Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #452 issued November 9, 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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

Byteria Heroes v1.4 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Byteria Heroes: The Mother of All Games is an amusing platform game with Scrapper, a screwball who wants to conquer the world but lacks competence. It features 32 levels, 2 levels of difficulty, a choice of 3 characters to play, optional cutscenes, good graphics, fun storyline, addictive & challenging gameplay, and more. This platformer takes place in the computer game world of Byteria where Scrapper manages to suck two teenagers from Earth into the game. It also includes Marty, who is possibly the great hero prophesied by the Ancients! Byteria Heroes is a fun way to kill an hour or three. The puzzles are challenging and there are lots of levels to battle through. For the keyboard, it uses the arrow keys to walk, climb, duck, aim, enter doors, activate switches etc. It also uses the Shift key for jumping (and to scroll through the text), and the Ctrl key allows you to throw the superball. This is an entertaining platformer that offers the occasional serious challenge, but doesn't get too serious about itself. Byteria Heroes is a "must have" for all platform game fans. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 2.10MB download from: Win98 General Games

Prevx CSI v1.0.100.179 – WinXP/Vista
Prevx CSI is a malware (malicious software) scanner that scans for all forms of malware on a computer and reports any infection. It features fast scanning with on-line reporting, does not require any installation, simple to use, and more. This is a scanner only. It does not clean your computer, just reports any malicious software. As such it has limited value, though it is worthwhile running various malware scanners to ensure you catch all the malicious software on your computer. Prevx CSI uses a comprehensive on-line database that is kept up-to-date so you aren't relying on downloading new data to ensure you catch all instances of malware. This means that it requires and active Internet connection to work (plus permission to bypass your firewall). Once completed, you see a report about your computer on the author's Website. We were disappointed that Prevx CSI was simply a scanner and not a cleaner too. However, it is a great addition to your existing malware and anti-virus programs, and it may catch something that they miss. For that reason alone, Prevx CSI is worth grabbing. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 1.48MB download from: WinXP Desktop Utilities

Express Rip CD Ripper v1.46 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Express Rip CD Ripper is a tool that extracts digital audio tracks from audio CDs to WAV and MP3 audio files. It features perfect quality CD digital audio extraction (ripping), saves track information or 'tags' (including title, artist, album, etc) to MP3 files, offers complete control over MP3 encoding & WAV settings, and more. This is potentially an excellent CD ripping tool. It creates high quality MP3 or WAV audio files from audio CDs quickly and efficiently. For the first two weeks of its use after installation, Express Rip CD Ripper operates like its Pro version brother, with multiple audio formats supported instead of just two, but after that it is limited to the features of the free version. Alas, Express Rip CD Ripper has one major problem – it cannot get the CDDB information from the on-line databases because neither listed in the program (FreeDB and Musicbrainz) now exist. Therefore, it could not provide the CDDB information for the audio CD we tested. That aside, Express Rip CD Ripper is an excellent ripper (sorry, digital audio extractor) and we found it very easy to use. Even without CDDB information, it is worth a look. Access this 296kB download from: Win95 Multimedia Programs

Online Newspaper Reader v1.0 – Win 98/ME/XP/Vista
Online Newspaper Reader is a program that allows you to read about 500 on-line newspapers from around the world. It allows you to sort by newspaper (alphabetically) or by country, it has an easy-to-use interface, and more. This program offers a list of on-line newspapers and you just click on a newspaper to have it open in your Web browser (assuming you were on-line). As expected, many of the newspapers listed were from regional areas and were not mainstream daily papers. However, we were disappointed in Online Newspaper Reader for other reasons. The author had told us that there were "500+ online newspapers" to read, and the program's official Website says a user could read "1000+ online newspapers" but a quick count within the program showed only about 480 newspapers listed, and some of those no longer existed, or the entry page was incorrect. Of the seven papers we checked, two were not available. Maybe a check of more would have lifted the percentage of live links to dead links, but a 28% failure rate of the ones we did check was poor. Online Newspaper Reader offers no automated update facility to rectify errors and/or add new sites, or even a method of searching for an individual newspaper – just the ability to sort, either by paper of country. Still, it is a worthwhile list of on-line newspapers and, as such, is a usable program. Try it for yourself. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 548kB download from: Win98 Internet Related

Mnemonic Curve v1.0 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Mnemonic Curve is a "Simon" style game where you must replay an increasing sequence of colored lights in the correct order. It features multiple difficulty levels (from 2 to 27 circles), excellent for memory training, it offers full statistics, variable pause delay, high score, and more. This is a fun little game with a serious aspect – it helps improve memory functions and is particularly suitable for both the young and the old. In Mnemonic Curve you must repeat an ever-increasing sequence of illuminated circles – the sequence starts with one illuminated circle that will flash green, then two (which could be the same circle), three, etc. You must repeat the sequence to keep playing. The more circles, the harder the game is to play. While this game lacks eye candy, it doesn't have any background music and, unlike the plastic "Simon" game of the late 1970s, does not offer sound effects, never-the-less it is fun and challenging. Mnemonic Curve is a terrific game that all ages will enjoy. We liked! Access this 152kB download from: Win95 General Games

Taskbar Control v2.01 – WinXP/Vista
Taskbar Control is a tool to rearrange the buttons on your Windows taskbar by dragging them sideways to a new location. It features an option to auto-start with Windows, it resides in the desktray (next to clock) as an icon, has a relatively low memory usage (5,608kB), it is simple to use, and more. This is a cool program for anyone who wants to re-arrange the program buttons (icons) in the taskbar (also called the system tray) without having to close and re-open programs. While some people may see this as re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, many PC users deliberately open programs in a specific order so they can find them quickly (specially if they are regularly jumping between various programs). Sometimes these programs get re-arranged, or one in the middle of a group is accidentally closed and needs to be re-opened back in its old position. With Taskbar Control you can open programs in any order and then quickly re-arrange them to follow your specific order. This can either be done by dragging 'n dropping the program buttons into their new locations on the taskbar, or you can use the Taskbar Control window to move a program up or down a list of open programs. Simple to use, this is a utility that CFS will continue to use ad infinitum. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 768kB download from: WinXP Desktop Utilities

3D Box Shot Lite v2.00 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
3D Box Shot Lite is a program that creates 3D box shot images to help promote software. It features full control over the final 3D screenshot (rotate, pan & zoom, spot light, scale), ability to create 8 box shapes (including cube, DVD, CD, audio cassette, etc), add lighting effects, and more. This is a sensational way to convert a series of images (box sides, top, bottom, spine & right) into a 3D box effect using one of the 8 pre-prepared box shapes. While this is not an image editor (images must be provided for the program to work with), it offers remarkable control over putting those six images into a 3D box, and then allowing you to change the axis on which it rests in any of three different ways. Once you have the image the way you want it, simply save the image to the Windows Clipboard, or use 3D Box Shot Lite to create a BMP copy of it. While it was designed for software authors, it is also useful for many other users who may wish to produce cubes of their images (three sides visible) or take advantage of the CD/DVD outputs. 3D Box Shot Lite is officially "advertiser supported" because every time it is opened you are shown "sample" box images and a link to get more information about the displayed box. These are, in fact, paid advertising box shots and the link goes to a sales page for that product. As this advertising is reasonably benign, we do not consider it a spyware threat. The only negative was that it lacked any form of assistance – this is a program you have to play around with to learn how to get the best from it. That aside, we really liked 3D Box Shot Lite. It offers a fabulous way of presenting images as a 3D box and, while it is very suitable for software authors, it can also be used by anyone who is looking for a great way to display a box-shaped item. Worth a look! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 2.51MB download from: Win98 Graphic Programs

Start++ v0.7.0 – Vista
Start++ is an enhancement for the Start Menu in Windows Vista that also extends the Run box and the command-line with customizable commands. It includes powerful, customizable extensions (plugins) called "Startlets" (6 are available for additional download – about 1kB each). Unfortunately CFS was unable to review this program. The author says: "Start++ is an enhancement for the Start Menu in Windows Vista. It also extends the Run box and the command-line with customizable commands. For example, typing 'w Windows Vista' will take you to the Windows Vista page on Wikipedia. Advanced functions can work with search results, powered by Windows Vista's integrated desktop search engine. For example, typing 'play radiohead' will find all music that matches the query 'radiohead', compile the results into a .M3U file, and launch it in your favorite media player (actually, it only uses Windows Media Player for the moment, but that will change soon)." Worth a look! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98. ME or XP. Access this 4.41MB download from: Vista Windows Enhancements

Monster Galactic v1.5 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Monster Galactic is a hi-tech, side-scrolling space shooter. It features exceptional 3D-style hi-res animated graphics, fight through 55 sectors of the galaxy, 3 levels of difficulty, many powerups, awesome bosses, fast action, and more. This shooter has some of the best graphics we have seen in this type of game. In many ways it is simply "just another side-scrolling space shooter" but the amazing graphics, and the well paced gameplay, make this stand out from the crowd. There are lots of missions to undertake, and lots of scary enemies to fight. With its abundance of powerups, and lots of built-in obstacles, Monster Galactic really is a monster of a game. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 55.5MB download from: Win98 General Games
UPDATES
Beerwin's PlainHtml – an HTML source code editor with a selection of mini-tools – has been updated to version 5.0 with a new download size of 15.7MB (there is also a portable version suitable for running off a USB pen drive – 9.96MB download). The author advises that changes in this version include: improved MDI engine; built-in templates; extended Tag lists; extension manager (the program can be extended with plugins, additional tag lists, table layouts, libraries & templates); word wrap; HTML Tidy; preview from localhost (via a local Apache server); PHP error check; save/retrieve window list (useful if working more than one day on the same project); editor keystrokes are now customizable; HTML tag stripper; Update Manager; embedded syntax highlighting; advanced document list; document properties window; and printing support (page setup, print preview, printer setup & print). A much updated program! Note: we have been advised that this program is now not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Get this latest version from: WinXP Internet Related
FotoTagger – a tool that adds tags and captions to JPG images – has been updated to version 2.6 with a new download size of 2.21MB. The author advises that changes in this version include a better search and indexing feature. New search is available from Organize mode and allows instantly find images across your computer by file name or FotoTagger tags and caption. Also added viewing of IPTC data and image file properties. Get that update from: WinXP Graphic Programs
COMMENTS
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