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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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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
Penguins 2000 v1.02 – Win9x/ME
Penguins 2000 is a fun "dynamic/puzzle" game where you must remove penguins (by enticing them with fish) from your ice flow before their combined weight sinks it. While the rules of this game are exceptionally simple – use fish to entice penguins to the edge of the ice flow in the hope that they will jump off it, Lemmings style – in practice the penguins are quite intelligent and do not simply jump off the edge into the ocean. The program allocates the fish sparingly and you use your right mouse key to position a fish so the penguins will be enticed to go after it. Penguins do follow each other quite a lot and if you can get a column moving in the right direction you might, just might, get them to jump off your ice flow. This is one of those silly time wasters which has a terrific addictive aspect to it – you just to keep on playing, and playing, and playing. The most annoying thing is the author is not backward in telling you that you cannot win, but still you keep trying! We loved Penguins 2000 – give it a try because we think you'll love it too. Access this 695kB download from: Win9x General Games
Arachnophilia v5.0 – Win9x/ME
Arachnophilia 5 is an interesting Java-based source code HTML editor. It features a spell checker, configurable toolbar (make any button do anything you want), macro architecture, right-click wizard, code beautifier, and more. It requires that you have the Java Runtime Engine (JRE) release 1.4 or better installed (an 11.6MB file). This version supersedes the old Windows version but is not, in our opinion, a better product. In fact, we were most disappointed in this Java version and were pleased that the last of the old Windows versions is still available. This Java version is slower than the native Windows version and lacks many of the bells and whistles which made the old version so good. For example, if you choose to have colored tags (as we do) there is no word wrap and long lines disappear off the right hand side of the page and you have to chase sideways to read and/or edit a long paragraph. However, you can have word wrap if you are prepared to sacrifice tag colorization. Strange! Arachnophilia 5, while cleaner and less cluttered than the old one, lacks the familiar Windows "look 'n feel". This makes it feel a little strange for someone used to working with native Windows programs. It includes a tool which runs the "garbage collector". This removes as much as possible out of the Windows memory so the program will run faster. This is needed because Java uses more system memory than native Windows programs. Overall, Arachnophilia 5 is a disappointing program compared to the native Windows version. There is no doubt that if does offer some features which are not on earlier versions but there are so many functions missing on this version we are wary of recommending it. We will continue to use the native Windows version (Arachnophilia 4) to maintain the CFS Website. Access this 1.63MB download from: Win9x Internet Related
Pixia v2.4g – Win9x/ME
Pixia is a full-color photo-editing program supporting 10 bitmap formats (BMP, DIB, ICO, JPG, JPEG, PNG, PXA, RGB, TIF & WMF but not GIF). It features: multiple layers (as many as your PC's memory can handle); up to 100 levels of undo; TWAIN32 compliant; support for drawing tablets (Wacom, Oce-Japan); huge assortment of special effects; different size brush tips & custom brushes (it even allows you to use an image file as a brush); and more. You can even edit or create images up to 10,240 x 10,240 pixels (depends on installed RAM). There are additional plug-in filters available (5 filters in one 1.05MB file) and even a plug-in so that PhotoShop filters can be used (though possibly not all PhotoShop filters are suitable). The Helpfile must also be obtained separately to the main file (a 1.59MB download), though the Readme file does contain some HowTo information and should be read before use. This is a sensational photo-editing tool. Pixia offers a tremendous number of professional features yet is still relatively easy to use. It offers so many functions and features that to list them all would require more space than is available here. Let if be suffice to say that this program stands side-by-side with almost all of the professional photo-editing programs. Pixia is amazing! Having been developed in Japan, there are still a few minor problems with warning boxes not displaying properly on English versions of Windows but this is the only thing which detracts from this otherwise-excellent program. Overall this is one of the best photo-editing programs we have seen, at any price. We strongly suggest that you grab a copy of Pixia and see for yourself! Access this 3.21MB download from: Win9x Graphic Programs
Birthday v3.30 – Win9x/ME
Birthday is a birthday reminder with advanced search facility. It features good control over the information displayed, offers optional sound effects, resides as an icon in the desktray, uses only about 2% of system resources, multi-lingual, Helpfile in PDF format (requires Acrobat Reader), and more. It is designed to be run at Windows startup and notify you at a preset interval before a birthday. Birthday offers excellent search facilities and can even prompt you to e-mail a person when their birthday arrives. The program can respond to all birthdays, or just to specific birthdays (5, 10, 15, 20, etc). That list is selectable, though it doesn't include 21 which is an important birthday in many cultures. Overall this is a superb little program which can be used to keep you reminded about events like Aunty Flo's birthday. Birthday uses only about 2% of system resources (a pleasant change from many resource-heavy utilities around!) so you don't mind allowing it to take up some small space in the desktray (next to the clock). We liked! Access this 1.34MB download from: Win9x Desktop Utilities
Dialgo Telephone Answering Machine v1.0 Lite – Win9x/ME
Dialgo Telephone Answering Machine is a telephone answering machine with computer-voice greeting (you can record your own). It features caller ID display and Wave playback & recording on modem. The program requires TAPI 1.4 (included with Win98 & ME), a voice-modem, and free on-line registration for download. Due to problems beyond our control this program was not reviewed. Access this 921kB download from: Win9x General Programs
Joy GapleCard v2.7 – Win9x/ME
Joy GapleCard has been based off an Indonesian card game, with some similarities to Dominos, which requires careful consideration before placing a card. It features an interactive 'How To Play' menu, 4 separate levels of play (levels 1 & 2 for both computer and human), and more. This is a terrific game wrapped up in a not-very-spectacular envelope. You have a series of cards which are like Dominos – a number on each end – and you must match one of the numbers on the board while blocking your opponent from moving. First to get rid of all cards wins and the opponent adds up the face value of the cards left. Suffering from a lack of rules (or even a good Readme file), however it does have an interactive help menu which walks you through the game (but doesn't explain why some things are done). This lack of Help file is most frustrating for anyone who hasn't seen the game before and we are sure that there are many aspects of the game which we did not glean from playing it and watching the interactive help. With a good Helpfile and a nicer looking interface this would be an absolutely top game for puzzle, card and board game players. Even as is it is highly addictive and you will find it hard to stop playing once you start. The game requires free registration via e-mail and without that being done will timeout after 25 days or 100 uses, whichever comes first. Definitely worth a look, Joy GapleCard is a great game. Access this 336kB download from: Win9x General Games
Delphad v1.9.4 – Win9x/ME
Delphad is an RTF (Rich Text Format) & ASCII text editor with embedded HTML & picture viewer functions. It features: unlimited filesize (dependent on system memory); import/export MS Office files; spell checker; encryption/decryption; insert object, play WAV files, drag 'n drop, word count, e-mail current document (uses your existing e-mail client), and more. Phew! This is an all-in-one do-everything type of program. Delphad offers good control over your text in RTF mode (in most cases you would not need any other word processor) and can display HTML pages from your hard drive (though it cannot display them from the Net like a Web browser). It even has quick access via menu and buttons to six of your favorite programs so they can be launched from inside of Delphad. This is a great program which has been well designed and well executed by the author. Our only criticism of this program is that while it offers a recently used file list, it does not allow multiple documents to be open at the same time. If you can live with that limitation (and we certainly can!) then you will have to agree that this is a superb word processor, text editor, HTML and image viewer. As you will have learned by now, Delphad impressed us enormously. Get it! Access this 1.04MB download from: Win9x Text Programs
Cool Slider v1.07 – Win9x/ME
Cool Slider is a game similar to "Bubble Puzzle" where you shoot sticky colored objects at the 'ceiling', matching four of the same to have them explode. While this is happening, more colored objects are being added from the top down. The game features vivid colors with excellent animation & graphics, intensive music, many levels, and more. This is a highly addictive game where you position the canon at the bottom of the screen to fire the colorful objects at the top of the screen where they stick. The mouth of the canon doesn't indicate what the next object will be, for that you must check out the "Next" panel in the top right of the screen (you get to see the next 4 objects in a queue). This is a very addictive game and you should be warned that the moving colors and the intensive music can give you eyestrain and headaches (specially when an hour or two can pass without you being aware of it!). You might be well advised to turn off the sound on your computer before playing this game (there are no controls that we could find to control music, etc) because it really it a potential problem! That aside, Cool Slider is a fabulous game which you will find hard to stop playing. A "must have" for anyone wanting to kill an hour or three. Access this 3.13MB download from: Win9x General Games
Minimizer v1.04 – Win9x/ME
Minimizer is a small utility which minimizes any program to the desktray (next to the clock) so that it does not clutter the main system tray area. It features: low system resource usage (about 1%); an option to load at system startup with Windows; an option to allow right-click commands from the icon (not generally advised); and more. For such an useful little utility there is really not much that needs to be said. It allows you to reduce the clutter in the system tray area by minimizing a program to the desktray. Simple. This is achieved by using a Hotkey combination (the default is Ctrl-F12) and it is effective on the top (active) window. We consider Minimizer to be one of the most useful utilities we have seen for a long time – specially for anyone like us who has a lot of open programs on their desktop. Our system tray area gets so congested at times we were thinking of installing traffic lights. Now we can just tuck any program we aren't using out of the way and leave the others where they are. This utility is certainly "neat, sweet, petite". Get it now! Access this 194kB download from: Win9x Desktop Utilities
UPDATE
Easy Memory – a multiplayer configurable 'Concentration' game – has been updated to version 4.45 with a new download size of 378kB. The author advises that changes in this version include: added highscore boards for online players; reduced loading time from 2 minutes to 15s; added popup window for wide message on message area; rewrote display engine (now faster); added "Button play" each time you change of set; and fixed minor bugs. Get this latest version from: Win9x General Games
Calendar Magic – a cornucopia of calendar-related information – has been updated to version 11.0 with a new download size of 646kB. The author advises that changes in this version include: additional calendar and astronomical features; and now includes three other programs (a scientific calculator, a global distances calculator for around 6000 locations across the world, and a unit converter). This this updated program from: Win9x General Programs
Dialup Companion – monitors dial-up Internet connection – has been updated to version 2.1 with a download size of 269kB. The author advises that changes in this version include: added an option to add the program to start-up (this was mentioned as a short-coming in the previous CFS program review) and also the installer & uninstaller is changed. Access this latest version from: Win9x Internet Related
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
