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The Completely Free E-mail Update #36
Issued Mar 31, 1998
Welcome to the thirty-sixth 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.
Back issues of the CFS E-mail Update can be accessed from: E-mail Update Back Issues
COMPLETELY FREE SOFTWARE
Visua – W95
Visua is a super fast image viewer with awesome special effects capabilities. Capable of handling JPEG, GIF, BMP, DIB, RLE, PCX, PNG, TIFF, TGA, RAS, ICO, AVI, WMF and EMF file formats, Visua also offers excellent photo editing capabilities, including full color control, image rotation, image flipping, etc. The Visua Effects Manager looks after AutoContrast, Bleed, Blur, Bright/dark, Color, Curl Page, Edge Detection, Engrave, Enhance, Gray Area, Gamma, Invert, Jiggle, Mirror, Mosaic, Motion, Noisy, Oil Paint, Pinch Hole, Pixel Fix, Polar, Rotate, Sharp, Spray, Transitions, Whirl Pool and Wave Effect. Virtually all effects have controls to vary the effect and a Preview button (as well as an image reload button and an Undo button). With the program multi-lingual (English and Italian), Visua is sensational, with the power of some programs worth many hundreds of dollars. These few words do not do Visua justice and we urge everyone who looked at FreePics – featured last week – to have a look at this one. We think that Visua is very slightly better than FreePics and has an easier to use interface. Certainly, the supported file format list is much better. Not only that, it is nearly one third the download size at 542kB. Access it from: W95 Graphics Programs
PC Webopaedia Lite – W95 (W31 version also available)
PC Webopaedia is a Windows Helpfile which has every conceivable computer term you might want to lookup. This encyclopedia is not just a static device but is interactive through the internet. You can you read an up-to-date definition by clicking on the PC logo on the top right hand side of each page and the website also offers links to other sites where more information, or examples, can be seen. This is neat! Apparently it is based on the Random House Personal Computer Dictionary and has definitions for more than 2,000 terms. We are reliably informed that the program has 70 original illustrations and 30 tables, and can help you to find more than 20,000 informative hotspots – though we didn't count them!. The developer's website also provides frequent additions of new terms. To round off the package there is also a Win 3.1 version which, for ease of linking on this newsletter, can be accessed from the same location as the Win95 version. Both have a download size of about 1.84MB. Access either from: W95 Desktop Utilities
Minos – W95
We understand that Minos is the first 3D solid CAD system to be offered as freeware. Not a toy, Minos features: lines creation; 3D geometric constructions; solids (extrude, revolution, cylinder, cone, pipe, evolutive volume, box; ruled surface); 3D topology (cut, fuse, common); fast hidden line removal; flat shading; tree editing; cell libraries; and IGES interface. To top off the features, it is available in English and French versions. The interface is a little chunky, it could do with either a manual or a good help file, and the flyover text on the toolbar a little erratic, but if you use CAD then you'll feel like a pig in... Probably the most amazing part is the size of the download. For this type of program, a download of 879kB is minuscule. One thing to watch. If you get an error message when you attempt to unzip the file, use PowerZip or similar to delete the file 'setup.pkg' from the archive and you should find everything is then OK. Access this sensational 3D solid CAD program from: W95 Graphics Programs
Paquet Builder – W95
Paquet Builder will allow the archiving of a group of files into a single self-extracting file. It will display a message while the archive is being extracted (ie "Bill's files are now being extracted...") and will optionally launch a file upon successful extraction. This means that you could package up a program for sending to a friend which included the automatic execution of, say, a setup file or a help file. With the ability for the end user to change the location where the files will be unpacked, Paquet Builder is full of neat little surprises and nice features. Using tried and true (SFX) ZIP technology, the program also includes a special unzipping utility which converts existing ZIP files into Paquet Builder project files, ready for compiling into a self-extracting archive. A bit quirky at times (you sometimes have to compile an archive two or three times before it will work properly), Paquet Builder is never-the-less a very handy tool. Access this 940kB download from: W95 General Programs
Dragon's Tail – W31
This is a fun puzzle/action game where you have to go search for a golden egg and then steal it back from the 'catters' who have stolen it. With a good mix of action and puzzle solving, Dragon's Tail is a terrific and very addictive game with good sound and great graphics. Probably the worst part was the download – 9.55MB from a non-resumable server. This means that even with a downloader like Net Vampire, you can get to 99% downloaded, have the connection fall over, and have to start again. We had to, six times! Still, this game is worth the persevering. Besides, you might have a better connection than us... If you like action games with a bit of brain activity as well then Dragon's Tail should be in your (freebies) shopping basket. Grab it from: W31 General Games
CRChecker – W95
This is one handy program! It checks the integrity of archives – ZIP, ARJ and RAR – and reports back which, if any, are faulty. Automatically recursing directories (if you want to), CRChecker will also produce a log file of good and bad archive files which can be saved for later comparison. There is no limit to the number of files it will test and the program can be set to work in the background while you do other things. Unfortunately, it is a bit of a resource hog and you might find your desktop a little slow while it's processing. Requiring VB5 runtime files (which most people should have – but they add 1.25MB to the download if you don't), CRChecker is a great program and a welcome addition to the Win95 tools at your disposal. Access this 775kB download from: W95 Desktop Utilities
AniToAvi Wizard – W95
Converts animated cursors (ANI) files into Video for Windows (AVI) files, easily and simply with this excellent little Wizard. Complete with a copy of Microsoft's AniEdit so you can create your own animated cursors – and quite a few sample ANI cursors – AniToAvi Wizard is a complete package. Once converted, AVI files can be included in web pages and documents. Snazzy! Access this 875kB download from: W95 Multimedia Programs
Arachne – DOS (not suitable for W95)
There aren't many DOS-based Web browsers around and most people think that you need Windows 3.x before you can surf the Net on this platform. Think again. Arachne has a number of excellent features – including e-mail facilities, HTML editing functions, PPP dialup and MPEG/WAV players – and is similar in operation to IE and Netscape. The program is part shareware but mostly freeware, though the shareware functions cease after 30 days without registration. The only real 'problem' after the 30 day trial is that the Home button ceases to function so you can't have a favorite homepage and go there by clicking on the button. If you're stuck in DOS and you want to surf the Net you will put up with this limited functionability for the sake of expediency – or you'll go and register the product (which is what the authors, xChaos, would want!). We found the interface to be 'chunky' and not particularly appealing (a matter of taste!) but the graphics are well drawn and the overall impression is reasonable. The program will be better in future versions as annoying 'features' will be fixed up and the whole program brought into a more professional and competitive arena. We noticed that the information supplied with the program stated that it did not work on Win95 (which we found too!) but not having a Win 3.1 platform to try it we cannot be sure if it will work on that. In using a Win95 boot-up disk (to access MS-DOS 7) the program certainly worked well enough, but if you wish to use it with Win 3.1 you might find it not very suitable. At 0.98MB it is not a huge download so you might like to get this one just to have a 'looksee'. Access Arachne from: DOS Internet Related
QRes – W95
QRes is a front end for Microsoft's QuickRes – a utility to change the screen resolution without the necessity of rebooting the computer. QuickRes is one of the Power Toys available for Win95 and was included with the OSR2 version of Win95 (it will also be included with Win98, if and when it ever comes out). QRes takes QuickRes one more stage – it automates QuickRes so that when a program calls for a specific screen resolution, QRes can ensure that the program gets what's required and then reverts back to 'system standard'. For example, if you usually use 800x600 high color graphics and you have, say, a game that requires 640x480 16-color (VGA mode), you can get QRes to change to the lower resolution every time you play that game and then switch back when the game is finished. This is done using a shortcut to the game – either via the wizard which comes with QRes or through the 'Properties' dialog box of that shortcut (QRes adds an extra section under Properties). QRes is specially suited for non-computer literate users who may have trouble altering screen resolutions (or who may not even know what that means!) or just for people who don't want the hassle of changing the resolution just to use a particular program. Place QRes in your Startup menu and you'll have it available all the time. We found QRes to be not just easy to use but also very, very handy. To get this 905kB download, scoot over to: W95 Desktop Utilities
Programmer's File Editor – W95 (W31 also available)
Programmer's File Editor is a superb ASCII text editor which is great for more than just writing programs. Able to handle virtually unlimited filesizes (depending on the system's memory), it is also MDI compliant which means that it can open more than one document at a time. Without the size restrictions of NotePad, PFE becomes a valuable alternative. Some of PFE's features are: fully-remappable keyboard, two-key operation similar to MicroEMACS and mapping of Alt keys to functions; macro facility; read and write files in UNIX format; line numbers can be shown in any edit window; commonly-used text can be inserted in a simple operation from template libraries; files can be printed either in total, by line range, or selected text only; multi-level undo facility; DOS commands such as compilers can be run with the output captured in an edit window; automatic line indenting and removal of trailing spaces; and optional automatic text wrapping at a configurable margin. Phew! PFE is quite some text editor! The Win95 version is a 588kB download and the Win 3.1 version 525kB. To make it easier to access from this newsletter, you can get both versions from: W95 Text Programs
DOS Utilities – DOS
This is a collection of 28 separate utilities which have been tested under Windows (inc W95), Caldera's DR-DOS and, of course, MS-DOS. The utilities are: Directory to Web; Disk Ready; Screen Info; ThisDate; Compact; Blackout; Examine; Screen Capture; DOS Draw; File Sequencer; Re-Boot; Disk Info; Screen Explorer; Boing screen saver; Computer ID; Pretzel screen saver; Printer Status; Key Value; All Files; Multitasking Environment Detector; Serial Port Status; Extra Memory Manager Status; Extended Rename; Disk Picture; Super Attributes; Ask; Screen Dump; and Screen Mode. They are a handy collection for people who like to play around with DOS commands. There is a full description of each utility at the author's homepage. We were a little confused at his information sheets which are supllied with each program as he states that the programs are freeware but requests a $10 'donation' if you find a program useful (that's $10 each – $280 if you find them all useful!!!). Apart from that, there is good information on each program. To cap it off, it's only a 26kB download (try getting 28 Windows utilities into a 26kB zip file!). Access them from: DOS Desktop Utilities
UPDATES
FooBar – the sensational and comprehensive desktop utility set with built-in button bar launcher – has been upgraded to version 1.0 beta 20 with a slightly larger download size (from 0.99MB to 1.04MB). If you haven't tried FooBar yet then you don't know what you're missing. Warning, FooBar is all set to go shareware so get your copy now while it's still officially beta. Sashay over and grab yourself a copy at: W95 Desktop Utilities
COMMENTS
The CFS site has had some more structural changes this week. We have broken the old 'W95 General Programs' listing into four categories: text-based programs (word processors, text editors & spell checkers); graphics programs (includes CAD, image viewers, drawing programs, etc); multimedia programs (sound and animation); and general programs (everything else!). We are not planning on immediately adding these new categories to the Win 3.1/DOS General Programs page due to the enormous amount of work involved, but we are always open to your feedback. If you find a link to a W95 General Programs file which is wrong, could you please let us know. We are backtracking through earlier E-mail Updates, etc to correct all links but we are sure that one or two will slip through.
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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