Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #473 issued May 9, 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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

Air Cavalry v1.0 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Air Cavalry is a mid 90s retro 360 degree helicopter war game originally released on Nintendo. It features 1- & 2-player modes (2-player includes a split screen co-operative mode), 3 campaigns to fight (Middle East, Central America & Indonesia), split-screen cockpit view, and more. This is a surprisingly good shooter, with lots of action, lots of weapons, lots of enemies and a good choice of helicopters (UH-60 Blackhawk, OH-6 Defender, AH-64H Apache & AH-94). Controls are a little cumbersome when played on a PC – the X is the firing button, the Z switches beween weapons (you have limited ammunition so use wisely), and the arrow keys give you direction – but you soon become proficient in selecting the correct weapon for the target. The game can be played by 1 or 2 players, and there are two modes for the 2-player option. Air Cavalry is played fullscreen using an emulator so that it runs on a Windows PC. We found Air Cavalry to be an excellent, if somewhat retro, war shooter. Graphics are basic VGA but, even though it plays fullscreen, it retains the correct aspect ratio on widescreen monitors (it adds a black band on each side rather than stretch the image to fit). If you enjoy retro games, or if you simply want to see what grandpa played on his Nintendo, grab a copy of Air Cavalry. It won't disappoint. Access this 1.25MB download from: Win95 General Games

MapKeyboard v1.1 – WinXP/Vista
MapKeyboard is a small tool to remap the keyboard, allowing the user to alter any key to function as a different one, or to disable any key. Particularly useful for laptop owners and for people using non-standard keyboards, MapKeyboard allows the user to select a key through the program and assign a new function to it. For example, you may wish to change the function of your context menu key (the key that emulates a mouse right click on the right hand side of the Spacebar) to that of another key. We changed it to the PrintScreen key because we find the location of the standard PrintScreen key awkward when we are trying to capture some action screenshots for our reviews. Once the key has been re-mapped, you must reboot the computer to make it permanent. The MapKeyboard program does not need to be active (or in memory) for this change to happen. At any time you can reset the keyboard back to the original my clicking on the "Reset keyboard layout" button. We did notice that the program wanted to access the Internet every time it was loaded. This may be to check for updates but we have no way of knowing if it was for this purpose or for some other purpose. Using our firewall to block Internet access did not prevent the program from working. The main issue we had with MapKeyboard was that it offered only a limited number of options. For example, if you have a US keyboard (with the dollar symbol above the "4" key) you could not remap that key to, say, the Euro symbol because uppercase variants are not supported. Likewise, there are no options within the program to change the $ sign, or any of the other uppercase symbols, on a standard keyboard – the choice is strictly regimented. This is a shame because, for example, many people who need both the dollar and the Euro symbols, cannot use this program to turn one of the unused keys (say, the right hand Win key) into a Euro key so they have access to both on the same keyboard. That restriction aside, MapKeyboard is a worthwhile tool for anyone who wants to remap their keyboard. We liked. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 27kB download from: WinXP Desktop Utilities

Bible Explorer v4.1.2.9 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Bible Explorer is a Christian Bible study library that includes the King James Version (KJV) Bible translation. It features approximately 2,500 additional books & Bibles to download (not all are free), optional display of Strong's numbers, optional display of Jesus' words in red, bookmarks, rich text note taker, multi-window display, auto program update (requires Internet connection), discussion notes, cross references, and more. This is an excellent Bible study suite with many features and books. The author asks for free on-line registration and, as a reward for registering, you are given an additional 16 books to download (10MB). You can also visit the author's site and access these books, and hundreds more free books, in CROSS format. This includes 18 free Bible translations (a total of 47 are available) plus commentaries, study guides, maps, dictionaries, etc. Information is provided in a tabbed window, but also in multiple windows displayed on the screen so you can open, say, 6 different books but still have two or three of them displayed on the screen at the same time. The note taker offers rich text formatting and also auto-hyperlinks Biblical references. We were very impressed with Bible Explorer, but didn't like having to provide name and address details (both postal and e-mail) to download free books. That aside, if you are looking for a great study Bible tool you could find that Bible Explorer is exactly what you want. Worth a look! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 6.24MB download from: Win98 General Programs

FTP Wanderer v2.8.1 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
FTP Wanderer is an FTP client for transferring files to and from Internet sites. It features a Connection Wizard, a Favorites folder with 15 download sites already included, supports CHMOD, drag 'n drop, supports resume, simultaneous downloads & uploads, supports CERN proxy, optional auto-reconnect for lost connections, and more. This is a terrific little FTP client that is suitable for most file transfers. Unlike most FTP clients that offer two panes with the left hand pane being the localhost (your computer) and the right hand pane being the remotehost (the Internet site), this one only shows the remotehost and you must preset the folder where files are to be downloaded for each connection (or it will download them to its own folder), and you must browse your computer (the localhost) to find the location of the files that are to be uploaded. While FTP Wanderer might lack some of the features you have come to expect from an FTP client (like automatic selection of binary and ASCII files), and the aforementioned dual pane split screen, it makes up for these lack of features by being ultra small, and portable (it requires no installation, just unzip and run). It would be easy to concentrate on the shortfalls in this program but it has other attributes, including that it is small and fast, that should be highlighted. FTP Wanderer might not be a replacement for other FTP clients but it is an excellent adjunct and it has the added advantage of offering access to some great download sites on the Net. We loved! Access this 211kB download from: Win95 Internet Related

Clickalka v1.30 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Clickalka is a Clickomania-style puzzle. It features excellent animated graphics, fun gameplay, Internet hi scores, and more. This is a fun little puzzle where you click on three or more like-colored blocks so they disappear, with the object of having no remaining blocks at the end. Clickalka is very easy to play, almost too easy, but the animated graphics are fun and the game has an addictive element that will bring you back for more and more. If you like, you can post your high scores on-line and compete with other users for the honor of having the top score. Clickalka is a great way to kill a few minutes. We liked. Access this 1.29MB download from: Win95 General Games

RemoveWGA v1.2 – WinXP
RemoveWGA is a tiny utility that removes the Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications tool from your computer so that it doesn't "phone home" to Microsoft every few weeks. This is not the validation tool (required for critical updates to Windows) but you will be nagged by Microsoft to re-install it. No-one seems to know what information is being transmitted back to Microsoft through the notification tool so, without wishing to be accused of being paranoid, we are wary of any vendor who wants to be regularly notified about anything. With any other vendor, we would label this tool "spyware". RemoveWGA does not touch any part of the validation process, just the notification tool. This program was removed from the author's site due to pressure from Microsoft (typical bully tactics) and we don't know if it works with Vista. If you are prepared to be nagged by Microsoft every time Windows is updated, you can use RemoveWGA to remove the Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications tool. We did! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME, and it may not be suitable for Vista. Access this 14kB download from: WinXP Windows Enhancements

Extra Photo to Video Converter Free v4.22 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Extra Photo to Video Converter Free is a program that creates a photo slideshow with background music, subtitle & transition effects. It features support for all major image formats (BMP, EMF, GIF, J2K, JPG, PCX, PNG, RAS, TGA, TIF & WMF), support for most major audio formats (WMA, MP3, WAV, ADPCM, PCM, GSM & OGG), saves to the major video formats (AVI, DivX, Xvid, MPG, WMV & RealMedia), offers 142 transition effects, slideshow preview, and more. This is a handy program if you wish to convert your digital photos into a slideshow video. It allows you to add subtitles to each photo (or the same subtitle across all photos) with full control on the font, color, position and transparency of the subtitles. You can add background music and Extra Photo to Video Converter Free will even extract audio from a video to use as your background music. The program uses a three-step process – select images, transition effects and subtitles, then select your background audio file, finally select the output video format. We found that Extra Photo to Video Converter Free was relatively easy to use, even though there wasn't any Helpfile or other assistance included with the program. If you neglect a step it will prompt you (for example, the output video filename and location). Unfortunately, for us, it did not always produce a usable video file. This might have been caused by a conflict between this program and another on our computer so we are not overly critical of the problems we experienced. If you are looking to convert some of your photos into a video slideshow, Extra Photo to Video Converter Free should be high on your list. Worth a look! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 8.52MB download from: Win98 Graphic Programs

BonkEnc v1.0.7 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
BonkEnc is a multi-purpose audio CD ripper, encoder and converter that supports MP3, OGG & WAV formats. It features CDDB/freedb online CD database support, full control over audio settings, cuetext support, auto writes song info to ID3 or Vorbis comment tags, includes a built-in audio player, and more. This is a superb audio tool, specifically for ripping audio CDs. However, it can also convert files between the three main formats, plus save to the native Bonk format, MP4/M4A, AAC and FLAC. Ripping is fast and effortless, with a 3 minute CD audio song taking less than 20 seconds, and the final audio quality is excellent. BonkEnc includes a superb Helpfile which we found somewhat superfluous because the program is so easy to use. Insert a CD in your CD player and, if you are connected to the Internet, you will get the CDDB information about the CD (assuming it is in the database). When information is not available, you can use it to post it to the FreeDB database so that others can access it. Neat. We loved BonkEnc. It is an excellent CD ripper and is a great way to create MP3 CDs of your songs to play in your MP3 in-car CD player (you can put the contents of up to 10 audio CDs onto one MP3 CD – who needs a CD stacker?). Grab a copy now! Access this 4.14MB download from: Win95 Multimedia Programs

Bowling Masters v1.0 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
Bowling Masters is a 3D 10-pin bowling game where you can be king of the bowling lanes. It features 4 game modes (Arcade Bowling 1, Arcade Bowling 2, Bowling Sim & Easy Bowling), choice of 6 avatars, 4 alleys, 4 ball skins, play either singles or multiplayer, 4 camera angles, and more. If you like the fun of 10-pin bowling, but not the sweat that goes with it, or you just can't get out to play at your local bowling alley, then grab a copy of Bowling Masters. It offers the same look 'n feel as a real bowling alley but without the shoe hire, the tinea, or the talcum powder. If you are a novice you can try Easy Bowling but, if you are a macho man or a formidable female, you can try your hand at one of the arcade versions. Bowling Masters is a great way to kill an hour or three and, once you've mastered the game with consistent 300s (you wish!), you can take on your friends in a winner-take-all round. We loved Bowling Masters. It is a fun game that is highly addictive. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 8.33MB download from: Win98 General Games
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