Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #472 issued April 25, 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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

EIPC Tank Invaders v1.0 – WinXP/Vista
EIPC Tank Invaders is a vertically scrolling shooter where you blast away at attacking tanks. It features multiple levels, upgrades & extra strength with each level, an armor (health) indicator, mouse controlled action, fun addictive gameplay, and more. This is an entertaining, if somewhat light-weight, shooter where you blast away at the stream of enemy tanks advancing towards you. As you complete each level you receive additional weaponry, but so too do your opponents. Background music is bright and breezy and EIPC Tank Invaders is an enjoyable way to kill some time. We liked! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 1.76MB download from: WinXP General Games

Burn At Once v0.99.5 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Burn At Once is CD burning software (also supports DVDs if the commercial program, ProDVD, is installed). It features support for both data & audio CDs, supports re-writable disks, writes directly to disk or via an ISO file, uses FreeDB for audio track info, and more. This is a utilitarian program that lacks a pretty face and, in the words of the author "is not cluttered with any Wizards or cuddly animated characters". For this reason, novice users are recommended to check first with the on-board Helpfile though it, too, is not exactly novice-friendly. Burn At Once is really a GUI (graphical user interface) for a number of other free programs, including Cdrdao for CD writing, Mkisofs for ISO creation, WaveGain for ReplayGain, MadPlay for MP3 decoding, OGG Decoder, FLAC Decoder and Sox for audio resampling. The program works quite well, specially if you use the ISO option, but the lack of native DVD support makes it much less attractive to modern users. Our main complaint with the program was not its lack of a pretty face, or even the lack of DVD support, but its limitation that folders can only go 6 deep – we have a number of folders which go deeper, and we cannot back them up using Burn At Once. We did like the FreeDB links for anyone copying commercial audio CDs. Burn At Once has its limitations but, if you can live with those limitations, is a viable alternative to the bloated programs provided with most CD/DVD burners. Note: this program is only free for non-commercial use. Access this 3.81MB download from: Win95 General Programs

LCPlayer v0.5 – WinXP/Vista
LCPlayer is a media player that plays all major media formats, plus can rip & burn CDs. It features support for both audio & video formats, supports M3U playlists, includes an ID3 editor, it minimizes to the desktray (next to the clock), and more. This should be a terrific media player but, in use, it seems to lack real functionality – and it doesn't help that some parts of the program are in Spanish. The basic audio player (MP3, WMV, etc) is easy to use and works well, though the audio sounds a little too bassy in parts. However, we could not get it to play audio CDs, not could we get it to rip audio CDs. We tried to burn a CD but, every time we tried to tell it which drive, we received an error message. Probably the best aspect of LCPlayer is that it minimizes to the desktray, which is great if you want to listen to background music while you work. If you are looking for a basic media player then you might find that LCPlayer is sufficient for your needs. However, if you are looking for the ripping and burning functions, then this is probably not for you. Maybe they will be fixed in subsequent versions... Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 2.45MB download from: WinXP Multimedia Programs

PNotes v3.5 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
PNotes is a light-weight, flexible, skinnable manager of virtual "sticky" notes. It features flexible settings (skins, fonts, colors, alarms, transparency level, etc), alarm scheduling, Explorer-style tree of groups & sub-groups, drag 'n drop, optional skin creator (159kB), fully portable, and more. This is an excellent sticky notes type program with some terrific features that really enhance the basic concept. Not only can you make the notes look almost anyway you like but you can move them from computer to computer because PNotes truly is portable. It runs from a USB flash drive as easily as from a hard drive. You can use the alarm feature to get notes to announce appointments or other events, and you can use the Explorer-style tree structure to create groups and sub-groups of notes. There are also lots of skins you can download and use to dress up your notes or, if you are inclined, you can even create your own skins using the optional skin creator. We were most impressed with PNotes. It is one of the best "sticky" post-it style notes we have seen. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 181kB download from: Win98 Text Programs

Super Mario Flayer v2.2 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Super Mario Flayer is a run 'n jump arcade game where Mario's homeland is under attack by the evil Bowser and he must save the princess. It features a second game included with the download (Super Mario Crystals), lots of items to collect, terrific gameplay, it is suitable for all ages, and more. This is a fun game that all should enjoy. It is a typical run 'n jump game with the left and right arrow keys for sidewards travel and the Shift key for jumping (the Spacebar would have been easier, and more typical). You actually get two separate games when you grab a copy of Super Mario Flayer – a second Super Mario game that you will also love. Graphics are good in a VGA kind of way and the action is as smooth as we have come to expect from this type of game. When installed, you are encouraged to become involved in MarioCoins but we suggest you avoid adding that toolbar to your desktop. You can also block the game from accessing the Internet and this does not affect gameplay. We have always enjoyed a good run 'n jump game, and Super Mario Flayer did not disappoint. We loved! Note: the author states that this game is also suitable for Windows 3.1 but, as it calls on 32-bit DLLs from Windows, we doubt if it will run on anything less than Windows 95 (we reviewed the game on XP). Access this 10.8MB download from: Win95 General Games

Home Cinema v1.0 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Home Cinema is a peer-to-peer movie search engine that delivers thousands of movies via the Internet using streaming technology. It features a user friendly interface, allows the user to quickly search for the title of choice, the movie can be viewed full screen, the built-in search engine will scan dozens of on-line movie archives, and more. Home Cinema is an easy way to view movies which are available from various on-line archives. Simply type in the name of the movie you want to watch (or TV show) and you will normally be offered quite a few alternative sites which offer the movie. Click on the one you want and it should open up in a new, full screen window. If the movie has ceased to be available from that location, or the quality is poor, then an alternative site can be chosen. We had a number of issues with the concept of peer-to-peer movie viewing. First, the majority of movies have been pirated and it could be against the law for you to watch them. Secondly, from the movies we saw using this program, many were from China and were both poor quality and included Chinese sub-titles (quite often english sub-titles too). We are cautious about our use of programs like Home Cinema. While we can see some value in being able to watch otherwise un-available movies, we do not believe it should be used to circumvent copyright laws or to deny movie producers their rightful income. However, the choice is yours... Access this 4.70MB download from: Win95 Internet Related

CoffeeCup Free Image Viewer Plus v2.6 – WinXP/Vista
CoffeeCup Free Image Viewer Plus is an easy-to-use image viewer with built in e-mail, FTP and zip capabilities. It features support for most popular image formats (JPG, GIF, PCX, PNG, BMP, EMF, WMF, ICO & CUR), creates HTML thumbnail pages for a Website from any group of images, a quick image viewer tool, basic image editing tools, built-in image dicing, and more. This is an excellent image viewer that adds many additional tools into the equation – like FTP uploading, e-mailing of images and zipping. Not only that, but it will dice up an image so you can create an image map for posting on-line (a large image is cut into much smaller images so they load fast but the result is a seamless large image). CoffeeCup Free Image Viewer Plus also offers a set of basic image editing tools and filters which, while it may not be a replacement for a proper image editor, allows the users to carry out some editing. Aspects of the interface we found cumbersome, but it is easy to fine tune and the results are worthwhile. We were surprised that it did not include a slideshow function, something we have come to expect from a good image viewer. The only other area of disappointment was that it did not offer support for TIF image files. It does carry some advertising banners but these appeared to be for house ads and did not to access the Internet unless a banner was clicked on. Overall, however, CoffeeCup Free Image Viewer Plus is an excellent image viewer and one that should suit most people. Worth grabbing! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 4.97MB download from: WinXP Graphic Programs

AtomicCleaner v1.1.2 – WinXP only
AtomicCleaner is a basic system cleaning tool that removes files from your system that are clogging it up, allowing a lot more free space and speeding up your system. It cleans your temporary Internet files (cookies, cache, etc), general temporary files, and the Recycle Bin. Unfortunately, you cannot select which individual files to delete – it is all or nothing. It also does not (yet) support Vista so it is just for Windows XP users at this stage. Blindingly fast, AtomicCleaner helps keep your computer mean, lean and a super fast machine. We liked! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98, ME or Vista. Access this 326kB download from: WinXP Windows Enhancements

Hive Drive v2.0 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Hive Drive is a Breakout clone with a honey bee theme. It features excellent animated graphics, lots of powerups (and powerdowns), multi-level gameplay, fullscreen & windowed modes, cool background music, a high score table, and more. This is a nice looking Breakout-style arcade game with some fun, family oriented graphics that everyone should enjoy. The author says that "cute bees are entertaining themselves gathering honey in an original way. Help the hard-working insects accomplish their noble mission." In this game, the paddle is a blanket(?) held by two bees and they must keep the ball in the air while using it to break up blocks of honeycomb (beekeepers will probably cringe at that concept!). Because the blanket/paddle is curved and not flat as in most other Breakout games, Hive Drive is quite challenging until you learn the techniques. Historically, the original Breakout game was produced by Atari in 1976 which, in turn, was based off the first of the animated computer games, Pong, which dates back to 1972. Like many of those early games, games based off that concept just got better and better as the years have passed. The good ones, like Hive Drive, retain the allure and addictive element of the original while adding modern graphics and gameplay. We loved! Access this 3.74MB download from: Win95 General Games
UPDATE
Sudoku1 – the popular numbers puzzle game – has been updated to version 2.1 with a new, much larger download of 18.0MB. We have not been advised on the changes made to this version. Get this update from: Win98 General Games
COMMENTS
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