbleJongg 2000 v1.10 – Win9x/ME
Moraff's MarbleJongg 2000 is a cutting-edge 3D OpenGL Mah Jongg-style tilegame. It features sensational 3D graphics, choice of spheres or rings, optional animation of pieces (including multi-directional animation), 3 tile groupings (3 or 4 layers of pieces), optional reshuffle, timed play, music, choice of 14 backgrounds (or use your own), etc. Phew! Anyone who enjoys the regular solitaire Mah Jongg tilegame will find this version to be mind blowing. Its range of options is terrific and the look and feel of this game is top drawer. Initially players may find that it is not very easy to recognize which pieces are free and which are locked but after a few minutes of play it gets easier. While MarbleJongg is advertiser supported (their own ads – they are trying to sell you a CD of their games) we didn't find the banner ads an intrusion, though the nagware screen at the end of the game is a little annoying. Overall we recommend this game for anyone who wants a break from the standard lineup of space shooter games and who has a spare hour, or day, or week, to play the amazing MarbleJongg. Get it! Access this 6.35MB download from: Win9x General Games
Sure Delete v4.2.2 – Win9x/ME
Sure Delete is a tool to completely remove data from your hard drive It features support for FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 & NTFS, drag 'n drop, 3 levels of security (file cleaner mode), name scrambling (file cleaner mode), wipes clean empty disk space, etc. This utility is extremely easy to use and offers excellent security for the total deletion of any file. The disk cleaner mode does not delete any files but cleans the so-called 'empty space' on a hard drive. This means that if a file was previously deleted but not yet written over by the next file, it cannot be recovered. Even if you don't routinely work with high security files, Sure Delete is a handy little tool to have around for that odd occasion when you want a file to be completely erased. Access this 438kB download from: Win9x Desktop Utilities
The Koran v2.50 – Win9x/ME
The Koran (or Holy Qur'an) is a 3D presentation of the Muslim Holy book in English. It features MP3 sound, it is available in 17 languages, has rich 3D animations, offers optional text font/color, printing options, search engine, opening & saving underlined text, jumping to specific surras, etc. This is an excellent representation of the Muslim Holy book. It displays as a book which has pages which open (it opens from the right rather than the left as is normal in English speaking countries). The text is easy to read and there is a search facility to find sections of text. Unfortunately we didn't feel that the search engine displayed the choices clearly and you had to hunt through each reference to find the section you were looking for. The lack of a menu system makes it harder to navigate and also hard to fully utilize its features. The Koran is an interesting book and is worthy of reading by Muslims and non-Muslims. However CFS does not endorse its religious sentiments. Access this 2.53MB download from: Win9x General Programs
Startup Control Panel v2.7 – Win9x/ME
Startup Control Panel is a Control Panel applet which allows you to configure which programs run when your computer starts (including programs which are launched from the Registry). This is a really nice utility. It gives you a lot of control over what programs do – and don't – load when Windows first boots up. Sometimes programs load themselves into the Windows Registry and you often don't even know they are automatically loading on boot-up. One program which does this is the TimeSink ad-bot which loads every time Windows starts even though you may not be using the program with the TimeSink advertisements during that session. Nasty! One aspect of the program particularly impressed us. Startup Control Panel allows you to move a program from, say, the regular startup folder (where everyone can see it) to a more hidden Registry entry. Be very careful when deleting programs which start automatically – many of them are placed there by Windows itself and are required. Startup Control Panel is one of the nicest little programs (and we mean little!) for controlling what programs start with Windows. The only point worthy of noting is that this program needs the Microsoft Windows Installer engine (InstMsi.exe – 1.42MB) to be pre-installed. Most people probably already have this program in their computer but others will have to grab a copy. Definitely a "must have" utility! Access this 67kB download from: Win9x Windows Enhancements
Naval South Pacific War v1.11b – Win9x/ME
Naval South Pacific War is a naval real time strategy game between Japanese Navy and US Navy during the Second World War. It features 30 missions (approximately half as the US Navy and half as the Japanese Navy) with various objectives and constraints. Much more than a simple game of "Battleships", Naval South Pacific War adds the element of history combined with excellent control over your ships, submarines and planes – and, of course, their weapons. Some of the battles might cut a little close to home, like the attack on Pearl Harbor where you play as the Japanese Navy. Your instructions are: "to attack against the US Navy and their warships which is predicted to anchor at Pearl Harbor". You win if you sustain "heavy damage against enemy warships". Other missions are the opposite with you playing the role of the US Navy. As a naval real time strategy game, Naval South Pacific War is terrific. We can understand why some (older?) people might find this Japanese-sourced game to be in questionable taste. If you are in the latter category, please do not grab a copy of Naval South Pacific War. For every one else, enjoy. It really is well done! Access this 2.28MB download from: Win9x General Games
Atomic Clock Sync v1.0.3 – Win9x/ME
Atomic Clock Sync is a utility to adjust your PC's clock to one of the time servers operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States. It features proxy support, quick access to the system's time/date applet, and information about your current system settings. This program is extremely simple to use – just click on the "Ping Atomic Clock" button in the top left hand corner and you will either get a message that you need to adjust your clock (click on "Yes" and the program does this for you) or that your clock time is accurate (usually within 0.5 seconds). Everyone needs to keep their computer's clock accurate because they do drift a little. Some computers need to be checked weekly, others monthly, but a computer's clock is rarely accurate. We liked Atomic Clock Sync and are happy to have it on hand to keep our test computer's clock in sync. Access this 1.32MB download from: Win9x Internet Related
UPDATE
Yankee Clipper III (formerly 'Yankee Clipper Plus') – a terrific Clipboard memory/stacker that resides in the system tray – has been updated to version 0.99.8 with a new download size of 1.02MB. This is a total rebuild of this classic utility. The number of items stored has been increased from 100 to 200 and it now saves images which have been 'clipped' (copied to the Clipboard using Ctrl-C or Ctrl-X), RTF (rich text format) and also URLs. Click on a URL displayed in the YCIII window and your browser will open up that page. Neat. While we were always happy with the old version, YCIII is streets ahead and it has cemented its position as our most-used utility and the one we are least-likely to live without. To put it simply: "Get it!" Access this update from: Win9x Desktop Utilities
MPEG Audio Collection – an MPEG file organizer which scans for all MPA, MP2 & MP3 files and builds collections – has been updated to version 2.50 with a download size of 477kB. Unfortunately, the author has not advised us of the changes made to this version. Grab this update from: Win9x Multimedia Programs
CoolTris – a Tetris clone for 1 or 2 players – has been updated to version 3.20 with a new download size of 594kB. The author advises that changes in this version include: updated the Enhanced game for support for a wider variety of options for levels (check out the arcade level pack, play around with the level editor); and customizable controls. Access this latest version from: Win9x General Games
XXCOPY – a logical extension to XCOPY command – has been updated to version 2.44.4 with a download size of 1.48kB. The author advises that changes in this version include: the new Wild-Wild-Source feature which allows you to use wildcards liberally in the source specifier; the new switch /IN to include an alternate filename pattern; the new switch /SP allows you to span a full backup into multiple removable media (eg CD-R, floppy); and the new batch-file support switches make your multi-XXCOPY-line batch script much cleaner. Access this fabulous tool from: Win9x Desktop Utilities
ESB Country Editor – a program which displays information about most countries in the world – has been updated to version 1.5 with a new download size of 480kB. The author advises that changes in this version include: improvements to the UI (extended characters now able to be entered); and updated the XML data file. Access this latest version from: Win9x General Programs
Golden Pen – a fabulous programmer's editor for both binary and ASCII files – has been updated to version 1.4 with a new download size of 599kB. The author advises that changes in this version include: added ADSP Assembler support, SmartCode (your own hot keys to fast code building), Big and Small buttons in tool bar, LOCALE SETTINGS (now you can create your own locale settings) and Cursor movement history; Clipboard viewer and manager; minor bug fixes; and more powerful install/uninstall. Grab this "must have" program from: Win9x Text Programs
COMMENTS
We would like to thank the regular visitors to the CFS site who have told us their favorite freeware. If you have a favorite program which isn't listed on the CFS pages we invite you to share that information with everyone through this site and this newsletter. If you are an author of a freeware app (or would just like to suggest a program) and would like it listed on these pages, please fill in the Submit Software form.
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Win 9x/ME/XP
