Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #458 issued January 4, 2008

Home > CFS Weekly Newsletter #458: issued January 4, 2008

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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

Monsters Land 3D v2.0 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Monsters Land 3D is a light-weight 3D shooter where you face off against numerous monsters. It features a choice of 6 levels, 3 weapons, on-screen radar, various powerups (health, ammo, etc), 3 screen resolutions, fullscreen or windowed display, good 3D graphics, good background music, and more. This is a fun way to kill some time while killing lots of attacking monsters. There is lots of gratuitous blood, but little else to excite the senses. The enemy monsters come at you from various directions and you must keep a watch out or you will be attacked from the rear while you are dealing with some low-life monster scum in front. There are 6 levels, each with a different scenario – Canyon, Oasis, Base, Cemetery, Lava and Underground. You can choose which to play and you don't have to complete a level before moving on. As you only have one life it is quite hard to rack up a really good high score, but that does add to the challenge. Not the greatest 3D shooter we have seen, but Monsters Land 3D is still worth grabbing. Access this 7.91MB download from: Win95 General Games

3GP Video Converter v2.4.3.1 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
3GP Video Converter is a tool that converts video from cell phones (3GP) to common PC formats. It can convert 3GP to AVI, MP4 or MP3 audio, has multiple quality presets (varies dependent on output format), can trim video files (removes start and/or end segments), it is simple to use, and more. This is a terrific converter for anyone who wishes to take video from their cell phone and convert it into a format suitable for a PC. Simply download the 3GP file to your computer, aim 3GP Video Converter at this file, decide if you wish to trim anything off the start and/or the finish of the video, decide which format and quality you wish to save it to, and click on the "Convert" button. The resultant file can then be played on virtually any PC, shared with friends, etc. The test AVI file we created played properly in Windows Media Player, but it did not play well in our default video viewer, Irfanview. This could be a flaw in Irfanview, but we suspect that the AVI file created may not be 100% compatible with the AVI format – still playable in WMP but not in all video players. That aside, we really liked 3GP Video Converter and believe that many people will find it extremely valuable. Worth grabbing! Access this 6.88MB download from: Win95 Multimedia Programs

NetObjects Fusion Essentials v7.50 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
NetObjects Fusion Essentials is a Website design solution that offers many of the core features found in Fusion 10. It features drag 'n drop design, includes approx 70 style & color combos (many more can be downloaded), full Website management, Website asset management, built-in FTP, form builders, photo galleries, e-commerce tool, and more. This is a massive suite of tools to help build, post and maintain a Website. With hundreds of templates (style & color combos) both included and downloadable from within the program, even the fussiest Web author should be able to find a look 'n feel to suit. NetObjects Fusion Essentials is not an easy learn but, once mastered, it is awesomely powerful. However, at times it seems as if NetObjects sees itself as bigger than Windows and has created a suite which, at times, is not very Windows friendly. Again, once mastered it is an extremely powerful suite and it is definitely worth the learning curve if you wish to use it as your Website management solution. We had mixed feelings about NetObjects Fusion Essentials. We could see its merits, but we would have preferred a suite that was more Windows-conventional in its approach – it makes it easier to learn and you can jump between programs without feeling that you have to switch your thinking from Windows-mode to NetObjects-mode. If you have never worked with HTML source code (and don't want to learn) then NetObjects Fusion Essentials could be an answer to your Website problems. We were impressed! Access this 55.9MB download from: Win95 Internet Related

Screen Capturer – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Screen Capturer is a simple screen capture utility with a save-to-file option. It features an option to save to file (BMP, GIF or JPG) or to the Windows Clipboard, it captures the fullscreen, it really is simple to use, and more. This is a basic screen capture tool for someone who doesn't know how to use the system's screen capture facilities, or who wants the image captured to be saved to an image file. It has some major limitations, like there are no options on what is captured – it grabs only the fullscreen – and it does not offer an option to capture the mouse cursor. Once you have clicked on the Capture button, the program disappears, takes the screenshot, and then re-appears with a smaller copy of the capture displayed in its window. The screenshot can then be saved to file or to the Clipboard. Surprisingly, Screen Capturer does not offer a version number, even though it has recently been updated yet again (based on changing filesizes, there have been at least two updates since version 1.0). If you are looking for a simple, yet affective, screen capture utility, grab a copy of Screen Capturer. It could be exactly what you need! Access this 334kB download from: Win95 Graphic Programs

2008 Mahjongg Lite v4.01 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
2008 Mahjongg Lite is a traditional 3D Mahjongg boardgame using original Chinese characters. It features the optional display only of free tiles, undo/redo, hint, you can change the angle of view, it has a timer, there is a save game function, and more. This is a very traditional version of this ancient game. The use of Chinese characters can make it harder for Western (ie non-Asian) players, and many other versions carry alternative character sets to make it easier for anyone not familar with Chinese characters. 2008 Mahjongg Lite has lots of nice features, like the option to remove all but the free tiles, and the 3D graphics enhances gameplay enormously. Unfortunately it is advertiser supported – and those ads are highly intrusive. First you must agree to the inclusion of the Rightdown Software SearchBar into your copy of Internet Explorer. This cannot be uninstalled unless you first remove the game. While this toolbar might not be the worse one we have seen, just the demand that it must be installed for the game to play makes it offensive to us (the toolbar is there all the time, not just when you are playing the game). It also has another ad that appears on your screen when you are playing the game. This is a popup window that remains always on top while the game is being played. Of course, you can hide the toolbar by using the View menu in IE and unchecking this SearchBar but it is still there, and that we don't like. This is a shame because the basic game is excellent, with good graphics and excellent gameplay. However we don't want that toolbar so we will be uninstalling 2008 Mahjongg Lite from our computer, and then getting rid of that intrusion. If you never use IE, or don't mind this SearchBar being there 24/7, then grab a copy of 2008 Mahjongg Lite and enjoy this 3D version of the popular boardgame. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 1.76MB download from: Win98 General Games

Registry Defrag v2.35 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Registry Defrag is a tool that removes gaps from the PC's Registry and improves system performance. It features a simple 3-step operation (analyze & compact the Registry, then restart the computer), it is suitable for beginners (novice PC users), and more. This is a good way to clean up the Registry by removing the gaps caused when the Registry is updated. The author says: "During the normal operation of a Windows system, registry data is constantly being written to and removed from the registry. Over time this data becomes scattered within the registry file and when information is deleted from the registry holes are left which fragment the data within the registry." While the name Registry Defrag implies that it defragments the Registry, re-arranging data so that it is consistent and together, a careful reading of the documentation indicates that it simply removes the "air" gaps between entries and does not actually re-arrange Registry entries. This means that while it would help speed up Windows by compacting the data, it falls far short of actually defragmentating it so gains are not as spectacular as they could be with a full defrag. That aside, anything which can help speed up Windows is a plus in our book and we consider Registry Defrag to be a worthwhile acquisition. Try it for yourself. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 469kB download from: Win98 Windows Enhancements

RoloFlex v12.6 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
RoloFlex is a personal contact manager and information center that uses the Visual DataFlex engine. It features auto dial (through the fax modem where installed), callback dates, contact history, phones/e-mail, color & fonts in notes section, up to 16 million people in database, over 20 skins, and more. This is an excellent address book with a built-in dialer and the ability to access Webpages. While it is free for non-commercial use, it really has been designed with businesses in mind and much of the information and data fields are business-specific. This lessens its value somewhat for personal use, simply because you have to wade through countless fields that you will never need (unless you like to run a contact history on your friends!). RoloFlex requires free on-line registration for personal use, but that registration does not appear to be created automatically because, at the time of writing, we have still not received our registration key. You can add a photo of your contact to the data, but that photo had better be less than about 150x150 pixels because that is all that will be displayed. Finally, we were a little disappointed that it assumes you live in the USA (even though it has a field for "Country"). State abbreviations are two letters only and it adds brackets to your phone numbers, bracketing the first three numbers. These small things disappointed us and, even though we acknowledge the power of this tool, it made us work to its pre-conceived field information which was clearly designed for commercial use within the USA. If this suits you then RoloFlex could be the best address book and information manager you have seen. If not, like us you may find it cumbersome and unforgiving. We would love to see a truly personal address book and information manager based off this program (no business fields) that catered for people who live outside of the USA. Access this 25.0MB download from: Win95 General Programs

Process Explorer v11.04 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Process Explorer is a process management utility from Microsoft that picks up where Task Manager leaves off. It features a list of the currently active processes (including the names of their owning accounts), a display of DLLs & memory-mapped files, a powerful search capability, visual representation of CPU & memory usage, and more. This is what Task Manager should have been. It not only shows you the active processes and what CPU resources they are using, but it also provides color-coded highlighting of various filetypes, what processes are associated with each, etc. Much of the information is the same as the Task Manager, except that Process Explorer takes it to the next level. If you are looking for a more powerful tool to examine active processes, system resource usage (CPU & memory), then grab a copy of Process Explorer. Our only question is: why was this tool not included with Windows instead of the relatively wimpy Task Manager? A "must have" for all serious computer users. Access this 1.53MB download from: Win95 Desktop Utilities

Drake and Josh v1 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Drake and Josh is a fun little arcade game, based off the TV show of the same name, where you must help the boys clean their room before their Grammy comes home. It features 1 & 2 player modes, includes a cutscene from TV show, challenging but fun gameplay, can be run from a Website (uses Adobe Flash), and more. This is a most unusual game where you play either of the two boys (a human or computer plays the other one) and must clean up your room. While you are cleaning, the clock is counting back from 60 seconds until Grammy enters the room, and Megan will throw in more rubbish from either the doorway or the window (you can close them to stop her). Rubbish can be placed in the bin, thrown out the window, or into the other half of the room. Socks and pants go into the drawer and CDs into the rack. This is really a game for two humans (2-player mode) so you can enjoy the full interaction. Finally, a game that makes cleaning your room fun! We loved Drake and Josh – it's a fun way to kill some time. Access this 931kB download from: Win95 General Games
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