Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #526 issued November 13, 2009

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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

Rigs of Rods v0.36.2 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista/7
Rigs of Rods is a 3D truck, car, airplane and boat simulator. It features an advanced flight model based on blade element theory, soft-body physics, an accurate buoyancy model based on elemental pressure gradients, various camera angles, HUD, and more. This is an amazing sim game. The author describes it as "realistic multi-simulator" that is "primarily a truck simulator, it can also simulate cars, cranes, airplanes, boats, bridges, and any arbitrary construction". He also says that "vehicles chassis and wheels are simulated in real-time as flexible objects, giving the simulation an extremely accurate behavior, while allowing the vehicles to be simply specified structurally". The game can be used for off-road and on-road exploration, you can race against the clock, become involved in repairs and rescuing, pulling trailers, handling cargo, operating cranes, rock crawling, flying, handling air cargo, sailing, crashing things, and lots more (limited only by your imagination). There are additional vehicles of all types you can download from the author's site, and the download package includes a "must print" keysheet that gives you all the basic key controls for trucks, boats & planes, and a general set of keys which apply to all vehicles and to the overall game. If you have a copy of this beside you it will help get you started. We were most impressed with Rigs of Rods. While it is a resource hog and demands reasonably modern hardware, if you can give it enough video RAM (VRAM) and a good 3D graphics card, you can get some good terrain resolutions. However, by default it gives a blocky image that lacks high detail that, at times, spoils the effect. We are sure that this is being addressed by the author and it will continue to improve as it advances out of its beta stage. When we first installed the program and tried to run it we received an error message about a CONFIG file that could not be found. We quickly realized that you must first run the "configurator" file to ensure that everything is in place before you can start. If you enjoy simulator programs you will find that Rigs of Rods is a "must have" acquisition. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 140MB (yes, it is huge!) download from: Win98 General Games

CuteRank v2.0.1 – WinXP/Vista/7
CuteRank is a Website rank checker tool that checks and tracks a site's ranking performance. It features tracking on multiple search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Ask, AOL, etc), you can export the results (CSV, PDF or HTML), it is very fast, and more. This should be an essential tool for Website owners, SEOs, bloggers, etc but it seems to have some flaws in its presentation of information. We checked CFS using our more popular keywords and found that, even though it was reported as "not in 100" on AOL, in fact we were number 1. The Caffeine search engine does not come on-line until 2010 so its "negative" results were not valid. The results of our checking were therefore somewhat misleading, specially in regard to AOL. The free version of CuteRank has a major restriction – it can only handle a single profile. If you want to check multiple sites you must either purchase the Pro Edition, or give the author information about you and your site to get the Pro Edition free. There is no doubt that CuteRank provides a valuable service in checking and tracking a Website's ranking. However, we would like to see the problem with AOL fixed as this is one of the major search engines and it is important to know how you rank on it. That aside, it is worthwhile getting CuteRank to keep track of your site. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 5.79MB download from: WinXP Internet Related

Crystal Anti-Virus v1.0 – WinXP/Vista/7
Crystal Anti-Virus is an antivirus suite to protect a computer from online threats like viruses, spyware and malicious software. It offers Basic-Middle protection, and features an update manager, desktop search, process monitor, and more. Unfortunately CFS was unable to review this program. The author says Crystal Anti-Virus is "a free antivirus suite for windows XP & Vista. It has all the features to protect your computer from online threats such as viruses, spyware and malicious software. Crystal Free Edition offers Basic-Middle protection, it features, Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware, update manager, desktop search and a process monitor." He also says that it should be updated daily. If you are looking for a free anti-virus tool, Crystal Anti-Virus could be one to check out. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 8.21MB download from: WinXP General Programs

Time Watcher v3.5 – WinXP/Vista/7
Time Watcher is an on-screen digital clock with both time and event reminders. It features audio/visual reminders, choose from 5 event reminders (Anniversary, Birthday, Meeting, Wedding Ceremony & Others), automatic hourly time reminders, and more. This is a handy little reminder service, but the clock does not stay "always on top" so that is not really a useful feature. However, both the time reminder and the event reminder are both worthwhile, though you are limited to only one event in each of the five categories. This restriction makes Time Watcher much less valuable than it should be. We were also disappointed that the author did not give the user the option where he wants the program to reside on his or her computer – you are given no option and the program is installed to C:\Program Files\SunolSoft\Time Watcher 3.5\. The main problem with Time Watcher is the lack of settings available so that you can personalize the program. You cannot even change the background music being played without renaming another MP3 file with the filename Together_Again.mp3 and putting it in the program's folder (replacing the existing file with that name). The reminders (both automatic hourly and the time/event reminders) stay on the screen for 30 seconds, though they can be instantly closed with the X button in the top right hand corner of the reminder screen. It is disappointing when a potentially great little program falls short of its promise with a lack of programming vision, and we hope the author will release a new version shortly with these issues resolved. Until then, you will have to suffer the limitations if you want a copy of Time Watcher. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Get this 9.42MB download from: WinXP Desktop Utilities

NiceCamera v1.0.0 – WinXP/Vista/7
NiceCamera is a tool to make digital photos look like paintings. It features 5 preset painting modes (landscapes, portraiture, etc), selectable brush size, zoom & crop, flashlight effect, customizable output (contrast, color saturation, flashlight intensity, etc), you can e-mail the finished image, optional animation of the "painting", and more. If you are looking for a simple way to give your digital photos a little more "punch" you may find that NiceCamera delivers the goods for you. It turns your ordinary photo into a painting using algorithms that can be customized so you get the effect you are looking for. Even the default settings for the various preset modes gives quite acceptable results, though these can be tweaked if you aren't completely satisfied. NiceCamera lacks any real Helpfile, and you must rely on the balloon text to know what each button does. The hardest to find is the button that actually "paints" your photo – that is a small turquoise button on the right near the top of the window. It supports a number of popular image formats, including JPG, GIF (not animated), TIF, BMP, WMF and ICO. The results from NiceCamera are worthwhile if you are looking for a painting effect in your digital photos. It is also lots of fun to play with. We liked! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Get this 762kB download from: WinXP Graphic Programs

CSMenu v1.1 – Win7
CSMenu is a replacement for the Windows 7 Start menu that emulates the Classic Mode Start menu in earlier versions. It features full customization of appearance (colors, breaks, etc), multi-lingual (over 35 languages supported), and more. If, like us, you prefer the Classic Mode look in Windows you will be disappointed to know it is not available in Windows 7. However, add-ons like CSMenu can help to restore some of those lost features. CSMenu offers full customization of the Start menu using a Classic look 'n feel. It is fast, reliable, and gives the user a simpler, easier to use Start menu than the official Windows 7 version. It loads with Windows and offers the same functionality and access to all essential programs and tools – it just does that without the cumbersome Windows 7 Start menu. To modify CSMenu you must run the CSMenuConfigure program in the "settings_files" folder. This program is not linked from the main program window, or from the Start menu Programs listing – you must navigate to the program's folder and find it yourself. The author also offers some documentation as a separate download (643kB). This is handy (if out-of-date) RTF document to help you get the best from CSMenu. We would like the see the documentation updated and included with the main download, and a Start menu link to the configuration program. If you miss having the Classic Mode in the Windows 7 Start menu, CSMenu is a terrific way to help restore it. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98, ME, XP or Vista. Access this 2.92MB download from: Win7 Windows Enhancements

Media Player Classic Home Cinema v1.3.1249.0 – WinXP/Vista/7
Media Player Classic Home Cinema is a light-weight multimedia player for most common video (including DVD), audio & image files. It features low resource usage, the option to remove Tearing, support for EVR (Enhanced Video Renderer), playback & recording of television if a supported TV tuner is installed, pixel shader to convert BT601 - BT701, YV12 Chroma Upsampling pixel shader, and more. Media Player Classic Home Cinema is capable of VCD, SVCD and DVD playback without the need to install any additional software or codecs. Supported video, audio and image file formats are WAV, WMA, MP3, OGG, SND, AU, AIF, AIFC, AIFF, MIDI, MPEG, MPG, MP2, VOB, AC3, DTS, ASX, M3U, PLS, WAX, ASF, WM, WMA, WMV, AVI, CDA, JPEG, JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, D2V, MP4, SWF, MOV, QT & FLV. This player is based on the original Media Player Classic, though it has many enhancements. Media Player Classic Home Cinema is one of the best, and fastest, multimedia players available. It can handle almost any multimedia file you throw at it (assuming you have the appropriate codecs) but it can still be run on older hardware. It minimizes to a tray icon so you can use it to open a playlist and then leave it to play in the background. If you want to play your DVD movies, it can handle that too. We consider this to be one of the best multimedia players we have seen. Why use cumbersome behemoths, like Windows Media Player, when you can use a leaner, faster, and (in our opinion) more capable player. Media Player Classic Home Cinema is a "must have" for anyone who ever plays multimedia files on their computer! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 3.04MB download from: WinXP Multimedia Programs

Jelly Castle – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista/7
Jelly Castle is a fun, strategy-based action game where you must defend your castle against wave after wave of slimes, baddies, and huge Boss bowls of jelly. It features 50 levels, 18 spells to cast, lots of enemies & 5 Bosses to defeat, powerups to collect, good graphics, and more. This is a light-hearted action game that is better than it appears at first glance. It is challenging to play, yet not impossible to win, and it has an addictive element that will bring you back for more and more. This food-based game will give you many hours of play. We were less impressed with the movement control. Instead of the mouse or arrow keys, you must use the WASD keys to move around. The Spacebar is for attack and the mouse is used for spells and everything else. If you are looking to kill an hour or three then Jelly Castle is a surprisingly good choice. We loved! Access this 3.25MB download from: Win95 General Games
COMMENTS
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