Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #538 issued March 5, 2010

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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

About Bombs and Explosives v1.1 – WinXP/Vista/7
About Bombs and Explosives is a classic-style arcade game, somewhat similar to Bomberman. It features single player & battle modes, 100 single player levels (10x10), approx 40 battle mode levels, about 50 different monsters, 20 different bonuses, 4 types of primary bombs & 5 types of secondary bombs, 40 different objects (magnets, jump pads, TNT boxes, etc), a level editor (unlocked after completing single player game), both English & Russian languages are supported, and more. This is an excellent Bomberman-style game where you must place bombs to blow up anything in your way (like monsters, walls or other players). It has lots of levels, with lots of challenge, combined with good graphics and fun gameplay. There are two modes of play, single player with 10 episodes (10 levels in each episode) with unique monsters and objects, and the battle mode for one or two players with approximately 40 levels. The game download is massive (134MB) and it requires a reasonably good videocard with at least 32MB VRAM (like an ATI Radeon 7200 or NVIDIA GeForce 2 class card). We did not like the interface controls, with the first player using the W, A,S & D keys for movement and the second player using the numeric keypad 2, 4, 6 & 8 keys – very cumbersome. In single player games we felt that the mouse would be the ideal control, closely followed by the regular arrow keys. This is more complex in two-player games as they must share the same keyboard (there is no networked gameplay). That little annoyance aside, About Bombs and Explosives is a great Bomberman-style game that most should enjoy. We certainly did! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 134MB download from: WinXP General Games

ShellFolderFix v1.1.1 – Windows 7
ShellFolderFix is a small Windows' enhancement that makes Windows 7 Explorer folder windows remember their size and position (like XP and older versions). It features a built-in folder database (default is 500 folders but it can have up to 10,000), it optionally disables flashing folder window titles, it optionally shows window title icons under Aero, it has auto-save, and more. One of the "features" of Windows 7 is that it does not remember Windows Explorer folder positions and sizes. Set up a folder to display its contents and all other folders will be changed to have the same settings – you cannot have different settings for different folders. ShellFolderFix not only fixes this problem but adds a couple of other handy tweaks. As we have always used different folder settings for different folders, we were disappointed with Windows 7 when it did not offer this feature. Now we are using ShellFolderFix we know that we can set up our folders to display information in different ways, and those settings will also be saved between sessions. The only problem we have with this program was with the installer – it told us that we needed to have at least Windows 6.0.600 (Vista) and then refused to load (we were running Windows 7). The author has said that he will fix this problem but, until then, you can download the ZIP version (either 32-bit or 64-bit) and use that. To us, ShellFolderFix is a "must have" enhancement. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is only suitable for Windows 7, though it may also be suitable for Vista. Access this 915kB download from: Win7 Enhancement

Leawo PowerPoint to Video v1.8.2.10 – WinXP/Vista/7
Leawo PowerPoint to Video is a PowerPoint (PPT, PPS , PPTX & PPSX) to video converter that supports ASF, WMV, 3GP & 3G2 video formats. There is no loss of original effects (like animations & transitions), it has a customizable output (delay between slides, bit rate, size of output video, adjust audio sample rate & channels, and other parameters), you can rip audio from PPT files (saves to AC3, M4A, MP2, MP3, AU, WAV, etc), and more. This should be a sensational tool for anyone working with PowerPoint files and wishing to export them to a video format. Unfortunately the free version of Leawo PowerPoint to Video offers a poor choice of video formats it will save to, and the quality is not excellent due to the limited size of the output video (a maximum of 640x480 pixels). It can also only open one PowerPoint file at a time, so there is no batch processing. Of course, the author wants you to purchase the Pro version which does not have these restrictions... Leawo PowerPoint to Video renders presentations reasonably quickly, taking just over 6 minutes to render a 48-slide PPS file. We were disappointed that there was some minor background bleeding into the video and we suggest that rendering is done with a neutral background (ideally a white desktop without wallpaper, etc). For anyone who wishes to post a video of a PowerPoint Presentation on-line, or to have a video on a mobile device, like a phone, Leawo PowerPoint to Video will probably be the answer to a prayer. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 13.3MB download from: WinXP Multimedia Programs

ISO Recorder v3.1 – Vista/7
ISO Recorder is an ISO disk image manager/burner that supports both CD & DVD disks. It offers disk-to-disk copy, disk-to-ISO creation, and ISO-to-disk burning. Using the Windows Explorer shell context menu, ISO Recorder can create an ISO disk image file from a CD or DVD, copy a CD or DVD, or burn an ISO disk image (CD or DVD size) to a disk. The interface is bland and utilitarian, and it can only burn one disk at a time (it cannot be set up to burn multiple disks from an ISO file), but it is useful and easy-to-use for anyone looking for its basic functions. Apart from the lack of provision to burn multiple copies from a single ISO file, many PC users will find ISO Recorder a handy tool to have around. We liked. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME but there is a cutback version (cannot burn DVDs) for XP. Access this 771kB download from: Vista General Programs

PhotoRazor v2.5 – WinXP/Vista/7
PhotoRazor is a program that makes small, high quality JPG photos for sharing, using JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG images. It processes selected images or all images in a folder, offers adjustable width setting (100 ~ 800 pixels), adjustable quality setting (10 ~ 100%), image rotation, real-time preview, and more. This is a great way to reduce the size of your digital photos so they can be shared, usually by e-mail or by being posted on the Web. Aim PhotoRazor at a folder, select the size of the finished image using the width control, adjust the quality settings (the higher quality, the larger the image), and let it rip. Simple. There are some options you can change, like the name and location of the folder where the small images are to be stored (by default this is a sub-folder where the originals can be found), and you can set a prefix and/or suffix for the new images so they can be identified as having been modified. PhotoRazor is basically a single purpose tool and, as such, it is exceptional. It is very easy to use, and the results are excellent. Digital photos from a camera can be very large, and reducing them to a size suitable for sharing is a necessity. PhotoRazor does this with ease. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 935kB download from: WinXP Graphic Programs

Wallpaper Updater v1.1 – WinXP/Vista/7
Wallpaper Updater is a small utility that manages desktop wallpaper by automatically changing it every day, week or month. It features random or consecutive selection of images, "change now" command, integrates with the desktop's right-click context menu, and more. If you enjoy having your desktop wallpaper changed on a regular basis then Wallpaper Updater is for you. It offers a simple way of controlling what is displayed, and how often it is changed. You can even change it any time you like. If you wish to have only a limited selection of image available as wallpaper, just place copies of those images into a specific folder and aim Wallpaper Updater at it. The only problem we had was that Norton Security decided it was a potential problem and quarantined the file when we tried to install it, but we re-instated it and everything was OK. Norton was simply reporting potential "suspicious activity" because it was automatically loading itself with Windows and was taking control of the desktop images, two activities that can cause Norton to prevent a program from being installed or loading. That minor glitch aside, Wallpaper Updater is a fun little utility for those who like desktop wallpaper but who like to see some changes. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 664kB download from: WinXP Desktop Utilities

PageBreeze Free HTML Editor v4.0c – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista/7
PageBreeze Free HTML Editor is a WYSIWYG HTML editor. It features a color-coded HTML source code view, spell checker, 19 built-in templates, Internet Explorer preview mode, built-in FTP publisher, drag 'n drop, global search & replace, link verification, Helpfile, and more. If you are looking for a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) HTML editor then PageBreeze Free HTML Editor should be on your list. While it lacks some of the high end features found on similar editors, its smaller size and easy-to-use workspace should help compensate. PageBreeze Free HTML Editor allows you to edit or create pages either using WYSIWYG or the more traditional source code (often called "tags"). The source code is enhanced with syntax coloring. The program includes a number of dialog boxes to help you create tables, and forms, but they aren't always as easy to use as they could be. The dialog box for adding graphics to your page does not check the size of the actual graphic you are adding but offers a default size of 150 x150 pixels. While this is easy to change to the actual image size, the program itself should be able to automatically insert the correct size for your images. This lack of fine detail seems to flow through the program and PageBreeze Free HTML Editor suffers somewhat from this deficiency. The forms processing dialog box is also lacking in assistance, unless you accept the option to use the free FormBreeze service from the same company. While PageBreeze Free HTML Editor includes a number of references to upgrading to the Pro version, this is unnecessary when used for private, non-commercial use. If you are looking for a relatively small, WYSIWYG HTML editor for basic Webpages then PageBreeze Free HTML Editor could be what you want. Check it out for yourself. Access this 6.86MB download from: Win95 Internet Related

Linking Game v1.0 – WinXP/Vista/7
Linking Game is an unusual puzzle where you must link pairs of the same emoticon-style faces to make them disappear. It features multiple levels (steps) with different rules on different levels, a hint key (F4), an emoticon shuffle key (F5), addictive gameplay, it is simple to play, and more. This is not your normal puzzle game, which seems really easy when you first start but gets progressively harder as you move through its many levels. Basically, you must pair up the emoticons and they must be either adjoining, or available as outside images (so they can be linked). We never did work out why you could link some images but not others – to us they seemed to be the same – but never-the-less it is a fun puzzle to play and one we found quite addictive. However, it takes a few levels before it offers any challenge at all and the early levels are really kindergarten stuff. It is hard to define Linking Game because it is so unusual. It lacks a Helpfile (even a basic README would be an advantage) and when you start you wonder what age group Linking Game was designed for because it is too easy. After a few levels you are addicted and you want to keep on playing, even though most of a level (well, the levels we completed, we never did get to the end) were still easy. It gets harder and harder as there are fewer emoticons. It has a hint function if you get stuck, and a reshuffle if you cannot move any more on a level. Linking Game suffers from the lack of any help, from seeming to be too easy when you first start, and from having bad manners. The last item refers to the fact that it does not ask where you want it to be installed but installs it on the C:\ drive (which we reserve for Windows programs/tools, we have a separate partition for games). Linking Game is worth grabbing. We liked! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 1.80MB download from: WinXP General Games
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