Windows 32-bit
95/98/ME/XP/Vista/7 |
|
|
|
Windows 16-bit
Win 3.x & DOS |
|
|
|
|
| Home >
CFS Weekly Newsletter #532: issued January 15, 2010
|
|
|
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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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
Deadly Stars v1.7.0 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista/7
Deadly Stars is a frenetic, 3D-style top-down space shooter. It features 50 levels in 5 galaxies, 25 different enemies, 5 types of lasers with 5 levels of upgrade, 5 types of rockets, 11 different bonuses to collect, superb ray-traced graphics, excellent sound, and more. This shooter is fabulous! While it is similar in concept to a thousand other space shooters, it offers such terrific graphics and gameplay that it stands out from most of the others. In Deadly Stars you must battle your way through five galaxies to let the Emperor know that a rebellious fleet has seized power. At the end of each level you can convert the points you've earned into weaponry or upgrades. We loved Deadly Stars. It is one of the best space shooters we have seen and is fun to play. Sound effects are appropriate, explosions are realistic, and you are in constant danger of being over-run. What more could you want! If you enjoy shoot-em-ups, specially space shooters, then this will quickly become a favorite. Get a copy now! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 19.1MB download from: Win98 General Games
Active NTFS Reader for DOS v1.0.2 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista/7
Active NTFS Reader for DOS is a data recovery tool that provides read access to NTFS drives from the DOS environment through a bootable DOS disk (floppy or CD). It features support for long filenames, compressed & fragmented files, built-in hex viewer, file copy, and more. This is a simple way of accessing an NTFS file system by using DOS. The program suite is presented in a ZIP format that contains the basic executionable file (can be copied to an existing bootable DOS floppy disk or USB stick), an ISO file that can be burnt to any CD which makes it bootable (uses FreeDOS) and contains the NTFS Reader program plus other free utilities from the publisher (KillDisk, Uneraser, Disk Image & Password Changer). There is also a small program included in the package that creates a bootable floppy disk or USB stick (again using the FreeDOS operating system). Active NTFS Reader for DOS is an excellent program for data recovery but it lacks the ability to be able to delete a file, or folder, under NTFS. This means that it cannot be used to delete Windows files (files that are necessary for Windows to run). These files cannot be deleted while Windows is running and, if they become corrupted, it is hard to replace the corrupted files if the NTFS file system is used. If you are an advanced PC user looking to recover lost data then Active NTFS Reader for DOS would be a terrific add-on to your toolbox. However, it is not a program for inexperienced users. If you think you qualify (ie, can work in pure DOS and understand file recovery) then grab a copy of Active NTFS Reader for DOS. We liked! Access this 4.43Mb download from: Win95 Desktop Utilities
XMedia Recode v2.1.8.4 – WinXP/Vista/7
XMedia Recode is a program that can convert between about 40 different audio & video formats. It features video editing (including cropping), padding, color correction, drag 'n drop, there is selectable aspect ratio, it can direct-stream copy (audio & video), zoom, 2-pass encoding, rips audio from video, rips unprotected DVDs, and more. supports the following formats – 3GP, 3GPP, 3GPP2, AAC, AC3, AMR, ASF, AVI, AVISynth, DVD, FLAC, FLV, H.261, H.263, H.264, M4A, m1v, M2V, M4V, Matroska (MKV), MMF, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, TS, TRP, MP2, MP3, MP4, MP4V, MOV, OGG, PSP, (S) VCD, SWF, VOB, WAV, WMA and WMV. It also supports the DivX format if the DivX codec is installed. This is an excellent multimedia file converter that can convert between most audio and video formats. We did note that it does not support the MID (Midi) file format, which is a shame, but that was the only major format which was not included. Video conversion is not that fast, with an 89 minute movie taking 59 minutes to convert (VOB to MPEG-2) and a 46 minute video taking about 21 minutes (AVI to MOV). XMedia Recode does not rip copy protected DVDs, but there isn't much else that it can't convert. It can convert a movie file for your PDA or phone, and copies for the PSP and PS3. Apart from the speed (or lack thereof), the only other complaints that we had was that XMedia Recode is rather cumbersome to use, and most users will find the huge number of options somewhat daunting. Fortunately, in most cases you only need select the format you wish to convert to (the "Format" control on the first tab on the left) and it will sort out most parameters to give you the best outcome. Overall, even with the cumbersome interface we found XMedia Recode to be an excellent multimedia file converter. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 4.23MB download from: WinXP Multimedia Programs
DAEMON Tools Lite v4.35.5 – WinXP/Vista/7
DAEMON Tools Lite is an optical media emulator that converts physical CD/DVD disks into virtual disks or images. It emulates up to 4 virtual CD/DVD drives (mounts & unmounts disk images) and supports SCSI Pass-Through Direct (SPTD 1.62). This is an excellent tool for anyone working with disk images files. It can mount a disk image so that it can be viewed and used (we even ripped audio from a mounted video clip) and it can create MDS disk images, with optional password protection, from your DVDs. Cool. The contents of DVDs can be stored on the hard drive as a disk images and played from the hard drive, just as if the original disk was playing in the CD/DVD drive. Even though it only creates MDS disk images, it mounts all popular disk image formats – like ISO, NRG, etc. DAEMON Tools Lite is only free for personal, non-commercial use. If you need to create disk images from your DVDs, or you want to mount existing disk images on your hard drive so they act as if the disk was in the player, then grab a copy of DAEMON Tools Lite. It is an awesome tool! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 8.71MB download from: WinXP General Programs
Fotobounce v1.1.2 – WinXP/Vista/7
Fotobounce is a photo organizer, with built-in face recognition to speed up tagging. It features image sharing via Facebook or Flickr, album creation, easy image navigation, advanced face recognition technology, and more. We were expecting great things from Fotobounce. The technical specification is excellent, and the features are awesome, but it never seemed to come up to our expectations. The face recognition aspect, the most important feature that separates it from a hundred other photo organizers, just never seems to be able to automatically recognize faces. We had blank walls, cakes, and miscellaneous other objects "suggested" as an "identified" individual (you tell it who is in a photograph and it will then suggest other photos that have the same person in them). While you can manually correct all errors, the number of errors was just too much for us and we lost patience after having done about 100 (out of some 4,000 images!). Once it had the right people, it worked well and you could group them, or just bring up all identified images of a person. This is great for posting to Facebook, Flickr or AirSet – three social networking sites which the program links to. There is a huge period of time from when you first install the program until you can use it. The author claims that it can process about 1,000 images per hour, but we found that our 4,027 photos took well over 5 hours to process and list. This is a set and forget task that you may wish to carry out overnight. Fotobounce did everything it claimed to do and, in many ways, did them well. We were not so impressed with the automated nature of the facial recognition technology which gave so many errors that we found we had to manually recognize most of the people in our images. Other aspects, like the slideshow and the albums, we thought were great. When you first install Fotobounce it will look to see if you have Adobe AIR already installed on your computer and, if not, it will download and install it for you (another 15.1MB download). it does include ads, but these are Google ads and are not considered malicious or harmful. If you are looking for a high tech photo organizer, and want to play around with face recognition technology, then grab a copy of Fotobounce. You might find it is exactly what you want. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 15.4MB download from: WinXP Graphic Programs
PDF Reader for Windows 7 v1.0.0.1066 – WinXP/Vista/7
PDF Reader for Windows 7 is a small PDF reader that can open, read, view, review & print Adobe PDF files. It features a slideshow-style page viewer, you can set it as the default PDF reader, and more. PDF Reader for Windows 7 can convert PDF files (one page at a time) to TXT, BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, WMF, EMF or EPS. This is a great little PDF viewer and Adobe Acrobat Reader replacement that can scroll through the pages of a PDF document like a slideshow, and can convert the PDF files into text files or image files. You can also use it to print your PDF file. Because it processes each page separately, conversion can only be carried out one page at a time, and you cannot scroll down a multi-page document but must open each page (there are forward and back arrows on the toolbar that allow you to move from page to page). In view of the small size of this program, it has a surprising number of worthwhile features which makes it a great replacement for the bulky Acrobat Reader. However, PDF Reader for Windows 7 still lacks all the heavyweight Acrobat tools, like a spell checker. Unfortunately it cannot integrate into your Web browser, so you may want to keep Adobe Acrobat around for that. While it can associate itself with the PDF file extension, it cannot disassociate itself, which is a pain if you want to open up a PDF document in another program. PDF Reader for Windows 7 has one last problem, its title. Yes, it works with Windows 7, but it also works with Vista and Windows XP! Why did the author decide just to include Windows 7 in the title? Most XP and Vista users would overlook this program thinking it was not for them. If you are looking for a lightweight PDF reader, that also includes some conversion tools, then grab a copy of PDF Reader for Windows 7. Like us, we think you will be impressed. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 941kB download from: WinXP Text Programs
Street v1.0 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista/7
Street is a simple but addictive card game, similar to Golf A-K, where you click on exposed cards in the Tableau with an adjoining numerical value to the top card on the Foundation. In this game you must click on cards with an adjoining numerical value. You have a Tableau of 42 cards, arranged in seven columns of six, plus a stock of 12 cards. The top card from the Stock moves to the Foundation. For example, if you had a 10 on your Foundation you could click on a Nine or a Jack, and that card would join the Foundation becoming the new top card. If it was the Jack, you could then click on a 10 or a Queen from the Tableau, continuing to grab cards from the Tableau for the Foundation until there were no more moves. A new card would then be selected from the Stock and you would start again. The idea is to clear the Tableau before the Stock is depleted. Golf is normally played with fewer cards in the Tableau (7 columns of 5 cards) and more cards in the Stock so Street is harder to win. Street has reasonably good graphics but offers no options for cardbacks, background, or rules. What you see is what you get! With its addictive gameplay, Street is a game you can play, and play, and play. We liked! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 792kB download from: Win98 General Games
UPDATES
HelpNDoc – an authoring tool that creates HTM, CHM, PDF & DOC Helpfiles – has been updated to version 2.3.0.11 with a download size of 2.68MB. The author has advised that changes in this version include: added PDF font embedding configuration; left & right floating images support; improved spell checker; fixed 32-bit PNG image handling; plus various optimizations and enhancements. Access this new version from: WinXP Text Programs
PNotes – a light-weight, flexible, skinnable manager of virtual "sticky" notes – has been updated to version 5.5.110 with a new download size of 822kB. The author has advised that changes in this version include: added password protection; added notes encryption; backup capabilities; quick search; new schedule types; and other complements, improvements and bug fixes. Access this latest version from: Win98 Text Programs
Vista Start Menu – a superior alternative to the Start menu – has been updated to version 3.54 with a download size of 2.32MB. The author has advised that changes in this version includes bug fixes. It is also suitable for Windows 7. Access this version from: WinXP Windows Enhancements
AllMyNotes Organizer – an hierarchical information manager – has been updated to version 1.19 with a slightly larger download size of 2.47MB. The author has advised that this version includes some new features and some bug fixes. Access this new version from: WinXP Text Programs
blueprint – a non-destructive ASCII text editor and Notepad replacement – has been updated to version 1.00.10 with a download size of 2.45MB. The author has advised that changes in this version include: new text wrapping editor; new mini view; improved printing; more themes; enhanced user interface; and log file management. Get this latest version from: Win95 Text Programs
COMMENTS
We would like to thank the regular visitors to the CFS site who have told us their favorite freeware. If you have a favorite program which isn't listed on the CFS pages we invite you to share that information with everyone through this site and this newsletter. If you are an author of a freeware app (or would just like to suggest a program) and would like it listed on these pages, please fill in the Submit Software form.
If you enjoy the Completely FREE Software site please don't feel shy about letting others know.
Click Here to share this page with your friends, website visitors, ezine readers, social followers and other online contacts.
|
|
Desktop Utils
