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The Completely Free E-mail Update #34
Issued Mar 17, 1998
Welcome to the thirty-fourth edition of the 'Completely Free Software E-mail Update'. Over the past week we've added many new programs, including the ones listed below.
The programs listed are completely free for non-commercial use, even though some may be shareware or commercial products. None are time-limited and all are fully functionable. If you know any that aren't exactly as specified, please let us know and they will be removed immediately.
COMPLETELY FREE SOFTWARE
Abracadabra – W95
Abracadabra is an excellent document viewer and editor (ASCII, ANSI & RTF formats) which can also display an array of graphic files (BMP, JPG, GIF, PCX, TGA, ICO, WMF, DIB & RLE) and is packaged in a terrific looking interface which noticeably lacks most of the obvious navigational controls. When opened, Abracadabra presents itself in two panes, the left being the active directory and the right being the display/editing area (when it first starts up you get a simple help screen in the right hand pane). To navigate you click the mouse buttons in the left hand 'directory' pane – the right mouse button clicked anywhere in the pane will take you up one level in the directory tree, the left mouse button on an item will open it (either a directory or a file). When a document file is opened it is editable, and this is not extension dependant. Click on, say, a HTML file (which is actually a raw ASCII file) and it will open it and allow basic editing (cut, copy, paste, change the display font and colors, drag text around the document, etc). When you change documents or exit you are prompted to save your work. You can also save your work through a button in the left pane which gives you the option of saving it as a 'Win' file (default) which is in the ANSI format, or as a 'DOS' file (ASCII). Image viewing is relatively basic – just left click on an appropriate image file and it will be displayed. Right and left mouse buttons change the image size. Animation on GIFs is not supported (which is a shame) and we were disappointed that often, when we changed from one image to another, the old image stayed partially displayed under the new one. With a download size of only 359kB, Abracadabra is great value and it is exciting to see programs with non-conformist interfaces becoming more common. Access it from: W95 Text Programs
Chub Gam 3-D – DOS (only)
This is a Doom/Quake-type corridor game with a few neat twists. Your Harriet jet has crash landed in a desert region and Chub invites you to his castle – but why?. Filled with all sorts of weird characters, standard corridor-type situations and an assortment of other terrain, you have access to shotguns, machine guns and grenades, though your powerful Ninja kick is an essential backup weapon. One of the drawbacks to this game is that it won't play in a DOS-box under Windows and you must go back to raw DOS to play it. With support for SoundBlaster cards, joystick, keyboard or mouse (don't forget you have to have your mouse driver loaded with your autoexec.bat to be able to use it), Chub Gam 3D is a good way to waste an afternoon or two. Access this 3.48MB download from: W31 General Games
WinMac – W95
Do you use a Mac in one location, a PC at another, and are you confused when switching between them? Or do you just have "Mac-envy'? The answer to all frustrated PC users who wish they had a Mac (???) is WinMac. This program allows you to really get the look and feel of a Mac on your PC with an operational Mac System 7 or OS 8 toolbar across the top and full instructions on how to convert your whole desktop to look and feel like that of a Mac. Mac look-alike wallpaper is supplied, as are Mac-type icons and Mac-type startup and shutdown screens, and the whole configuration is very, very Mac. If you just wish to add some more functionability to your PC desktop, add the WinMac toolbar (with "Always On Top" selected) but retain the PC desktop – you'll get the best of both worlds! WinMac is a very professional program and seemed stable on our test machine, even though it is marked as a 'beta'. Access this 1.89MB download from: W95 General Programs
Kyôdai Mahjongg – W31
This is the classic or traditional version of Mahjongg, the ancient Chinese tile game. The idea is to match two tiles, click on them and they are removed from the board. There are 144 tiles in 36 four-tile sets laid out in a pyramid-type pattern. Only tiles with an exposed side (not top or bottom) can be removed. Mahjongg is one of the most addictive games we have seen, and there are legions of users worldwide. In this version, the tile set is the original Chinese so there is a period while you are learning the Chinese characters when you might not be very fast. Clicking on a wrong tile will not cause the Earth to explode or your computer to lock up so you can happily make mistakes. Kyôdai Mahjongg comes complete with a timer (though no high score count) and the number of moves available (very handy). It also has a 'hint' feature. Background music is soothing and you can change the basic color of a tile in the Options menu. Overall it is one of the smoothest versions of Mahjongg we have played. Access this 65kB download from: W31 General Games
MDFolder – W95
We don't like to tell tales but in case you hadn't noticed it there is a terrific market in add-ons which do little more than repair deficiencies in the original Windows 95. MDFolder is one such add-on. Win95 has a cumbersome way of creating new folders (or directories – why did they have to change that name???). When you're in Explorer you should be able to right click on a directory and be given the option to create a sub-directory underneath it and also be prompted for its name. Now you can. MDFolder is a tiny program which does just that – easily creates new directories in Explorer by simply right clicking on the directory tree and then selecting 'New Folder'. A simple dialog box pops up asking for the name of this new directory. Type in the name, click on OK, and voila, a new directory (OK, folder!) is instantly created. We love it and consider it an essential download! Access this 11kB beauty from: W95 Desktop Utilities
Super '97 Software Games – W31
This is a collection of about 20 very basic (and some quite old) computer games which are probably more suitable for the under 14s and over 40s than for the age group in the middle. The collection has a variety of pong games (some actually quite good), a revamped space invaders which is also good in a non-challenging sort of way, and quite a few other games which generally have an outer space theme. Some are reasonably hard, others superbly easy, but generally an ideal download if you want an instant collection of non-offensive 'G' rated games. Suitable for W95 users, this collection is not a small download at 5.62MB. You can access it from: W31 General Games
Image Filer – W95
Image Filer is a small utility with a specific function – to find, preview and sort small or large quantities of JPG, GIF, and BMP files. With a slide show feature, Image Filer will allow you to move these image files into selected 'targets' (pre-set directories) for easier handling. It will also delete files. Simple and efficient, you can access this 24kB download from: W95 Desktop Utilities
maplay 1.2 – W95
maplay is a terrific audio decoder and MPEG player (levels I, II and III). It can handle a tremendous range of media files, including MID, AU, WAV, AVI, SND, AIF and MOV. The interface is simple – plain in fact – but that doesn't diminish the raw power evident in the heart of this program. It has a slider control so you can home in on just the part of the track you want to hear and you can create playlists using a simple text file. We were very impressed with this player and it has earned the high ranking we gave it. maplay is well worth the 927kB download, even if just to have a look. By the way, there is a 486 version and a Pentium version available from the author's website. We reviewed the Pentium version. Access both versions from: W95 Multimedia Programs
Scroller – W95
Scroller is a simple little utility which automatically scrolls through a document. Drag the Scroller icon on to the window's 'thumb' (the bit which goes up and down on the right hand side) and then click on the 'start' button in the program. The window will then scroll in the specified direction at the specified speed. The scrolling can be stopped at any time, speeded up, slowed down or the direction changed. You can get Scroller to emulate the mouse wheel (and you don't have to have a mouse wheel installed on your machine) and to become tiny. It can also be 'kept on top' if required. There are many occasions when it would be handy to have the document window scroll automatically while you read it and Scroller will do that for you with ease. From PC Magazine, Scroller is a 128kB download which can be accessed from: W95 Desktop Utilities
PictureDicer – W31 (suitable for W95)
Have you ever wanted to create hotspots in a large image on your website but didn't want to use an image mapper? How about creating mouseovers for specific sections of an image? Welcome to PictureDicer! This amazing program allows you to create a grid over your image and then carve up that image into separate sections according to that grid. Even though it looks like one large picture when it's displayed, in fact it is two, four, ten or even 50 separate images, each of which can be linked to other pages and/or each of which can have a mouseover equivalent. The potential uses for PictureDicer seems endless. The program not just dices up your image but creates the HTML code for you so that all you have to do is made the appropriate amendments (links, etc) and then copy it into your webpage. Neat! Become a picture dicer with this 449kB download from: W31 Internet Related
UPDATES
Mr. Internet has again been upgraded, this time to version 2.02. Mr. Internet is an Internet launcher which will not just connect you up quickly to your ISP, but will also optionally launch your browser, e-mail client, etc. Access it from: W95 Internet Related
Tera Term, the excellent Win 3.1 communications program (telnet client) has been upgraded to version 1.4 and has a download size increase to 682kB. Access it from: W31 Internet Related
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.
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