Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #498 issued December 12, 2008

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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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

StarDrone Demo – WinXP/Vista
StarDrone Demo is a high speed action thriller with a mix of arcade action, pinball, breakout, physics & collect-the-objects. It features 16 levels, multiple power-ups, mouse control, radar screen, sensational graphics, unique gameplay, various camera angles, and more. This is a demo of the 50-level shareware version, though it retains all the frenetic action, stunning graphics and addictive gameplay of the full version. In this game you must complete tasks – like collecting gems, or lighting up stars – by anchoring your ship and using the slingshot principal to propel your ship in the direction you wish to go. You anchor yourself by getting near an Anchor point and then holding down the left mouse button. Your ship will then rotate around the Anchor until you release it, using the radar screen to help give you the right direction to take. It takes a few minutes to get the feel of the game but, once you have, you can soon learn to control where your ship goes. You can also use yellow arrows to propel your ship forward. StarDrone Demo is an unusual mixture of popular game genres, but it integrates them so well you don't get the feeling that you are moving from one game into another. The game is fast paced and is challenging enough, even with the limited number of levels, to bring you back for more and more. We loved StarDrone Demo and consider it a "must have" for anyone who enjoys a challenging game. Grab the demo now! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 19.9MB download from: WinXP General Games

Web Pages Monitor v1.2 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Web Pages Monitor is a program that monitors individual Web pages and notifies if the page is either not available or has been changed. It offers an unlimited number of pages that can be monitored, pages can be automatically checked (minutes, hours or daily), program can automatically start with Windows, resides as an icon in the tray, and more. Being able to quickly see if a Web page (or server) is on-line or off-line is a great tool for anyone working multiple domains on the Internet, and Web Pages Monitor can do that quickly and easily. It is less valuable as a tool to check if a page has been changed since your last visit because it simply checks for change since the last check (by default, this is set for every 10 minutes though it can be easily changed) and does not appear to be able to handle the dynamic ads from sites like Google. Two sites we added to our check list are constantly displaying a "changed" symbol because, we are assuming, they contain Google ads (we know the pages have not been changed in any other way). However, there is a definite advantage to monitoring domains to ensure that the server is working OK. As a server/domain monitor, Web Pages Monitor does a reasonably good job, but as a page-changed monitor, it has more limited applications. That said, Web Pages Monitor is a handy tool to have around if you have a site that should be watched. Worth checking out. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 619kB download from: Win98 Internet Related

Karen's Replicator v3.6.5 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Karen's Replicator is a tool that automatically backs up files, directories, even entire drives. It features scheduled backups, copies only files that have changed, exclude & include file masks, replication of file deletions, optionally minimizes to the tray, and more. This is a superb tool for creating automatic backups at scheduled intervals. It can backup single files, folders (including sub-folders), and entire drives (handy if you have a very large USB external drive). It works across local networks and is extremely fast. Unfortunately it cannot archive a backup to a ZIP file, and the resultant files are simply copied to their new location (albeit, only changed files). The copied files retain the same structure as the original. Karen's Replicator is not the perfect backup tool, but it does offer a level of control not normally found on similar programs. Small, smart and sassy, Karen's Replicator is an excellent backup tool. We loved! Access this 2.07MB download from: Win95 General Programs

NiMuSi Atomix v1.1 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
NiMuSi Atomix is a remake of the classic Amiga puzzle from 1990 where you must assemble a molecule by moving its constituent atoms around. It features 25 puzzles, timed gameplay (4, 5 or 6 minutes per puzzle), mouse or keyboard operation, choose from 16 backgrounds & 16 buttons (or random for both), demo mode, Helpfile, and more. This is a fun puzzle that is somewhat similar to the popular Sokoban (Japanese warehouse keeper) game. In NiMuSi Atomix you must assemble the various atoms to create a molecule by highlighting the piece you wish to move and then sending it in one of 4 directions where it will travel until stopped by a wall. To get all atoms connected within the time frame can be very challenging. The graphics are based on the original ones from 1990 so lack somewhat when compared to today's games, but the puzzle is challenging enough so that you forget graphics and concentrate on finding the solution. There is no installation required for NiMuSi Atomix, just download, unzip, and play. We were most impressed with this game. NiMuSi Atomix is an excellent puzzle and one that all puzzle solvers will love. Grab a copy now! Access this 782kB download from: Win95 General Games

Ubiquitous Player v0.999.2 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Ubiquitous Player is an all-in-one multimedia player, image viewer, text editor and file manager. It features support for a wide variety of file types (BMP, JPG, PNG, GIF, HTML, MPG, AVI, WMV, WMA, MP3, TXT, WAV, RTF, etc), has a built-in Web browser, includes 2 games (tic-tac-toe & Tetris), is fully portable (can run from a USB drive), resides in the tray, and more. Ubiquitous Player sounds almost too good to be true! It offers to play just about all our multimedia files, plus be our text editor, note taker, and even our games board. Unfortunately, while it does handle some tasks extremely well, other tasks it struggles with. We did notice that, when we played a WMV movie file, it called upon codecs we already had installed on our test computer and, with its small size, we can only assume (the author does not say) that it relies on external codecs to handle many of the filetypes claimed as being supported. For example, while the author states that it can handle audio CDs, we could not get it to play in that mode, though it did play our MP3 files. The interface is somewhat cumbersome, though possibly this is caused because it is trying to handle so many filetypes. Rather than trying to be all things to all people, we suggest the author limit its file support a little and offer better facilities for those supported filetypes. One of the best features of Ubiquitous Player is that it requires no installation and can be used from a portable USB drive. We really wanted to like Ubiquitous Player but did not find that it suited our modus operandi. Maybe it will suit yours. Access this 587kB download from: Win95 Multimedia Programs

Effectbank v0.8.3.2 – WinXP
Effectbank is an easy-to-use tool to add effects to images. It features 16 different types of effects (creating many hundreds of effects), 8 different types of texture generators (creating many hundreds of textures), undo, multi-lingual interface, and more. This is an excellent way to add some very special effects to your images. It offers an amazing variety of effects, many of which can be tweaked with slide controls. While it lacks a Helpfile (even a README file!), it is very easy to use, even though you may have to experiment with some effects to see exactly what they do. Once an effect has been applied, you are given the option of OKing that effect, or canceling it. Effectbank does not offer standard image editing tools – it just creates fantastic effects and stunning textures. Our only complaint (apart from the lack of Helpfile) was that, compared to some other image effect editors, some of the effects seemed to take a long time to be applied. That aside, Effectbank is a "must have" for anyone with a digital camera and the desire to turn ordinary snapshots into visual masterpieces. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is only suitable for Windows XP. Access this 1.70MB download from: WinXP Graphic Programs

Ken Rename v0.66 – WinXP/Vista
Ken Rename is a bulk file renamer. It features wildcard file filtering, creates numbered file list, convert to upper or lowercase, use regular expression with Replace, rename undo, keep only certain letters of the file name, Unicode support, EXIF support, has a built-in image viewer (supports JPG, BMP, ICO), integrates with Windows Explorer context menu, multi-lingual support, and more. Using an Explorer-style interface, Ken Rename offers an amazing number of options in how a group of file are to be renamed. It even adds a context menu to the folder display in Windows Explorer so that it can be easily implemented. The one thing we couldn't do was to add a zero (0) to the start of a numbered sequence for the first 9 files so that the files were numbered 01, 02, 03, etc. If numbered simply as 1, 2, 3, etc a folder displays the files in the order 1, 10, 11, 12, etc. Adding that zero forces the files to be displayed sequentially. That aside, Ken Rename is one of the best file renamers we have seen. It offers a level of renaming options not seen in most similar utilities. A most impressive tool. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 619kB download from: WinXP Desktop Utilities

Get Uno v1.0 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Get Uno is a computerized version of the popular Uno cardgame where you play against 3 computer opponents. It features good animated graphics, variable play speed, scores, and more. Uno is a popular cardgame where you must either follow with the same card color, with the same numbered card, or use a Wild card to change the card color. What should have been a great version of this game is hampered by a lack of options (you can change very little – you cannot even rename the players), a strange interface that often will not let you play another game, advertising (fortunately, they seem to be Google-style ads that are relatively benign), and bad manners during install that places the game on your C:\ drive (at C:\Program Files\gaming) without asking where to install it. You cannot play against your friends, you cannot even change the level of difficulty (that option is grayed out, like most options). The game itself plays well though we did find that if we won a game the computer would not let us play another game – we had to close the game and re-open it. Get Uno has great potential as a computer-based cardgame but it is not a version of this game we would use ourselves. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 1.04MB download from: Win98 General Games
COMMENTS
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