Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #542 issued April 9, 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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

Yo Frankie! v1.1 – WinXP/Vista/7
Yo Frankie! is a 3D platformer where you control a squirrel (Frankie) with attitude who takes on a number of different animals. It features 1- & 2-person gameplay, multiple levels, items to collect, awesome 3D graphics, very challenging, excellent sound effects & background music, and more. This is an excellent platformer that is a showcase for the Blender Engine. Your bully-boy squirrel, Frankie, has the ability to throw things (like acorns, or sheep) plus a fighting mode and a jumping mode (includes double jumping and gliding). The fighting mode spins him around quickly and uses his tail as a weapon. Frankie can collect a sort of wooden springboard platform which he can use to jump up much higher, and he can also throw it at the sheep or rats that inhabit his world which mean to do him some harm if he doesn't beat them up first. There is also a lava pit which should be avoided. When you first start you find yourself in a 3D world and, if you look around, you will see a number of wooden signs. Select one for the level you want and walk Frankie into the sign to go there, picking up any acorns you can find along the way. We felt that this is an awkward entry into the game, specially as there is little real help. Yo Frankie! has some awesome 3D graphics, though the control is through the keyboard (or a gamepad/joystick) rather than through the mouse. In a 3D environment, the mouse is usually the best form of control and we found the keyboard cumbersome. If played in 2-person mode, both players share the same keyboard and there is a split screen (somewhat like the Wii and other games' computers). This is not successful and we do not recommend this game in 2-person mode. Maybe an LAN or Internet option will be added, and that would help improve the 2-person gameplay enormously. The download for this game is in ZIP format and, when unpacked, you might wonder what to do next. Contrary to what the author's Website says, you do not have to download the Blender Engine, it is part of the download. When you have unpacked the massive ZIP file, you will find the Windows executionable file to run the game at "\yofrankie_1_1b_bge\yofrankie-win32\yofrankie_player.exe". As there is no installation required, there are also no shortcuts so you will have to go to the EXE file in the games' "yofrankie-win32" folder to launch the game. Yo Frankie! is a fantastic 3D platform experience that everyone should enjoy. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 120MB download from: WinXP General Games

Disk Space Fan v1.4.4.1 – WinXP/Vista/7
Disk Space Fan is a disk space analysis tool that helps free up by quickly finding and deleting big, useless files. It features a fan-type chart display of each drive, it integrates with Windows Explorer to open/delete/browse files & folders, and more. If you are worried by a continuing loss of your precious hard disk space then Disk Space Fan is for you. It visually displays all the folders on a drive in a fan-type chart display, and then gives you the tools to examine any files or folders to see what is wasting your space. Disk Space Fan is a small utility that should find a place in all computer toolkits. Grab a copy now! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 1.01MB download from: WinXP Desktop Utilities

PicPick v2.2.6 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista/7
PicPick is an all-in-one graphics suite. It provides a full-featured screen capture tool, an image editor, a color picker, a color palette, a pixel ruler, a protractor, crosshair (for aligning objects), and a whiteboard. Each of the eight tools has been integrated into a single program that really is easy to use. Individually, the tools have their own special features and functions. The only one that really did not stand out as being exceptional was the image editor, which offered a few basic filters and effects but lacked the depth of a good stand-alone editor. The other tools were very good, and we specially liked the protractor which gave us various angles on the screen. This is very helpful for graphics work and desktop publishing. With its tight integration, the eight tools that comprise PicPick come together as a single suite of tools that most PC users will find invaluable. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 2.59MB download from: Win98 Graphic Programs

Context Menu Enhancer v2.0 – WinXP/Vista/7
Context Menu Enhancer is a tool that makes available context menu add-ons for Windows Explorer. Its eight functions are: copy to folder; move to folder; flip 3D switch between Windows; create file listing text; add "Administrator Command Prompt"; encrypt/decrypt, "God Mode" folder (Windows 7 only); and Open in Notepad. Hidden behind a very bland window, Context Menu Enhancer adds some functionality to the right-click context menu in Windows Explorer. Some items are only added to the right-click file menu, some only to the right-click folder menu, and some to both. While most are self explanatory, the one we really liked was adding the God Mode folder, which only works in Windows 7. The God Mode folder (not a name we really liked but it is descriptive of its function) gives over 220 links to Windows tools in about 45 categories. Some of the categories are: Action Center; Administrative Tools; AutoPlay; Backup and Restore; Color Management; Credential Manager; Date and Time; Default Programs; and Desktop Gadgets. Most of those categories have multiple items associated with them. For example, the Default Programs category has two items, "Make a file always open in a specific program" and "Set your default programs". The biggest problem with the God Mode folder is that there are just so many categories, and so many items from which to choose. This could have had its own Explorer-like program window with, say, categories on the left and linked items on the right. As it is, this is simply a huge folder that is not so easy to navigate and find what you want. That minor criticism aside, Context Menu Enhancer does offer some worthwhile right-click enhancements, but it is the God Mode in Windows 7 which really makes it worthwhile. Worth grabbing! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 3.78MB download from: WinXP Windows Enhancements

Extra Screen Capture Free v6.9 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista/7
Extra Screen Capture Free is a screen recorder that can capture screen activities & sounds to a standard AVI video file or EXE file. It features hotkey support, it can capture part or full window, capture in any screen color depth, frame rate & video compressor choices, optional mouse cursor recording, add audio from a microphone or other external source, and more. This is a tool to make software demonstrations, and develop videos for training and tutoring. It will record all the keystrokes, mouse movements, program launches, and any other activity on the screen. The results are either saved to an AVI video file, or to an EXE file. The EXE file is much smaller than the AVI file and includes a built-in player, though you cannot edit the EXE file like you can the AVI file (using video editing software). Extra Screen Capture Free was easy to use and quite intuitive in its operation, though hotkeys are our recommendation for activating and stopping recordings because, if you use the program itself to do this, the program (normally hidden when recording starts) becomes part of the video. We did have some issues with Extra Screen Capture Free. First, the cursor was always displayed as an hourglass, even when we specified another cursor shape. Even though the program said that the standard cursor would be displayed, it always ended up with the hourglass cursor. Most disconcerting. However, the main problem we had was that this program does not seem to know if it is a free program or a shareware program. The author's site calls it the "Pro" version but the download is for the free version. Likewise, there is a provision in the program to "Get Free License Code" but that link takes you to the author's homepage with no provision (we could see) to get a code. However, there seems to be no actual requirement to register it as it does not time-out and you can keep on using it indefinitely. It seems to us that the program was once shareware but is now free and the Webpage changes have not been made to reflect this. All of this is a diversion because, apart from the cursor problem we experienced, Extra Screen Capture Free really is a good program. If you are looking for a program to capture screen activity, check out Extra Screen Capture Free. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 736kB download from: Win98 Multimedia Programs

Text Master v1.50 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista/7
Text Master is an ASCII text editor & Notepad replacement. It features statistical analysis (character & word frequency), converts text to lowercase or uppercase, a key press simulator, find & replace, generates word list, randomizes lines, e-mail extraction, adds the date, text extraction, inserts line numbers, no filesize limits, optional wordwrap, and more. This is a great little Notepad replacement that loaded our 10MB test file, with 470,000 lines of text, in under 3 seconds. Text Master is much more than just a text editor and offers numerous "extras", like e-mail extraction (will extract all the e-mail addresses from a document), it will delete blank or repeated lines of text, and much more. Unfortunately, it is not all sweetness and light. There is no spell checker, only one level of undo, no recently opened file list, and no tabbed interface (only one document open at a time). It also has only one level of undo. For some people, these would be considered essential features, but most users will put up with this to get access to the "extras" list which really does add some excellent enhancements to this otherwise lightweight text editor. Text Master is a terrific little Notepad replacement and one most PC users would find handy to keep around (even if just for those extras!). We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 561kB download from: Win98 Text Programs

CoffeeCup Free FTP v4.3.1721 – WinXP/VIsta/7
CoffeeCup Free FTP is a drag 'n drop FTP (file transfer) client. It supports secure file transfers (including SFTP over SSH, FTPS over TSL, & HTTPS), "remembers" last locations (local & remote), powerful bookmark manager (local, remote or combo), supports multiple server profiles, resumes broken uploads & downloads, can transfer files in binary/ASCII/auto-mode, sets server permissions for files & folders (CHMOD in Linux), optional passive mode, and more. This is a fabulous FTP client for posting files on-line, or downloading files from a server. It uses the traditional Explorer-style twin pane window where the local files are in the left-hand pane and the remote files are in the right-hand pane. Transferring is as simple as highlighting the file(s) in either pane and clicking on the upload or download button. CoffeeCup Free FTP lacks some of the high-end features, like remote file editing, but for basic FTP file transfers it is simple to use and virtually bullet-proof. In a word, impressive! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 6.51MB download from: WinXP Internet Related

Kill Deal – Win98/ME/XP/Vista/7
Kill Deal is an RPG/action sci fi shooter where you must defeat a horde of attacking monsters. It features single player & network (LAN) multiplayer modes, a great number of enemy types, lots of powerups to collect, realistic object physics, and more. This is a top-down, kill-fest game where you are under constant attack from extraterrestrial monsters. The blood flows thick and fast as you blast your way through the attackers, grabbing powerups as you can. We suggest that you use the largest possible screen resolution, which scales up the characters and makes them easier to see. Unfortunately there are no widescreen video options. Kill Deal features lots of gratuitous violence and blood splatter, but you can turn the level of blood splatter down in the Options (we found that Level 1 was sufficient, 5 is the default). We would have liked to have seen more closeups and maybe a few less alien monsters so you don't just end up swinging in a circle with the finger on the firing button. Kill Deal includes advertising from MyPlayCity, which only appears at the start of the game while it is loading. Therefore it is not very intrusive. If blasting away at everything that moves floats your boat then grab a copy of Kill Deal. You will be sure to love it. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 34.2MB download from: Win98 General Games
UPDATES
Lost Dutchman Mine 3D – an RPG/adventure/action game where the goal is to get rich prospecting in the desert – has been updated to version 2.0 with a much larger download size of 42.3MB. The author has advised that changes in this version include: a newer game engine, better graphics, models and gameplay. Access this excellent game from: Win98 General Games
AllMyNotes Organizer – an hierarchical information manager – has been updated to version 1.25 with a new download size of 1.91MB. The author has advised that changes in this version include: improved copy/paste from MS-Word & other applications that support RTF clipboard exchange; improved import/export from/to RTF files; improved import from TXT files; updated the French & German language translation; and fixed a minor issue. Get this updated version from: WinXP Text Programs
COMMENTS
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