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Freeware & Shareware
November 2001

Tim Hoke

Tim Hoke is the Sr. Pastor at Faith Presbyterian Church, a long-time member of Alamo PC and an avid computer user who loves to try out new programs, especially shareware and freeware. He gets excited about a good deal. More than that, he enjoys sharing good deals with others.

Why not send him a note about your favorite shareware or freeware programs.

I was sitting at my computer yesterday when up popped a window asking if I wanted to add a program to my computer. I must say, I was a bit shocked because, although I was online, I had not sought out any subscriptions to software. However, it looked mighty interesting to me so I installed it. The program is Weatherug and can be gotten at www.weatherbug.com. I’ve just begun to play with it, so I don’t know what all it will do. But I do know that it will install into your system tray and give you the current temperature and weather advisories in your area. Best of all, it is Free!

Another tip I want to share comes from Cliff Hayes who e-mailed me the following address: <http://www.refdesk.com>. It is very cool, and I’ve even made it my home page. I’ve only scratched the surface of this site, so I can’t give you a full description. Suffice it to say is that it is a must-see. And, like WeatherBug, it is free!

Got another e-mail suggestion from Marc Mays who writes:

I read your article ‘Freeware & Shareware’ in the PC Alamode. You can’t really write about freeware and shareware without at least mentioning <http://www.webattack.com>. They are better than even C-Net, and have everything you could possibly want in one location.

Well, I tried it and, Marc, you are right. This is one cool site. It even features a free e-mail service that apprizes subscribers of new and interesting shareware. I signed up and am waiting for new freeware to share with you.

One of the freeware products on the WebAttack Web page is IncrediMail. WebAttack gives it a five-star rating (out of a possible five stars). Here is their blurb on what it offers:

IncrediMail is a graphical, feature-rich e-mail program that offers you an unprecedented interactive experience. With IncrediMail you can personalize your e-mails according to your mood and personality. IncrediMail's Web Gallery offers a constantly updated collection of e-mail Letter backgrounds, Animations, Sounds and E-cards, that are integrated into the e-mail message itself — not as an attachment. Experience 3D effects while sending, receiving or deleting your mail. IncrediMail even offers a collection of flash Notifiers that will announce the arrival of new mail and adds life to your desktop and there is also the ability to add your own personalized hand written signature. Impress your friends while expressing yourself!

It comes in a free version, but offers a full-featured version for $29.95.

Newsflash for all the disappointed Napsterites who no longer get lots of free music. There are some new kids on the block (no, not a rock group) that use peer-to-peer technology for file sharing. Grokster and KaZaA are free and allow you to download hundreds of music and video titles that others are willing to share. At this point these, and services like them are legal (you’ll have to think through the ethical issues on your own), but you should know that the entertainment industry has filed suit against them. According to Preston Gralla with ZDNet, the music industry is unlikely to win a judgment against these Napster successors, not only because of their peer-to-peer technology, but also because they are based overseas.

Another music related freeware program is FreeRip. Clarke Bird sent me an e-mail from ZDNet.com where you can download FreeRip. Here’s what it does:

FreeRip MP3 is a free application that can record digital audio tracks directly from compact discs, without going through your sound card. You can save tracks as CD-quality WAV files or encode them to Ogg Vorbis or MP3 format. Moreover, you can encode existing 16-bit WAV files to Ogg Vorbis or MP3 format. CDDB and ID3 tagging are supported, and FreeRIP MP3 integrates an installing facility for the Ogg Vorbis Plug-in for Winamp.

I should mention that it works on Windows 95/98/NT/2000, CD-ROM w/ support for digital audio extraction.

You might also want to check out a shareware (not free) program, Acoustica MP3 Burner which turns MP3s into playable CDs. It’ll raise the volume of quieter tracks so they can be heard more easily when played, trim songs that have too much silence at their beginnings or ends, and let you add fades from one track to another. Lastly, check out A2 Media Player (freeware) that plays all kinds of digital music, as well as audio CDs and many video formats as well. It is futuristic-looking and packed with many neat features. Both Acoustica MP# and A2 Media Player can be found at ZDNet .