Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #494 issued October 31, 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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

Daggleland v1.0 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Daggleland is a "match 3" type puzzle where you must match up 3 or more Daggles of the same color to make them disappear. It features 7 stages, 50 levels, 5 bonuses, 7 keys of the sky country, excellent graphics, good sound effects, background music, and more. This is a slightly different to the standard "match 3" games and requires a little more thought and strategy to get a really good result. In this version you are faced with a line of colored Daggles and you must highlight two to swap them over – if you work it out correctly that can give you two 3-of-the-same-color groups which will then disappear and, if you are really good, as the four ends come together you will get a domino effect as more same-groups are created. There are a number of bonuses to enhance your gameplay, and lots of levels (each with unique graphics) but, without a doubt, it is the animated graphics which will win the day – those fluffy little Daggles have a kitten or puppy appeal. A combination of excellent graphics, and simple but strategic gameplay, will ensure that you come back to play Daggleland time and time again. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 24.9MB download from: Win98 General Games

Flv Converter v2.2 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Flv Converter is a tool that converts Flash FLV video files to AVI, WMV, MPEG, MP4 (iPod, iPhone, etc), 3GP (mobile phone) or MP3 (audio only) formats. It supports multithreading & batch conversion, has an optional audio/video splitting function, offers customizable output quality, you can set the start time & end time, it has a high conversion speed, and more. This program is designed to convert the popular Flash Video format (using the file extension FLV) which is commonly used by YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo! Video, Reuters.com, etc. It has an easy-to-use interface and, even though you can customize the output file's quality (video bitrate, frame size, quality, audio bitrate & channels), most users will never have to adjust anything to achieve a comparable quality to the original. We had problems playing converted files on some players, and even using Windows Media Player did not guarantee a hassle-free converted file. These problems were not universal and seemed to be a combination of the selected output format and the player we used – in many instances there was no problems but some files did not convert well, even though the original was playable on all players we commonly use (Windows Media Player, IrfanView, etc). Possibly some of the downloaded FLV files we tested had some in-built flaw or slight incompatibility that allowed playing on our test players but did not convert well to other formats. Flv Converter offers a good range of conversions from the Flash Video format to other, commonly used video formats, but the problems we experienced did make us wonder how compatible the output files really were. Check it out yourself. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 4.19MB download from: Win98 Multimedia Programs

KompoZer v0.7.10 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
KompoZer is a tabbed WYSIWYG HTML editor and site publisher. It features a CSS editor, integrated in-line spellchecker (62,000 word US English dictionary), 4 modes of operation (Normal, HTML Tags, Source & Preview), syntax highlighting (in Source mode), XUL-based form editor, XFN, table/cell resizing rulers, FTP site manager, color picker, customizable toolbars, excellent Helpfile, and more. This is a terrific HTML editor and publisher that uses the Mozilla Gecko engine with a tabbed interface that allows up to 10 documents to be displayed at once. It incorporates all the necessary HTML tools, including syntax highlighting in Source mode (where you are looking at the raw HTML code). It even includes the ability to call W3C's HTML validator from within the program. KompoZer has lots of nice features, though it does lack a library of JavaScripts to insert into your page and it also lacks a search 'n replace function that will operate across all open documents (you cannot easily make global changes to your pages). That aside, this is one of the best WYSIWYG HTML editors we have seen and it doesn't even totally screw up any existing code (as do most similar programs!). If you have used a program like DreamWeaver then you will be at home with KompoZer. If you don't want to get your hands dirty with HTML code but still want to create a Website then KompoZer is probably a "must have". We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 7.58MB download from: Win98 Internet Related

Aoao Photo Editor v2.1 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Aoao Photo Editor is a photo editing and drawing program. It supports 4 major image formats (JPG, BMP, GIF & TGA), offers batch renaming, image resizing, watermarks, it can flip & rotate images, has color adjustment, there are 6 digital effects, drawing tools, a screenshot grabber, you can set an image as wallpaper, and more. This is a very basic tool which includes some of the more popular imaging functions. However, it is not what Aoao Photo Editor includes that is worthy of comment, but what it does not include. This program does not offer a cropping function (essential for anyone working with digital images) and it does not offer any form of undo (and, therefore, redo). If you never make mistakes then you can live without an undo feature – for the rest of us it is an essential tool. The lack of these two major functions seriously cripples Aoao Photo Editor, though some of its other functions do compensate for this somewhat – features like the support for animated GIFs (it can display them but it cannot edit them), the drawing tools, its ability to add text to an image, its batch functions, and more. Aoao Photo Editor was once a shareware program and, on the author's site, you can get the free registration code for the program. However, we could not find out where to insert the code we obtained from the author's site and, because it does not timeout, you can probably ignore mentions about registration in the Helpfile. In spite of its shortcomings, we liked using Aoao Photo Editor. It is a nice little editor. Access this 2.00MB download from: Win95 Graphic Programs

TetriCrisis 100% v5.9r – WinXP/Vista
TetriCrisis 100% is a Tetris clone. It features 7 game modes (including Original, Crisis+, Garbage, 3 timed games, etc), next piece notification, high scores table, full color & high resolution visual graphics, 40+ minutes of CD quality music, customizable game options, and more. This is a standard Tetris clone with all the usual features, like next piece notification, that makes Tetris such a popular game. It has great graphics, sound effects and background music but, apart from the various game modes, there is little to differentiate this version from hundreds of others. The only area of complaint we had was, at times, there was a steady procession of identical pieces coming down and that can make it very hard to stack them appropriately – unless you were very careful you ended up with a column of identical pieces reaching nearly to the top of the screen. That small complaint aside, TetriCrisis 100% is a worthwhile Tetris clone and one that Tetris collectors will have to have. We liked. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 2.38MB download from: WinXP General Games

Direcscape v2.0.0.0 – WinXP/Vista
Direcscape is an alternative way of looking at file management that enhances the view of the directories (like a flow chart) and helps organize a computer more efficiently. Unfortunately, CFS was unable to review this program. The author says: "Direcscape is an innovative software application that is like no other. While, most software file management programs look like Windows Explorer, Direcscape has a unique interface that improves access to files and documents by enhancing the view of the directories. In addition, the design incorporates a note and task feature. Each directory can be assigned a default note, while the task feature associates each task with a directory making finding information associated with each task quickly and intuitive." Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 680kB download from: WinXP Windows Enhancements

Free DVD Creator v2.0 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Free DVD Creator is a tool that creates & burns video DVDs. It supports all major video formats (AVI, MPEG, DIVX, XVID, MP4, VOB, RM, WMV, MOV, FLV, etc), PAL or NTSC TV modes, 4:3 or 16:9 screens, built-in DVD menu maker, Dolby AC3 5.1 DVD audio, includes ffdshow media decoder, supports additional codex, and more. This is an excellent suite of tools (mainly GNU free programs) that can convert most popular video formats into DVD video and then either save it on the hard drive (IFO & VOB files) or burn it directly to a DVD disk (with the appropriate DVD drive). You can also add further codex and it will then support more video formats. We had a problem with Free DVD Creator. While it would create the DVD files on our hard drive, it would not recognize our two SATA DVD drives so it would not burn to them. We are sure that, as SATA DVD burners become more popular, these too will be supported. Free DVD Creator uses a dual interface, one to create the DVD files and the other to burn them on to your (non-SATA) IDE DVD drive. This is an excellent way to convert existing video files – like YouTube videos – into DVD "hard" copies that can be played on virtually every standard DVD player. We were impressed! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 6.87MB download from: Win98 General Programs

Prompt Critical v1.04 – WinXP/Vista
Prompt Critical is a stylish, old fashioned, butt-kickin' space shooter where you must defeat the enemy who is coming through a worm hole. It features excellent graphics, powerups to collect (health, missiles & shields), pounding soundtrack, great sound effects, very challenging gameplay, HUD, mouse control, and more. This is an awesome shooter which has such a high addictive element that it should contain a health warning! The controls are almost entirely mouse based and are extremely responsive (assuming you have a good mouse!). By keeping the enemy within the center frame of the HUD you can blast away using the mouse left-button to fire. Prompt Critical might have no socially redeeming characteristics but it is a fabulous way of killing an hour or two in mindless butt-kickin until the inevitable happens, it is your butt that gets kicked as your health slowly deteriorates and you are overwhelmed by enemy fighters. We loved Prompt Critical – a "must have" for all SMUP fans. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 3.19MB download from: WinXP General Games
UPDATE
Resize My Pictures – a bulk photo resizer and renamer – has been updated to version 1.0.0.8A with a new download size of 1.87MB. The author advises that changes in this version include: template support, quality control, screenshot viewer, and minor bug fixes. Access this latest version from: WinXP Graphic Programs
COMMENTS
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