Date: July 25th, 2008 6:53:43 a.m.

(Mailing list information, including unsubscription instructions, is located at the end of this message.)
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CFS Weekly Newsletter #483
[ISSN 1441-6840]

Web Site: http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com
E-mail 1: editor@completelyFREEsoftware.com
E-mail 2: cfs@people.net.au
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Welcome to the 'Completely FREE Software' Weekly Newsletter.

This is an "opt in" only newsletter. If you didn't subscribe, or wish to unsubscribe, please use the personalized address at the end of this newsletter.


HOWDY

Great to be back with you for another week of fabulously fresh freeware.

We will be taking a short, well-earned vacation for two weeks starting August 4, so there won't be any newsletters on August 8th and 15th. We will be back in the office again, ready to work, on Monday, August 18. During those two weeks we will still have a skeleton crew working to answer emergency e-mails and ensure that everything runs smoothly.

We have a great selection of freeware for you below. We also have our regular columns -- Dr T's excellent Computer Tip of the Week, and our ever popular Smile of the Week.

To get access to the best downloads, why not take a minute and become a member of arguably the best freeware-only site in the world. More details from our members' page:

http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com/join.html

What are you waiting for -- become a CFS "lifer" now, or try out the site with a 1-month, 1-year or 2-year membership. We are still half the price of most other members-only sites and I think we offer the best value for your hard earned dollar.

One small point. If you sign up for a Lifetime membership through 2CheckOut.com you might be surprised to see that, according to them, a "lifetime" is only 12 years. That is because the number 12 is the highest number option they have -- 12 weeks, 12 months, 12 years. Don't worry, at the end of 12 years you will NOT be cut off if you are a CFS 'lifer' -- your membership will continue indefinitely...

Is your CFS membership going to expire soon? If you wish to extend an existing membership (without creating a new account) read this FAQ:

http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com/faqs5.html#15

Have a great week and...

Keep smilin'

Regards

Graham Pockett
Editor
Completely FREE Software


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COMPLETELY FREE SOFTWARE

Sauerbraten -- Win9x/ME/XP/Vista (5 doves)
Sauerbraten is a 3D first person shooter that allows map/geometry editing to be done dynamically in-game. It features single & multi-player modes (inc teamplay), choice of 7 weapons, choice of 110 maps (or create your own), intense gameplay (similar to Doom 2 & Quake 1), and more. This is an awesome, and massive, game that is really many games in one. Sauerbraten is really the next stage in the CUBE game engine (aka CUBE 2). It takes you into various worlds where you can employ your skills as a weapons master. You travel through buildings, through tunnels, under water, across numerous landscapes, and more as you collect armor, ammunition, health, etc so you can keep going. The game engine is smooth and precise with the arrow keys providing movement, the mouse direction (horizontally and vertically), the scroll button your choice of weapon and both the Spacebar and the right mouse button for jumping. The left mouse button is for firing your active weapon. A massive game in all
aspects, Sauerbraten is a must have for gamers of all types. We loved! Access this 291MB download (yes, you read correctly!) from:

http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com/gg3_w95.html#sauerbraten32

Free Error Cleaner v2.35 -- Win9x/ME/XP/Vista (5 doves)
Free Error Cleaner is a tool that identifies missing and invalid references in the Windows Registry. It features automatic backup every time the program is used, optional Registry restore of deleted items, scans 13 sections for errors, built-in scheduler, and more. This is an excellent system cleaner that scans the Windows Registry and reports problems. If you have a registered copy it will then clean or repair these problems -- the problem being that it requires registration (albeit free) but the author's site does not work properly and registration failed to work on two out of three times we tried. It took some perseverance to get the key which then unlocked the program so that the restore and repair section would work. Free Error Cleaner identified 455 problems with our Registry and, after we finally were able to unlock the program, it successfully removed all those problems. However, even this didn't go smoothly and it took three scan/repair cycles before it reported a cl
ean Registry. Those little problems aside, Free Error Cleaner worked really well and did a great job of identifying and (finally) repairing our Registry. We liked! Access this 926kB download from:

http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com/we2_w95.html#errclean32

Zulu DJ v1.10 -- Win98/ME/XP/Vista (5 doves)
Zulu DJ is an audio DJ program for mixing live music and effects. It crossfades between two tracks, has automatic beat detection, synchronizes between decks, supports most audio file formats (WAV, MP3, VOX, GSM, RA, AU, AIF, FLAC, OGG, etc), changes the pitch of each track in real time, adds cue pointers, loops sections within a track, offers special effects (Distortion, High Pass Filter, Reverb, Phaser, Flanger & Delay), applies effects in real-time, separate output for headphones, and more. This is a professional-quality DJ mixer which is simple enough for novices to use. You can create effects and mix music from two decks in real time, fading between the decks, creating loops, etc. Even if you are not a professional DJ you will love playing with the effects you can create in Zulu DJ. However, the one thing that it cannot do is to save your newly created audio clips, though you could use one of many free programs that will record what is played through your sound card. Zulu
DJ is a fun tool with a professional aspect. A "must have" for audiophiles and DJs alike. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 267kB download from:

http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com/mp1_w95.html#zulusetup32

MailDominion v1.0 -- WinXP/Vista (5 doves)
MailDominion is a program that removes unwanted junk mail from a pop3 mail server before it reaches the inbox. It uses an intelligent, fast learning, configurable filter, and features a whitelist & blacklist (words, phrases, names, addresses, etc), supports multiple accounts, optionally confirms deletions, includes a Helpfile, and more. This is an excellent way to automatically remove spam mail at the mail server before it ever gets to your computer. The program "learns" what is wanted and what isn't by what you manually delete, and the whitelist/blacklist also tells the program what is acceptable and what isn't. When it displays mail for your input you can select some e-mails and click on the "Process" button to delete them without the program "remembering" this action, or you can click on the "Process/Learn" button to kill the mail and have it remember what was done and therefore "learn". We had a few minor issues with MailDominion. First, the download is large because this
is a Java-based program and it includes the full Java Redistributable, something that most users would already have on their computer. Secondly, there is no option for a periodic scan (say, every 3 or 5 minutes) so you must remember to manually start a scan. Thirdly, it does not minimize to the desktray (next to the clock) but remains in the main tray area with all your other major programs. A desktray icon with, say, a right click performing a manual scan, would be very handy. These three points are quite minor but would, if rectified, improve this program even more. We were most impressed with MailDominion. It is simple to setup, simple to use and, while it does offer the potential to delete required mail (like CFS newsletters!), you can use the whitelist to ensure that known "good" mail is not trashed. Grab a copy now! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 14.9MB download from:

http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com/ir1_w95.html#MD32

The Tetris Game v1.0 -- Win9x/ME/XP/Vista (4 doves)
The Tetris Game is a standard Tetris (falling blocks) clone. It features a next piece indicator, has simple & clean graphics, there are on-line high scores, and more. This is a basic version of this popular game. The Tetris Game doesn't offer anything unique, or new, just the standard gameplay we have all come to love. It lacks any background image (possibly not a bad feature) or any background music (again, not a bad feature) but it is bland and boring unless you are a dedicated Tetris fan who is collecting games or who wants to play the most number of different Tetris games. The rest of us will probably ignore The Tetris Game in favor of one with a few more unique features in its gameplay. Yawn... Access this 547kB download from:

http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com/gg19_w95.html#The-Tetris32

1-abc.net Folder-To-TXT v1.01 -- WinXP/Vista (5 doves)
1-abc.net Folder-To-TXT is a small utility that creates editable lists of all files within a folder. It features optional folder recursing (includes all the sub-folders), optionally shows full file path, optionally displays file extensions, optionally includes date & time information, and more. How many times have you wanted to share a file list with someone else, or just save a copy as part of a system backup? 1-abc.net Folder-To-TXT does exactly that. You simply point it at a folder and it will "read" all the files in that folder and place the list in its window. With the click of a button it will create a text file of that list, and that text file can be printed, e-mailed, edited or exported. We find it helpful to get lists of all the files in a "storage" folder (our software archives) prior to making changes on our computer so we can replicate the original collection of files in case they get lost or misplaced. While there are a few programs that can do this, 1-abc.net Fo
lder-To-TXT is one of the easiest-to-use tools we have seen. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME -- it also requires free on-line registration to use beyond 10 days. Access this 112kB download from:

http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com/du3_w95.html#fold-txt32

Resize My Pictures v1.0.0.2 -- WinXP/Vista (5 doves)
Resize My Pictures is a bulk photo resizer and renamer. It features support for most major photo formats (JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG & TIF), over 40 pre-defined image sizes (or custom-size your image), ratio-based resizing, and more. If you have a lot of photos that need resizing, or renaming, then Resize My Pictures is probably for you. You can load a number of images into the program and then set the parameters to resize and/or rename those images. One good aspect is that it does not degrade the image quality, specially when saved in JPG format. We were surprised to see that it reported the open image size incorrectly -- the right width was reported but the height was reported to be exactly half what it actually was. This does not seem to affect the program though it is somewhat disconcerting at first until you realize what is happening. Resize My Pictures is an easy way to work with multiple images. Awesome! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows
95, 98 or ME. Access this 1.39MB download from:

http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com/grp3_w95.html#Resize_My_Pictures32

Realms -- Win9x/ME/XP/Vista (5 doves)
Realms is an intense action, space-based shooter with missions, vessel upgrades, etc. It features 6 races (or realms) with missions for each race, lots of enemies to destroy (minefields, power generators, guardians & protectors), requires defense & strategy skills, and more. This is a fast action shooter, similar to Asteroids but which includes missions and vessel upgrades. Graphics are excellent, and the action smooth, though it does suffer from not being mouse-controlled. Gameplay is somewhat frenetic and there is a mastering curve before you can really start to kick the proverbial alien backside. As this is a mission-based game, you must concentrate on completing each mission so you can get upgrades for the next one. Realms is an excellent action shooter with some nice, mission-based features. We loved! Access this 6.28MB download from:

http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com/gg9_w95.html#Realms32


COMPUTER TIP OF THE WEEK
from Dr T -- RTemlak4dds@aol.com

Q:
What is the reason for exiting out of all programs before shutting down the computer? What happens if this isn't done?

A:
Exiting out of programs gives them a chance to close out correctly. Many programs need to save information before they close.

Some programs create many temporary files, and will clean those files up when you shut the program down. A lot of e-mail programs will empty the deleted items folder when you exit out of the program. Your internet browser can be set to empty temporary files when you exit.

For the most part, when you shut down Windows, especially Windows XP, your programs will be shut down correctly as part of the shut down process.

[Source: The Angellmore Newsletter]


SMILE OF THE WEEK

(contributions for this section are most welcome)

=: Wally-Mart Wine :=

Wally-Mart announced that, sometime in 2008, it will begin offering customers a new discount item... Wally-Mart's own brand of wine..

This huge retail chain is rumored to be teaming up with a winery in California to produce wines at an affordable price -- in the $2 to $5 range.

Wine connoisseurs may not be inclined to put a bottle of the Wally-Mart brand into their shopping carts, but Kathy Micken, a professor of marketing from Bentonville, Arkansas, said: "There is a market for inexpensive wine. However, branding will be very important."

Customer surveys were conducted to determine the most attractive name for the Wally-Mart wine brand. The top surveyed names in order of popularity were:

10. Chateau Traileur Parc
9. White Trashfindel
8. Big Red Gulp
7. World Championship Riesling
6. NASCARbernet
5. Chef Boyardeaux
4. Peanut Noir
3. I Can't Believe it's not Vinegar
2. Grape Expectations
1. Nasti Spumante

The beauty of Wally-Mart wine is that it can be served with either white meat (Possum) or red meat (Squirrel).

(PS: Don't bother writing back that this is a hoax, we know possum is not a white meat.)

[author unknown]


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 application and you would like it listed on these pages please fill in the form at:

http://www.completelyFREEsoftware.com/submit_software.html

If you enjoy the Completely FREE Software site -- and this newsletter -- please don't feel shy about letting others know.
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