Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #527 issued November 20, 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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

Super Mario 3: Mario Forever Advance v4.4 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista/7
Super Mario 3: Mario Forever Advance is a classic Super Mario Bros remake where you guide the chubby plumber through many levels. It features a huge variety of levels (ranging from underwater caverns to levels filled with hot lava), Bowser fighting, you must avoid giant Piranhas & ultra fishy swarms, there are lots of coins to collect, it has very challenging gameplay, there are fullscreen & windowed modes, and more. This is a genuinely challenging version of this classic platform game – in some ways, almost too challenging! You guide Mario through some tough, and interesting levels, as you fight (and avoid) lots of strange creatures. While it follows the old Mario style, this platform game adds lots of new interests to keep the player playing. This is not a 5 minute game... We were most impressed with Super Mario 3: Mario Forever Advance. It is a superb example of this genre and a great game to play, and play, and play. If you are a Mario fan, you will not want to miss Super Mario 3: Mario Forever Advance. Grab a copy now! Access this 23.7MB download from: Win95 General Games

WhoCrashed v2.00 – WinXP/Vista/7
WhoCrashed is a comprehensible crash dump analyzer that reveals the drivers responsible for crashing a computer. Unfortunately, CFS was unable to review this program. The author says: "Whenever a computer running Windows suddenly reboots without displaying any notice or blue screen of death, the first thing that is often though about is a hardware failure. In reality, most crashes are caused by malfunctioning device drivers and kernel modules. In case of a kernel error, most computers running Windows do not show a blue screen unless they are configured to do so. Instead these systems suddenly reboot without any notice. WhoCrashed shows the drivers which have been crashing your computer with a single click. In most cases it can pinpoint the offending drivers which have been causing misery on your computer system in the past. It does post-mortem crashdump analysis and presents all gathered information in a comprehensible way." WhoCrashed relies on the Windows Debugging Package (WinDbg) from Microsoft (if not installed it will be downloaded & installed automatically). Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 755kB download from: WinXP Desktop Utilities

EnhanceMySe7en v2.2.1 – Win7
EnhanceMySe7en is an All-in-One set of Windows 7 tools, settings and tweaks in 4 categories. It features a Registry cleaner, a security tweaker, memory/cache optimization, you can control visual effects, customize Windows (Start menu, desktop, taskbar, media player, error reporting & Internet Explorer tools), and more. This is a handy tool, even though it lacks quite a few of the more major tweaks which are available in the Pro version. Even with its limitations EnhanceMySe7en still allows control over many areas of Windows, areas which are not always apparent from the Windows interface. It does include some tweaking tools which Windows does not offer, but all the best ones are kept back for the Pro version. The biggest failure in EnhanceMySe7en is the lack of real help so a novice computer user can make a value judgement if a particular tweak will improve their Windows 7 experience, or make it worse. One of the best features is the access to the creation of a new System Restore Point so you can go back and restore your computer to a time before you made these changes. Intermediate and advanced PC users will probably wish for the advanced features in the Pro version, which is exactly what the author wants! EnhanceMySe7en is a good start to getting Windows 7 to look and feel like you want it to, and not like the programmers at Microsoft have decreed. Worth grabbing! Note: this program requires Windows 7. Access this 16.3MB download from: Win7 Windows Enhancements

Fresh FTP v5.24 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista/7
Fresh FTP is an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client for uploading and downloading files over the Internet. It features multithreading for simultaneous transfer, file & directory upload, the ability to resume uploads, an optional passive mode, it has a built-in file viewer/editor, you can set the remote UNIX attributes, it optionally monitors the Clipboard, minimizes to tray, and more. This is a great little FTP client that ticks all the important boxes for anyone looking for a program to upload or download files over the Internet. Fresh FTP uses the familiar two panel view, with the desktop computer on the left and the remote computer (server) on the right. It even has a simple file viewer/editor so you can make on-the-fly changes to your pages. The only area we did not like was that it deleted a file once it had uploaded it to the Internet. We feel that it should be optional if a file is copied to the Internet or moved to the Internet. That aside, Fresh FTP is simple to use, small, fast, yet feature rich. We loved! Access this 959kB download from: Win95 Internet Related

DVD Collector v1.0.2 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista/7
DVD Collector is a DVD database to record a collection of movie DVDs. It features support for multi-disk DVDs, you can use the wish list, it offers password protection, there is a loan manager, it has a multi-currency purchase manager, there is on-line IMDB database support, it has customizable database entries, and more. It doesn't matter what size your DVD collection is, DVD Collector can handle collections from 5 to 5,000 movies! Information is easily added, and you can usually get information about your movies through the on-line database link. Just select the movie from the list and its information will be instantly inserted into your database entry. Of course, you must spell movie titles correctly, and not every movie that has ever been put on to DVD is listed, but the vast majority of the movies you own are probably already listed. This information covers a wide range – from the length of the movie to a brief description – and you should have to make very few changes. DVD Collector includes a Loans Manager so that you can keep track of the movies you have loaned to friends, and you can even add the price you paid for the movie into the database. If you own your own movies on DVD then you need DVD Collector to keep track of them. A "must have"! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 2.96MB download from: Win98 General Programs

Screener v0.1 – WinXP/Vista/7
Screener is a simple screen capture tool. It includes a built-in e-mail client, an edit button that opens the screenshot in MS Paint, the ability to take multiple images, and a cropping/resizing tool. Designed as a replacement for the PrintScreen Clipboard tool in Windows, unfortunately Screener is unable to capture anything but the full screen. This means that you cannot easily select an area on the screen to capture (without using the cropping tool) or it cannot capture the current active window (Alt-PrintScreen in Windows). Screener is still an early beta and, hopefully, will improve as it develops. It has the potential to become an excellent program. If you are looking at capturing only fullscreen images, then Screener could be exactly what you want. Give it a try and see for yourself. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 1.06MB download from: WinXP Graphic Programs

iWisoft Free Video Converter v1.2.0 – WinXP/Vista/7
iWisoft Free Video Converter is a video and audio file converter & editor. It features support for all major video & audio formats, HD video conversion, batch conversions, video editing (crop, trim, merge, adding watermark & special effects), customizable output, screenshots, and more. Full support for video files includes the following formats: AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, FLV, H.264/MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, MOV, RMVB, ASF, 3GP, 3G2, SWF, VOB, TS & DV. Full support for audio files includes the following formats: MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, OGG, FLAC, APE, M4A, RA, AC3, MP2, AIFF & AMR. It also fully supports the following image formats: BMP, JPG, GIF (including animated) & PNG. iWisoft Free Video Converter can input a wider selection of video and audio formats but cannot always save to those formats. The only major audio format it does not support is MID. iWisoft Free Video Converter not only converts between these formats, it can also edit video movies and offers some powerful editing tools. Again, the only real omission from the type of video editing a non-profesional would require is that it lacks the ability to add text to a video. However, in view of everything else it does, this is not a major problem for most home users. We were extremely impressed with iWisoft Free Video Converter. It is very powerful, yet is still fast and easy to use (unlike most professional suites!). If you own a video camera you would do yourself a favor to check out iWisoft Free Video Converter. Like us, you will probably find it quickly becomes your favorite video tool. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 8.74MB download from: WinXP Multimedia Programs

Alu's Revenge v1.0 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista/7
Alu's Revenge is a fun, and colorful, puzzle where you must match up guards to remove them. Find the precious benben stone before Alu destroys you. It features multiple levels, bonuses, excellent animated graphics, fun gameplay, and more. This is a lightweight game that does not tax the gray matter but is colorful and enjoyable to play. Simply match up two or more guards and they will disappear, and more will appear from the top. If you are looking for 5 to 10 minutes to kill, grab a copy of Alu's Revenge and chill out. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 2.25MB download from: Win98 General Games
UPDATE
AllMyNotes Organizer – an hierarchical information manager – has been updated to version 1.12 with a slightly larger dopwnload size of 2.29MB. The author has advised that changes in this version include: implemented JPEG & GIF pictures import, implemented pasting images in metafile RTF format, implemented First Start Wizard, added Expand All & Collapse All menu items, improved Global Search, improved system tray icon behavior, and some bug fixes. Access this latest version from: WinXP Text Programs
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. If you are an author of a freeware app (or would just like to suggest a program) and would like it listed on these pages, please fill in the Submit Software form.
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