Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #438 issued July 6, 2007

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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

Soldexus v1.02 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Soldexus is a Castlevania-style platform/exploration game where you, as Ian, must retrieve Satan's Soul Gem from Phobos Castle. It features 2 levels of difficulty, fullscreen & windowed modes, excellent graphics, good sound effects, save game, and more. This is an excellent 2D adventure game for anyone who loves the Castlevania genre. It has a reasonably high level of difficulty (even on the easiest setting) but it far from being impossible to finish. Graphics in Soldexus are generally superb, though there were a few places we thought it not quite up to the standard of the remainder. Enemies are often hard to kill (the first one you meet requires that you strike him 7 times with your magic sword, but he only has to strike you 3 times to kill you. Controls are a combination of Z, X and C keys plus the arrow keys. The C key is the main key you will use for both menus and during the game. Unfortunately, Soldexus has occasional "adult" language and some visual violence that makes it unsuitable for children. If you are looking for a challenge, then Soldexus is a game to grab. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 5.09MB download from: Win98 General Games

Bytescout XLS Viewer v1.00 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Bytescout XLS Viewer is a small program that opens and views XLS (Microsoft Excel) documents (spreadsheets) on computers without Microsoft Office or Excel installed. Simply point Bytescout XLS Viewer at a spreadsheet and it will display it (albeit without any fancy layouts, graphics, etc). This is a handy program for anyone who doesn't have Microsoft Office or Excel installed on their computer but who may still wish to view Excel (XLS) files. It suffers because it lacks the original's layouts or graphics, though it still presents the actual data (which is what you need anyway). If you have a need to view Excel spreadsheets but don't have Office installed on your computer, or you wish to distribute an XLS file and don't know if the recipient has Excel, then Bytescout XLS Viewer is for you. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 306kB download from: Win98 General Programs

Proximodo v0.2.5 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Proximodo is a Web filtering proxy server that positions itself between your browser and the Internet, modifying headers & HTML page content on-the-fly to make things right. It controls "mouse-over" animation, page layering, URL masking, pop-up messages, etc and includes a number of preformed filters. Filters can be edited, or you can create your own. Proximodo is an amazing tool because it gives the user enormous control over how the Web browser interacts with Web sites, and how Web sites are portrayed in the browser. It can filter ads from your viewing screen (including Google ads), prevent popup screens, kill nosy Javascripts, stop Javascript redirects, kill anti-cache metatags, and lots, lots more. The filters are editable and creatable, with an extensive HTML-based Helpfile to show you how. Primarily designed to work with Internet Explorer (automatic or manual configuration), the Helpfile describes how it can be tailored for other browsers, like Firefox. We were extremely impressed with Proximodo. It really is easy to use and it really does act as a content modifier or mediator, controlling how your Web browser interacts with the outside world. The number of available filters is enormous (not all are active by default) and you can finally control your Internet environment from your desktop. 10 out of 10! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 956kB download from: Win98 Internet Related

UltraGet Video Downloader v1.1.2 – WinXP/Vista
UltraGet Video Downloader is an FLV (Flash for Video) YouTube downloader and player. It features internal FLV video codecs for offline playing, batch downloading of FLV files, drag 'n drop from a Firefox Web browser (or import URL), it auto saves FLV files on your PC, and more. This is a great tool for all YouTube fans. Firefox users can simply drag 'n drop the location of an FLV movie into the main window, and click on the Start Downloading button. Users of other Web browsers must use the Import Video button before starting the download. Once it has been downloaded you can double click on the file to start playing, or highlight and use the normal video playing buttons to start, stop, pause, etc. Simple to use, UltraGet Video Downloader offers good video quality with the ability to batch download files. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 5.13MB download from: WinXP Multimedia Programs

The Treasures of India v3.0 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
The Treasures of India is a puzzle game (similar to Bubble Puzzle) where you match up 3 or more colored jewels to make them disappear, as new jewels are added at the top. It features 3 skill levels, excellent graphics & effects, addictive gameplay, it is suitable for all ages, and more. This is a fun game where you must "fire" a jewel upwards to attempt to get at least three jewels of the same color together so they disappear. This is not a hard game to play, but it has a surprisingly addictive element that brings you back for more and more. Graphics are excellent and the whole game has a professional look 'n feel. The Treasures of India might not win prizes for originality, but it is a fun game and one that is suitable for the whole family. We liked. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 4.91MB download from: Win98 General Games

WinCatalog Light v2.2 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
WinCatalog Light is a database that catalogs disks (HDD, DVD, CD, USB, Zip, Jazz, etc), folders & files. It features multiple collections, fully searchable within each collection (including keyword searching), displays MP3 embedded information (title, artist, etc), retrieves audio CD track names from Internet (see below), monitors lent disks, has a built-in contact's manager, and more. This is an excellent tool for cataloging the contents of disks. You can add individual files into a collection, folders (including sub-folders), and/or entire drives. WinCatalog Light creates a database of the information taken from the source(s) and stores it so that the CD or DVD does not need to be in the drive for it to be able to search the contents. It has a contact's manager where you can add your friend's names and then, if they borrow a CD, this is recorded and the icon for that CD is changed. In our case we used WinCatalog Light to catalog the CFS software archive (currently 4.76GB stored on our computer), plus the five DVDs we use to store old programs. That means we can quickly search the entire collection for a specific program – and we just need to know part of its filename. Easy! The only issue we had with WinCatalog Light when cataloging DVDs was that the size of the DVD was often reported incorrectly (one DVD, full of programs, was reported to be just 7.54MB in size!) though the contents were correct and the full DVD information was searchable. However, when it comes to cataloging audio CDs, we had a more serious problem. Not only did the program not find any of the song titles, or CD information, from the Internet (which it was supposed to do) but it gave the same CD title for all the audio CDs we checked (the contents were correct, just the CD title was wrong). It fared much better with MP3 files where it was able to extract the embedded information about each track and display it correctly. Clearly, if you were looking for an audio CD cataloger, then WinCatalog Light might not be your first choice. However, if you wish to catalog MP3 files or, like us, program or data files, then it is superb. We loved, but then we wanted a program file cataloging program, and that it does in spades. Access this 536kB download from: Win95 General Programs

AutoScreenRecorder Free v2.0.87 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
AutoScreenRecorder Free is a screen recorder that captures all activity in a rectangle, a window or the fullscreen, and saves it as an AVI movie. It features optional auto-naming of the video file, a choice of 6 compressor formats, optional inclusion of the cursor, hotkey operation, it is easy to use, and more. This is a great way of recording screen activity – how to use a program, how to navigate a Website, etc – and then presenting a movie of that activity for distribution. To use, place the program into Stand By mode (minimized to an icon in the desktray next to the clock) after having determined what part of the screen you want recorded and if you want the cursor visible, and then hit the F9 key to start recording. It takes a few moments to get started, initially showing a solid red outline around the recorded area which changes, when recording actually starts, to red corner tags. Do what you want within the area being recorded (this includes popup windows which appear over the recorded area) and, when you are finished, press the F10 key to stop recording. The AVI movie file of the activity will be automatically saved to your specified location. Neat. The quality of the result can be changed to reduce the overall filesize (the AVI format uses a lot of space) but the default settings produce an excellent result. The only issue we had with AutoScreenRecorder Free was that it does not record sounds (mouse clicks, voiceover description, etc). That aside, we were quite impressed with AutoScreenRecorder Free, mainly because it makes recording on-screen activity so easy. Try it for yourself. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this816kB download from: Win98 Graphic Programs

Takatis v1.2 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Takatis is a fast-paced 2D side-scrolling space shooter based off C64's Katakis (from 1988). It features 12 levels, awesome graphics & special effects, 8 powerups, 3 levels of difficulty, a huge variety of enemy craft & land-based guns, 6 save-game slots, and more. This is a fabulous retro shooter of the best kind. It offers a visual onslaught as you battle your way through each of the levels, grabbing whatever powerups you can to increase your weaponry. Controls are mainly the arrow keys for movement, the Spacebar for firing the main gun, and the Shift key for firing missiles (when you have them). This is a German made game and much of the instructions, and the setup routine, is in German. Fortunately, you don't need to know German to play Takatis as the main part of the game is in English. The only thing we didn't like was the lack of shortcuts created when the game is installed – you have to manually go to the program's location to launch it, or go there once, right-click on the main EXE file, and select Send To/Desktop to create a shortcut on your desktop. Takatis is one of the better 2D space shooters – it is extremely fast paced, has sensational animated graphics with lots of sound effects, and even the background music is acceptable. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Get this 8.57MB download from: Win98 General Games
COMMENTS
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