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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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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 Sumo Wrestling 2002 v1.0 – Win9x/ME
Super Sumo Wrestling has two huge men try to beat the other out by punching and using nine special moves to become the coveted 'Yokozuna' (or the best sumo wrestler). It features: 4 different tournaments with 15 rounds; 1- & 2-player modes; exhibition mode (computer Vs computer); 7 built-in characters; create your own players or download them off the Net; cheat mode; keyboard or joystick; excellent sound effects & music; and more. Created in QBasic, this DOS/Windows hybrid requires at least Windows 95 and the VB6 runtime files. It may require some tweaking to your CONFIG.SYS file to ensure full EMS support (full instructions are with the game) though we had no problems running the game 'bare footed' on our Windows ME test computer. The game is probably not suitable for WinXP though we didn't check this. In short, Super Sumo Wrestling is truly awesome! It offers an immensely configurable set of options so that you can create your own Sumo wrestler. Graphically, the game has some nice touches and the author has spent a lot of time to ensure that everything is well integrated. The concept of the game is simple – you have to get your opponent out of a circle by slapping, head butting, pushing, etc. Succeed and you move up to the next tournament until, finally, you can challenge the Yokozuna. While it is fun playing against the computer, eventually you will get bored with this as you master your Sumo skills (and refine your own player) and the real challenge comes when you challenge a human opponent. We particularly liked the music and sound effects (very appropriate). The graphics, though not sensational, are satisfactory for the game. Overall Super Sumo Wrestling is a unique game which most people should enjoy and we challenge you to stop playing once you start winning. Get it! Access this 2.23MB download from: Win9x General Games
Color Explorer v2.5.0 – Win9x/ME
Color Explorer is a powerful color picker which supports HTML, VB, Java, and many other formats. It features: drop color; brightness adjust; RGB adjust; autotag; image palette import; Websafe colors; colornames; import scales; randomize; stay-on-top mode, and more. This is a tremendous tool. While it is primarily designed for Web authors and programmers, it is also valuable for anyone working with color and it offers the most tools we have seen in any similar program to date. Color Explorer makes the creation of body tags for Web pages extremely easy and it even offers 24 program shortcuts so you can make changes quickly from the keyboard. Web authors will be pleased to see a "Websafe" feature which ensures that the colors you pick will be rendered properly in most browsers, though it does depend on the user having at least 256 colors available. If we had to describe this program in one word it would be "impressive". If you work with color – specially if you run a Website or three – then Color Explorer is a "must have" tool. Access this 145kB download from: Win9x Graphic Programs
AceFTP Freeware v2.0.4 – Win9x/ME
AceFTP Freeware is a powerful yet easy-to-use twin-pane ftp file manager for transferring files between your PC and a Web server. It features: Wizard-like site configuration; control files on the remote server (rename, delete, move, CHMOD, etc); file preview; server to server file transfers; multi-task connections; etc. This advertiser-supported ftp manager offers a huge range of features for moving or copying files between servers or between your computer and a server. We particularly liked the attributes section for a remote file which allows you to easy change its attributes (CHMOD). AceFTP Freeware also makes it easy to move files from one server to another. Neat. The biggest problem we found was the high usage of system resources – about 16%! If you have a lot of open programs (like us) it could cause your system to crash through a lack of system resources (like us!). Fortunately, most users do not place quite the same strain on a computer system as we do and this should not be a major problem for the average user. If you are looking at ftp programs for transferring files to and from the Internet then you would have to place AceFTP Freeware high on your list. Access this 2.00MB download from: Win9x Internet Related
3D Canvas v5.0.8 – Win9x/ME
3D Canvas is a 3D modeling and animation tool that uses an intuitive drag 'n drop approach to 3D modeling. It features nearly 30 3D primitives, real-time rendering, lathe & extrude object building tools using B-Spline curves, animation with spline-based interpolation, deform tool, painting tools, undo/redo, skeletal animation, inverse kinematics, and more. The program can import AutoCAD (DXF) 3D objects and export files to POVRay (POV) and RenderMan Scenes (RIB). This is a superb 3D modeling program. It offers tremendous control over the objects and models you create plus has the power to build really sophisticated projects. We were most impressed with the on-board Helpfile (in Windows' Compiled HTML Help format – CHM) but Win 95 users and some Win 98 users may find that they have to install the Windows Installer package first so they can load the MSI installation file. If you are interested in 3D modeling then 3D Canvas is one of the best programs to start with and it might be the only one you'll ever need. We thought it was sensational! Access this 7.49MB download from: Win9x Graphic Programs
GreatFamily v1.0 – Win9x/ME
GreatFamily is a program which allows you to create & edit genealogy files (family trees). It features: GEDCOM import/export; conversion to HTML pages; facility to include photos & general information on individuals; WYSIWYG editing; name search; easy navigation; zoom; and more. One of the best features of GreatFamily is its ability to pan back until you can see the entire family tree, or zoom in until just a single person is shown. Adding new people to the tree, or amending a person's details, is extremely easy – once you start with one person it doesn't take long before the hierarchial tree is quickly built (assuming you have the details on hand). It doesn't handle all GEDCOM files perfectly, and this is a negative for the program because GEDCOM really is the standard file format for genealogy files. The program handles even extremely large files quickly (we tried a file which had nearly 10,000 names and 600 families listed on it), though this does depend on available RAM and CPU speed. One novel feature of the program is the outboard scrolling tool which allows you to navigate around the screen or zoom in or out. Overall GreatFamily is a nice genealogy program with a lot of potential. Access this 645kB download from: Win9x General Programs
Fresh UI v1.00 – Win9x/ME
Fresh UI is a system configuration or 'tweaking' utility that allows the fine-tune, configuration, and personalization of hundreds of Windows' settings. Best suited for the slightly more advanced PC user, the explanation on many of the settings is sufficient for most people to assess the value of making the change(s) offered. Unfortunately there were a few setting changes where there were no recommendations, and that could cause problems with the inexperienced (if in doubt, don't!). However, in most cases the level of explanation and information was excellent and we really feel that our test computer was running faster after we made some changes through Fresh UI. Of course, most changes don't come into effect until after the computer has been re-booted. We were disappointed not to see some old favorites amongst the offered changes, but there were other tweaks which aren't commonly offered on similar programs. We feel it is wise to have two or three different tweaking tools on hand to get the best from your system. Fresh UI has a nice look 'n feel and is easy to use. Changes are set out in an Explorer-style menu on the left so you can quickly target the areas of change you wish to make. You have to click the "Apply Changes" button every time you make a change or that change won't be made. One nice feature of the program was the "Save Windows Settings" command in the File menu so that the old settings can be restored. Overall, Fresh UI is one of the better tweaking tools available and we are quite confident in recommending it for Intermediate and Advanced computer users. Access this 558kB download from: Win9x Windows Enhancements
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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Win 9x/ME/XP
