Completely FREE Software - CFS Weekly Newsletter #477 issued June 13, 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(does not take you directly to the program listing) it is probably because the site has been upgraded and the link is no longer valid.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

FlightGear v1.0.0 – Win98/ME/XP/Vista
FlightGear is an Open Source 3D real-time flight simulator. It includes 22 aircraft (many more can be downloaded), 38 airports (over 20,000 real world airports included in the full scenery set), 7 camera views, optional HUD, 3 primary Flight Dynamics Models, multi-player network access with chat, extensive 109 page manual, and more. This is a sensational flight sim that give the player a real sense of flying. Of course, like learning to fly in the real world, it takes some time to master the subtleties of flying your virtual aeroplane in FlightGear. There is a massive manual which includes a very handy Short Reference guide (which is still a 3-page document to print out!). We found having a hardcopy of this reference beside us assisted greatly in getting started. FlightGear offers a multitudes of planes, both in the initial download and those that can be downloaded separately. These included everything from the Wright Brothers plane through WWI biplanes to modern fighter jets and all types of commercial aircraft. It also includes multitudes of helicopters, ultra-lights, experimental, and even some ground vehicles (Willys Jeep, snow plough, etc). There were about 170 additional aircraft to download at the time of writing. Controls are precise, the animation excellent (subject to a reasonably recent computer with a good graphics card) and even the scenery you can add is terrific. You can use a special applet that will automatically download scenery as you need it so that you can fly across the world without worrying about getting new scenery. The initial scenery supplied with the program is a small area around the San Francisco airport. You should note that additional scenery is available in 10x10 degree squares, and the size of these squares can be over 100MB each (in TGZ archive format). We were extremely impressed with FlightGear. It is a "must have" for anyone who ever looked longingly at the skies and wanted to soar with the birds. We loved! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95. Access this 172MB download from: Win98 General Games

Atanua v1.0.080330 – WinXP/Vista
Atanua is a real-time logic simulator for learning basic boolean logic and electronics. It simulates 28 different 74-series chips plus an 8051 microcontroller variant, includes common components (logic blocks, gates, latches & flipflops), includes LEDs in various colors as well as 7-segment displays, includes 51 sample circuits, offers multiple undo/redo, zoom, and more. This is an awesome tool for anyone interested in learning electronics and/or basic boolean logic. You can drag 'n drop components onto the board and add wires. Wires can be moved around, or even bent, so that their paths are easier to follow. The author says: "The simulated parts are designed to resemble their real-world counterparts, which is more attractive for the students than pure schematics. The students can practice lab experiments using the simulated chips. The simulation shows the signal state of each wire in real time. In addition to high and low signal level, parts may output 'invalid' signal, stating that there is a problem with the circuit, such as outputs connected together, or missing wirings from some chip." Perfect for testing circuits, Atanua is free only for personal home use – schools, government departments and commercial users are required to purchase a license. We were highly impressed with this tool. However, we were disappointed that the author did not include a full explanation of all chips and components offered – purpose, pin configuration, etc. This information is available from books and catalogs (or even on the Internet) but a full explanation for these components within the program would have been helpful to novice users or students. If you are considering becoming involved in electronics then Atanua is a "must have". As we said, awesome! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 1.56MB download from: WinXP General Programs

IBM Lotus Symphony v1.0.0 – WinXP/Vista
IBM Lotus Symphony is an Office-style suite containing word processor, presentation program & spreadsheet. It features a spell checker, it can export documents to Adobe PDF, offers MS Office compatibility, is based on OpenOffice.org, supports the ODF standard (ISO 26300), supports over 23 languages, and more. This is an excellent alternative to the cumbersome, and expensive, MS Office. It offers a superb, full featured word processor that can use predefined document templates, contextual toolbars & editing menus, and automatic creation of a table of contents, footnotes, indexes and footers & headers. You can apply some neat styles to your text, like emboss, outline, shadow and engraved, and text can be turned 90 degrees and 270 degrees (vertical, facing either right or left). The spell checker keeps a constant watch on what you are writing, and underlines ever word it believes is incorrectly spelt. Corrections can be made from a right-click context menu. Neither the presentation nor spreadsheet programs within this suite invoked much enthusiasm from us, and the presentation program was barely compatible with Office 2000. The spreadsheet section performed better though was lack lustre and not very innovative. However, the word processor makes up for the deficiency and is worth the massive download on its own. On the subject of downloading, please note that the IBM server does not support download resuming so, if you have a problem with the download, you will have to start all over again. Aaaarrrggghhh!!! We liked its spell checker and the ability of the program (all three parts) to export documents to PDF format. One of the first suites ever released, IBM Lotus Symphony has languished since the advent of Microsoft's world domination with MS Office and releasing this free version should get more people using it. The word processor alone should help get IBM Lotus Symphony back in the game. We liked! Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 192MB download (we said it was huge!) from: WinXP Text Programs

Boggler v1.0 – Win9x/ME/XP
Boggler is a Scrabble-type word game where you create words from a 4x4 grid. It features timed gameplay, choice of dictionary (US English, UK English, French & Italian), change letter distribution, solution available, requires no installation, and more. This is a fun, if challenging, word game where you create words out of adjacent letters in a 4x4 letter grid, selecting words horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The game itself is relatively simple to play, as long as you have a good eye for selecting real words from what is simply a jumble of letters. Scrabble aficionados could use Boggler as a trainer. The dictionaries for each language, and the letter distribution, is based off Scrabble and there are over 178,000 US English words, 267,000 UK English words, 378,000 French words, and 584,000 words in the Italian dictionary. You can change the letter distribution, though the official Scrabble distribution is used and this is probably best left alone. Boggler isn't a pretty game – it lacks fancy eye candy, sound effects or background music – but it is extremely addictive if you enjoy word games. We loved! Access this 7.20MB download from: Win95 General Games

RadarSync v1.0.0.10 – WinXP/Vista
RadarSync is a program and driver updater that scans a PC, finds and installs the correct updates for the computer. It has a database of thousands of programs which are updated daily, downloads directly from the vendor (no viruses or worms), and more. This should have been a fantastic program – and early indications were that it was. We installed the program, allowed it to check for its own update, and set it to scan the computer. It found 34 programs and drivers which RadarSync said required updating. Unfortunately, you could not select which program or driver you wished to download – it was all or nothing. This we felt was wrong because quite often we deliberately choose not to use the latest version of a program, sometimes because the later version is not free and we have chosen to stay with the free version. After some considerable time downloading the hundreds of megabytes of programs of updates, we installed only those programs and drivers which we felt were applicable. We were particularly impressed with the option to create a Restore Point in Windows so we could go back to our previous version if there were problems with the new one. Having installed many dozens of the 34 suggested updates (some, to us, looked like they were the same program or driver but we diligently updated them anyway). We then rebooted the computer so that the new versions would become "live" and we re-scanned our computer. After the second scan there were now 41 items found, our original 34 plus a few more... What happened to all those updates we had already installed? Could all of them have been updated yet again? We doubt it. After about 12 hours we repeated the exercise. We then downloaded a fresh copy of the RadarSync program and tried again. Again, the same 41 items were discovered so we reinstalled most of them, and tried yet again. This time it found 39 items needing to be updated! We have no doubt that RadarSync was able to detect that we had these programs, but it was whether or not they needed to be updated which has caused us some concerns. Our download for the updates was well in excess of 450MB, so we are a little apprehensive about the ultimate value in RadarSync. It should work, it seems to work, but we have our reservations. This is one of those programs you will just have to try for yourself and judge if it is of value to you. We do suggest caution when allowing it to overwrite some programs which what might be paid-for versions of free programs you may already have. This includes some SE or Lite versions of programs obtained with equipment (video hardware, etc) and also updates of paid versions to a new version which requires further payment. We will leave the ultimate decision on how valuable RadarSync is to you. Note: we have been advised that this program is not suitable for Windows 95, 98 or ME. Access this 1.49MB download from: WinXP Desktop Utilities

DualXplorer v0.870 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
DualXplorer is a dual pane, Norton Commando-style file manager. It features built-in FTP client & server, single pane or dual plane views, built-in file viewer & text editor, compression tools, hex editor, file & directory synchronization, access to hidden system information (CD key, etc), minimizes to a desktray icon (next to the clock), MP3 tag viewer, and more. This is an excellent dual pane (or single pane) file manager that is far superior to Microsoft's Windows Explorer. It offers a full range of extra features, including a file viewer, text editor, FTP and networking capabilities, synchronization, and lots more. DualXplorer is easy to use and there is no setup required – just download and run. It gives quite a few layout options so you can position windows side by side, or one on top of the other, and each pane has its own toolbar quicklink to the drives. There are lots of options, plus plenty of drop-down menu items not normally found on file managers. We were impressed with DualXplorer. It serves a good purpose and is an excellent file manager. Worth grabbing! Access this 1.70MB download from: Win95 Windows Enhancements

Godtube Video Downloader v3.0 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Godtube Video Downloader is a video download tool that extracts videos from GodTube.com. It features auto download, saves to 3 popular video formats (AVI, FLV & MPEG), it offers multiple simultaneous downloads, it is simple to use, and more. We were disappointed in Godtube Video Downloader, not because of what the program does (or does not do) but because the author has misled everybody as to its capabilities. Instead of the four formats advertised (AVI, FLV, WMV & MPEG), it only saves to three (AVI, FLV & MPEG) and, instead of saving files suitable for PC, Ipod, Iphone, PSP & mobile phone (as we were told), the free version only saves files suitable for the PC. Of course, there are lots of free conversion programs that will take an FLV or AVI file and convert it to 3GP, MP4 or MOV formats, but that isn't the point, we just like to be told the truth. Godtube Video Downloader only downloads videos from the Christian video site, GodTube.com, but this it does well. It allows you to download multiple videos simultaneously, and can even launch your favorite player to watch them. The interface is easy to use and the program performs well. In spite of its deliberate shortcomings, we liked Godtube Video Downloader. Try it yourself. Access this 2.49MB download from: Win95 Multimedia Programs

Golden Axe v1.0 – Win9x/ME/XP/Vista
Golden Axe is an action arcade game from Sega (released in 1989) and it's up to you, as one of 3 characters, to exact revenge on Death Adder (one of the most vile and heinous beings to ever walk the planet) who has slaughtered and destroyed an entire town of innocent civilians. The author says that "you'll journey through a world full of dragons, undead skeletons, and brutal barbarians as you seek out Death Adder. Utilize your impressive axe skills or your mastery of magic to destroy any foe that dares to challenge you, and enlist the help of several animal friends that will make you an unstoppable force." Sounds like fun! This is a typical horizontal fighting game where you use your arrow keys, the Spacebar, the Shift key and the Ctrl key to manoeuvre your character. It can be played by one or two players and offers a retro look at action games from the late 1980s. Graphics are remarkably good, and the game can be played in a window or fullscreen (use the Esc key to toggle). Action is fast and furious, and enemies are not always easy to kill and you might find the game quite challenging at times. We really enjoyed playing Golden Axe and is a tiny size for such a great game. Grab a copy and see for yourself. Access this 900kB download from: Win95 General Games
UPDATES
15 Classic Slide Puzzle – a simple and entertaining game of logic played on a 4x4 grid – has been upgraded to version 2.9 with a slightly larger download size of 588kB. The author has not advised us of the changes in this version. Get this latest version from: Win95 General Games
COMMENTS
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