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The Completely Free E-mail Update #48
Issued June 23, 1998
Welcome to the forty-eighth edition of the 'Completely Free Software E-mail Update'. This is a selection of the programs we've added over the past week.
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 functionable. If you know any that aren't exactly as specified, please let us know and they will be removed immediately.
COMPLETELY FREE SOFTWARE
Reptile – W95
Reptile is a sensational utility for creating textured backgrounds which can be used for both Webpages and for your Windows' desktop. It has an almost unlimited variation in the textures with a number of preset categories (or starting points) and then a huge variety of options to manipulate the image(s) to get what you want. Once you've got your base background image (default is 100x100 pixels) you can mirror the image, rotate it, alter the contrast and brightness – in fact convert a basic (and unique) image into something very special. Images can be saved as either GIF or JPG, with a preview of the JPG image with the compression ratio you choose. But there's more! You can also create gradient backgrounds with a variably controlled bar down the left side of the image. Images are saved in GIF format and are 1 pixel high and 1025 pixels wide. Image size for gradients are usually less than 1kB. There are so many fantastic textures and images you can create with Reptile that even if you don't have a Webpage, or you're not interested in creating your own textured Windows' desktop wallpaper, then you can spend the next month or three just playing with the myriad of patterns you can create. Enjoy! Go grab this 1.28MB download from: W95 Internet Related
xBlock – W31 (suitable W95)
xBlock is a great little puzzle where the idea is to match up adjoining colored squares and then click on them so they disappear. The tiles above the deleted group cascade down to fill the void. There is a quite a complex scoring system where you get more points for deleting, say, six tiles at one time than you do for deleting two sets of three tiles. The game is over when there are no more tile-pairs left to delete and the game score is displayed and saved in a high score table. Just because you delete the most number of tiles does not necessarily give you the highest score. We found this simple game addictive – very addictive. Be warned! Snaffle this 307kB download from: W31 General Games
AllChars – W95 (W31 also available)
How many times have you wanted a special character which is not available through the normal keyboard? It might have been an accented character, like an á or ä, or a typographic character like ½ instead of 1/2. Yes, you can access these special characters through the Windows' Character Map but it is slow and cumbersome. AllChars is a quick way to access most of the common special characters (though it does vary depending on the font you're using) by pressing the Ctrl key, and then pressing two other keys (not at the same time). For the ½ symbol, you press the Ctrl key, the 1 key and then the 2 key – easy! Because AllChars does not require the Ctrl key to be pressed at the same time as any other key it can be used in dialog boxes and other places where a combination of the Ctrl key and another key (like Ctrl+C to copy to the Clipboard) would prevent its use. There are dozens of accented characters available and many, many typographical characters. AllChar can also be used to replace the so-called 'deadkeys' used by many non-US keyboards so that the US keyboard can be used. But wait, there's more! AllChars also offers a macro facility with 75 macros holding up to 127 characters each available. You can even use the direction arrows, the Enter button, etc to really get your macros rocking and rolling. Of course, your macro might just be a text string – your Web address for example – but it could also be, say, your log-on script to access your ISP. There is also a security key which encrypts the text so other people can't see passwords, etc. Neato. There are two versions available, the Win95 version which includes the macro facility and which is a 230kB download, and the Win 3.1 version which doesn't have the macro facility and which is a tiny 38kB download. Grab either version from: W95 Desktop Utilities
WZT95 – W95
WZT95 is a WinZip-like program for zipping and unzipping files. It's interface is simple and easy to use, though it does extract into the same directory which houses the ZIP file. View files, launch programs, read the special Zip Comment inserted into many ZIP files – all from within the archive. When you download WZT95 you also get a copy of the free utility WiGuard (also known as Install Guard) which monitors a program as it's being installed and allows for an easy uninstall. While WiGuard can be used as a stand alone utility, it is designed to integrate into the WZT95 shell. Access this 362kB download from: W95 General Programs
Bomberman – W95
If you have a secret desire to become the mad bomber of Manhattan (or Majorca, or maybe even Melbourne) then Bomberman may become your very best friend. The Bomberman leaves a trail of exploding bombs as he negotiates around a maze, finding hidden treasures within the walls he blows up. Played by two or more people, Bomberman has terrific graphics and sound, and quite a selection of options to help you get the best from this game. The download even comes with its own level editor so there is no excuse for running out of levels to play. Get the best bang for your (free) buck by grabbing this 305kB download from: W95 General Games
Magic Desktop – W95
If your desktop is cluttered with program icons, folders, etc, then you can apply some 'magic' to it and make them disappear. Magic Desktop is an iconized utility which lives in the desktray next to the clock. Double-click on its icon and your desktop icons, etc will magically disappear, double-click again and they will appear. Even when you have a program hiding the desktop you can always tell if the icons, etc are hidden by observing Magic Desktop's icon, a light globe. If there are radiant lines coming out of the 'light globe' then your desktop is visible, when those radiant lines disappear then so too has your desktop. One neat feature is that if your desktop is hidden, double-clicking on it will bring up the Start menu. Access this 10kB download from: W95 Desktop Utilities
NeoPlanet – W95
Based off IE (you must have version 3 or better installed), NeoPlanet is an excellent web browser with a large database of built-in channels (over 500 of them) which can be quickly accessed. The general functionability of NeoPlanet is excellent, though we did have a problem with the 'Home' button – the program continued to use NeoPlanet Magazine as the home address. That to one side, NeoPlanet is a good strong web browser which many will find an excellent alternative to the big two (even though the IE heritage does show through quite strongly in places). No mail, but a very small (for a browser) download size. Access this 792kB download from: W95 Internet Related
File Investigator – W95
When you need to know everything about a file or folder you will need File Investigator. Offering extensive information – including (where applicable) what operating system the file has been designed for – you can even use the program to change some of the file details. Many utilities of this type just assume that the file extension is correct, but File Investigator actually checks the file. The program supports over 300 file formats. Added to the desktop as an icon so you can drag 'n drop files, or as part of the right-click context menu (just click on the word 'Investigator' when a file or folder is highlighted), you will be most impressed with this utility. Best to try it for yourself. Access this 222kB download from: W95 Desktop Utilities
SJGPlay – W95 (W31 also available)
SJGPlay is a terrific music player, originally designed for playing CDs but now handling WAV, MID, KAR, MP3, AVI, MOV, MPG, MOD, XM, FLI, FLC, AU, SND, etc formats. Not only that, it will display music lyrics as well! For your own karaoke sound system, SJGPlay is perfect. You can add your own lyrics, synchronizing them with the music, or just use the music album samples available from the website. We were disappointed in the lack of help available, specially the lack of fly-over button help, but a little trial and error soon gets you up and running. You can add music covers to individual songs, and have a great deal of fun just experimenting with this player. The Win95/NT version is a 2.67MB download and the Win 3.1 version is a 1.97MB download – both of which you can access from: W95 Multimedia Programs
Clipboard Magic – W95
There are quite a few Clipboard stackers around. These are handy utilities which 'remember' the previous Clipboard entries (information you 'copied' or 'cut' from documents) and which allows you to recall them. This can be really handy as you can keep accessing the same information over and over again, even if it wasn't the last item inserted into the Clipboard. Of all Windows' utilities, we rate Clipboard stackers as the most handy. Of the Clipboard stackers we list, Clipboard Magic has proved to be the best yet. Most stackers are only able to access the past 30 or 50 Clipboard entries but CM allows you to select the total number you want saved. We set the configuration to 100 entries, thinking that any more than that would become just too unwieldy, but we suspect the sky's the limit. You can set the configuration so that when you exit the current contents are automatically saved but unfortunately are not re-loaded when the program re-starts. You can get the program to load one of the files but not the last saved. This was a problem when you are working on the same documents from session to session and want to keep using the same log file. You can manually load the last saved file but this is annoying and most unnecessary in our opinion. One feature we love about CM is the ability to be able to view an entire stored document. You can save multiple pages of information but when the program is opened up, like most of its ilk, you can only see the first line of information. However, in CM there is a 'Zoom In' feature which allows you to view the entire contents of that entry – and you can even edit that information! This is terrific as sometimes you have two or three versions of a similar document and normally you can't tell which is which. Not so when you use the 'Zoom In' feature in CM! Yet another feature was the ability to not just turn off the archiving so that entries wouldn't get saved, but to delete entries once they are in the program. If you like the boilerplate facilities available in other stackers, CM emulates this by allowing you to save information in a separate log file, and then re-call that log file when you want to access its data. This means that form letters, signatures, headers, etc, can be saved in a separate file which is loaded on demand. Enough, enough. If you're not convinced by now that Clipboard Magic is number one in the stacker stakes then there is nothing we can say that will convince you. Go grab a copy of this 814kB download from: W95 Desktop Utilities
UPDATES
Close Popup – the fabulous Internet utility to automatically close Tripod and GeoCities ad windows as they appear – has been upgraded to version 2.5. This was mainly to fix a bug which prevented the program working properly with Internet Explorer. The bug fix means a new download size of 9kB. Access this essential Web utility from: W95 Internet Related
Web-O-Rama – the terrific HTML source-code editor – has been upgraded to version 4.7. Existing users need only download the 315kB EXE file with the full program a 2.5MB download. If you need to get the upgrade, or you'd just like to try this terrific HTML source-code editor, you can access the author's website from: W95 Internet Related
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