Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #447 issued September 28, 2007

Home > CFS Weekly Newsletter #447: issued September 28, 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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

Rolling Thunder 2 v1.0 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Rolling Thunder 2 is a 1990 retro multi-scrolling, 2D platform shooter set in the world of James Bond style secret agents. It features a choice of male or female agents (Albatross, or his sidekick Leila), 1- & 2-player modes, 11 password protected levels (3 from the 1991 Mega Drive port of this game), lots of weaponry, futuristic settings, Internet gameplay, fullscreen & windowed modes, supports widescreen monitors, and more. The publisher describes it like this: "Hordes of terrorist androids are after you, and you're on your own if you think you're going to escape alive. Blow away your mutated enemies with machine guns, rifles, and more in this nerve-racking race against the clock. Dive past exploding grenades and enemy fire as you control super agents Leila or Albatross through a mess of action in a high-powered epic... If you have the skills and smarts to stay alive, the adventure will take you from Miami to Egypt and back again before all is said and done. Play alone or team up with a buddy for cooperative excitement that'll blow you away. In this port of the coin-op actioner Rolling Thunder 2, you'll infiltrate an evil empire that spans the globe from Miami's palm trees to Giza's towering pyramids." Based on the 1990 Namco game, which was ported to the Mega Drive system the following year, this version has been made available through an emulator so it can be played on a Windows PC. The three additional Mega Drive levels have different upgradable weapons (a flamethrower and a laser shot) and stage bosses. While the graphics are VGA retro, the gameplay is surprisingly fresh and holds up quite well against modern games with their far superior graphics. Gameplay is, in places, quite challenging and it is much more than simply a mindless shooter. There are puzzles to solve, and places to go. Rolling Thunder 2 is a rare game that works just as well in the 21st Century as it did in the early 90s. It uses a Macromedia Flash powered emulator that supports a wide variety of screen resolutions, framerates, and more. We were very impressed with Rolling Thunder 2. Worth a look! Access this 1.17MB download from: Win95 General Games

Fuzzy Duck Note v1.06 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Fuzzy Duck Note is a small icon-based note taker with some big features. It includes a spell checker, it can store multiple notes, it can FTP notes to another computer, the notes are stored in RSS format, it has reminders, conversions, window transparency, an always-on-top mode, drag 'n drop, it integrates into the Explorer right-click context menu, and more. This is an amazing little tool that does so much more than what you might think. Of course, for most people the built-in spell checker is the major asset, but it is some of the less esoteric features that make this one of the better note takers around. Even though notes are natively saved in an RSS 2 formatted XML file for safe keeping, you can save notes as a TXT file for easier sharing should you so desire. Notes can also be printed – either just the active note or all notes. As you might expect from a program that performs so many functions, not all are well executed, and we were slightly disappointed at the speed of the spell checker. It is quite slow (specially on larger notes) and it doesn't have a button that can ignore all words spelt (or misspelt) the same. If you have a note with lots of occurrences of the same word you must keep on clicking "Ignore" every time it flags one. Fortunately you can add a word to the built-in dictionary if you are convinced you have the correct spelling. While you can change the colors and fonts used, Fuzzy Duck Note is not an attractive utility and lacks a visual appeal. Even so, we loved this little program and consider it one of the best free note takers we have seen. Grab a copy for yourself. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 2.00MB download from: Win98 Text Programs

Jpeg Enhancer v1.8 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Jpeg Enhancer is a tool that removes the JPG compression artifacts and the blotchy look from JPG images that have been saved with less than 100% quality. It features default settings (including a filter slide control), advanced settings (blotchy look removal, artifact removal, sharpness & crispness slider controls), it is simple to use, there is an online animated tutorial, and more. This is an excellent program for cleaning up poor quality JPG images. Designed specifically for digital camera use where the camera was set at less than 100% quality (usually to fit more images on to a memory card), it can remove those ugly JPG compression artifacts and make the image look crisp and clean again. Repaired images can be saved in BMP, JPG or PNG formats. Of course, this isn't a magical program and can only produce top quality results from reasonably good source images – there is a limit to just how much it can do to restore an image. Even so, by using the filters and slider controls judiciously, Jpeg Enhancer does a superb job with all but the worst images. Because it is isn't just a blur effect filter, it restores them much better than similar programs. We were really impressed with Jpeg Enhancer. It is a "must have" for all digital camera owners, and everyone working with JPG images. We loved! Access this 5.18MB download from: Win95 Graphic Programs

Video Caster v3.44 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Video Caster is a streaming media tool to capture, encode & publish videos online, and create auto slideshows. It applies animated styles to slideshows (with music & titles), applies video effects (Black & White, X-Ray, Mirror & Invert), converts existing video & audio files for on-line streaming, displays ID3 tags & metadata information for MP3 & Windows Media files, has a built-in FTP client, includes an excellent Helpfile & tutorial, and more. This is an amazing streaming media tool that is not only suitable for publishing videos and photos on-line, but also on your computer, on CDs, and on other portable media (USB pen drives, etc). The author says: "It allows you to record audio at different sample rates and sound qualities, create video footage by using a web cam or by capturing full or partial sections of screens. It even lets you combine your pictures and create an audio-visual multimedia presentation!" It also converts video and still images into a format suitable for on-line streaming. Video Caster is able to capture video footage from digital cameras attached to the FireWire or USB port of your computer. The scope and power of this tool is excellent. It works with all types of media files and presents them in a format suitable for streaming on the Web. The auto slideshow function includes 10 pre-built styles from which to choose so you can quickly post Aunt Mary and Uncle Bruce's wedding photos on-line with a suitable style and wrapper. Add appropriate music and you have an excellent slideshow (in WMV format) you can publish on-line or distribute on a CD. Image quality is not always good, mainly because the author is trying to keep the overall file size small so it is suitable for the Web. Video Caster includes an animated tutorial which, combined with the detailed Helpfile, should ensure you get the best from this program. We loved Video Caster. It is an awesome streaming media tool that performs flawlessly. A "must have" for anyone who needs to publish videos or photos. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 10.0MB download from: Win98 Multimedia Programs

EasiestUtils Tetris v1.0.0.2 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
EasiestUtils Tetris is a retro version of the classic Tetris falling blocks puzzle. It features 9 difficult levels, 10 levels of difficulty, next piece preview, good clean graphics, addictive gameplay, and more. This is yet another Tetris clone, but made different because of the huge number of levels of difficulty (10!), and the difficulty of the 9 levels of gameplay. This ensures that a player does not quickly get bored with the game once they have mastered the basics – EasiestUtils Tetris just gets harder and harder as a player climbs through the game levels and the levels of difficulty. By the time you get to the highest level and the hardest level of difficulty you are playing a tough game! While Tetris is not a new game, and EasiestUtils Tetris adds little to the original concept, you could be excused for not looking twice at this version. However, if you like the falling blocks concept but find that it is not challenging enough, then grab a copy of EasiestUtils Tetris. We think you'll like it! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 1.54MB download from: Win98 General Games

Fling v1.07 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Fling is a simple FTP uploader that integrates into Windows Explorer for automated uploading or transferring files. It features hands-free or manual FTP transfers, it can auto-backup data to the Web, uses drag 'n drop, integrates into the Explorer right-click context menu, resides as a desktray icon (next to the clock), and more. This is a slightly different approach to FTP file transfers. Rather than use the Explorer-style twin panes, with Fling you nominate a folder and what actions should be associated with that folder. If you specify that your folder should be "To upload and maintain files on a web site using FTP" then any file placed in that folder will be automatically copied to your Web server. This mean that you can use it as a backup directory for your, say, Word documents and those documents will be either manually updated on the server, or automatically updated (depending on your settings). While Fling lacks some of the manual controls of a "normal" twin-pane FTP program, it makes it much easier for anyone who is looking for seamless synchronization between hard drive and Web. Fling can also be used to backup or sync files across LAN networks, or even between two hard drives. If you always thought there was a better way to FTP than the usual methods, try Fling. Like us, you may be surprised just how efficient it really is! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 200kB download from: Win98 Internet Related

Smart Kit v0.91 – WinXP/Vista
Smart Kit is an extended, twin-pane file manager (like Norton Commander) and a replacement for Windows Explorer. It offers a more user-friendly approach to file operations (copy, delete, rename, etc), faster file operations, it ensures the safety of files & folders, and more. This is a file manager that adds some nice eye candy to the mundane task of managing files and folders. However, it is more than just a pretty face. Smart Kit makes it easier to conduct file and folder management without constantly having to confirm tasks. Instead of being asked if you want to delete a file, the file is deleted. Should you find you have deleted the wrong file it is very easily restored. Smart Kit offers only a twin-pane view of your files and folders – there is no option to present a single pane view. If, like us, you do not like twin-pane file managers, then this is not for you. However, if you like twin-pane file managers then, with a small learning curve to adjust to the change in file management techniques, Smart Kit is a worthy acquisition. Why don't you try it? Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 437kB download from: WinXP Windows Enhancements

Inside The Beast v1.0 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Inside The Beast is a first person 3D corridor shooter set inside the belly of a beast where you must fight his minions before he can unleash his evil on the world. In the same genre as Wolfenstein, in this game the corridors are the internal organs of the Beast (somewhat like the sand worms on Dune) which is populated with ghouls, zombies, skeletons, and other non-living beings (all of which can somehow be killed with your crossbow!). You are following the trail of two friends who went into the Beast and died. If you can find the concrete markers where the Beast buried their hearts you can get two more lives – the only powerups in the game. While the storyline is somewhat weak, the game itself is very playable and also quite addictive. The graphics are reasonably good, and the controls responsive, so you shouldn't have any trouble taking care of a few non-living bad guys, should you... Inside The Beast is not always easy, with enemy forces coming at you constantly, firing what looks like bolts of energy to kill you. If you like 3D first person shooters (FPS) with a corridor maze background, you will love Inside The Beast. A fun way to wile away a few hours. Note: this game is not recommended for children due to its mild violence and ghoulish themes. Access this 10.0MB download from: Win95 General Games
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