e-Sword - Bible Study Software

e-Sword is an absolutely stunning piece of free software!!! It's a Bible study program that is full of features! It's easy to use and has more capabilities than you would expect in a free software package. There are so many features in fact that you have to download each module seperately so I definitely recommend using a good download manager (see my previous post).

Review of download managers

I've tried a few download managers over the years and hated the spyware that got installed with many of them. Fortunately the creators of "Spybot Search & Destroy" have reviewed many of the offerings available and let you know which are loaded with spyware and how good the software is.

I note that they don't include DLExpert, a free download manager that I have used for the last 2 years. It's a very small program that has a simple and easy to use interface.

OTS Turntables

After mentioning OTS CD Scratch 1200 in my last post I looked at their website again and see that in April they released OTS Turntables. OtsTurntables Free is a 100% FREE (no spyware, no banner ads), virtual set of professional mixing turntables empowering music lovers, aspiring DJs and pros to scratch, adjust tempo and pitch, play backwards, and mix MP3s, WAVs, Ots files and CDs!!!

This would have been great at my party!!! I've tested it with a batch of 70's Disco MP3's and it works brilliantly!

Party Time!

I've been off air for a while because I've been organising a birthday party. I turned another decade so I thought I'd make it an eventful one. Here's how freeware and free stuff helped!

VIDEO: I had one PC hooked up to a data projector. With this PC I ran a slideshow using Irfanview. IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative freeware graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003.

The images I used in the slideshow were wallpaper images taken from the BBC Comedy website and the older Top of the Pops website (wallpapers for the modern TOTP's is held here). I also used wallpapers from TellyTunes.

When the slideshow wasn't running I made a compilation DVD from my own personal collection using DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink. Links and tutorials to these programs can be found here at the VideoHelp website.

AUDIO: For the music I had another PC hooked up to a chunky amp and speakers and used Ots CD Scratch 1200. I LOVE this program. Here's the official blurb from the website:

CD Scratch is a FREE, funky and incredibly fun "Virtual Turntables CD Player" performing the seemingly impossible... Play two songs from the same CD at the same time - one forwards and one in reverse! Scratch a CD track back and forth like a record, or listen to your favorite CD automatically mixed between the turntables. DJ your next party like a pro, or enjoy the optional warm vinyl-crackle ambience on your latest CD.

Perfect for music lovers and aspiring DJs, CD Scratch is the ultimate CD player for any Windows machine and is less than 1Mb to download FREE for life! (No spyware, no banner ads).

An alternative was to use Winamp or Media Player with MP3 and WMA files, but I wanted to make use of an extensive CD collection instead.

I'm glad to say that the party went very well!! :)

Free eBooks and Windows eBook Readers

eBooks - their great! I luv 'em! But they come in quite a few different formats and hence need different software to be able to read them. Here's a quick list of the different file formats with links to their respective readers and locations for downloading free eBooks.

eBook File types include: TXT, PDF, LIT, PDB, RTF, DOC, HTML, XML, SXW.

TXT - The most basic of formats. Small files can be read in Windows Notepad but for the extra bells and whistles go with these text file readers:

ETextViewer is a FREE txt file e-book reader.
It Opens large files;
Saves the position in the file when the program is closed;
Offers 5 bookmarks per book;
Reformats text to remove hard returns;
Offers your choice of font, background and foreground colours;
Allows for left and right margin size of your choice;
Comes with full uninstall option;
Remembers the last 20 books (and their bookmarks);
Auto scrolls text
& Accepts command line arguments.

Rudenko BookReader, another free reader, offers a unique way of reformatting text documents to display them on your screen according to your preferences. The program can scroll text automatically; it remembers the reading position for each book in your personal library; it includes a personal library manager, a bookmarks manager and an on-line library browser.

PDF - Adobe® Portable Document Format is the most commonly used file specification for electronic document distribution and exchange. Adobe PDF files look exactly like the original pages using the free Adobe Reader® software available on a wide variety of platforms and devices.

LIT - Microsofts standard file format for eReading, using ClearType® display technology that makes text on screen crisper and easier to read. Download the Microsoft Reader for PC here.

Create your own Microsoft Reader eBooks with the Read in Microsoft Reader (RMR) Add-In

or by using Overdrive's ReaderWorks Standard.

PDB - Palm database format originally developed for the Palm OS and extended for use on other operating systems as well.

eReader a.k.a. the free Palm eBook Reader, is used to read eBooks or files with the pdb extension on your Windows computer and/or laptop. The eReader software allows you to read books, change font sizes, add bookmarks, navigate your eBooks easily, and search for words in your book.

RTF, DOC, SXW, XML - Lesser used formats for distributed eBooks. To read RTF (rich text files) and some DOC files use Windows Wordpad. To read DOC, SXW or even possibly XML files try OpenOffice, a suite of free, multiplatform, open source applications for the desktop, sponsored by Sun Microsystems.

Download free eBooks from:

Project Gutenberg. It is the oldest producer of free electronic books (eBooks or etexts) on the Internet. The collection of more than 15,000 eBooks was produced by hundreds of volunteers. Most of the Project Gutenberg eBooks are older literary works that are in the public domain in the United States. All may be freely downloaded and read, and redistributed for non-commercial use. All files are in text format.

The Online Books Page is a website that facilitates access to books that are freely readable over the Internet. It also aims to encourage the development of such online books, for the benefit and edification of all. eBooks are available in text, HTML and PDF formats.

Etext Center - Over 2,100 publicly-available ebooks from the University of Virginia Library's Etext Center, including classic British and American fiction, major authors, children's literature, American history, Shakespeare, African-American documents, the Bible, and much more. eBooks are available in the Microsoft Reader LIT and Palm PDB formats.

Download free LIT files from ESSPC-eBooks.

Chuggnutt.com offers free Palm Reader ebooks by converting free works (primarly from Project Gutenberg) to the Palm Reader pdb format.

If you want more information than I have supplied here then have a look at The Step-by-Step Guide to eTexts and eBooks. When it states step-by-step, IT MEANS STEP-BY-STEP!!! Good for computer illiterate people and has a very good list of links and information.

Movie Reviews from a Christian Perspective

You wanna look at the movies from a Christian perspective? Then see these websites! Very thought provoking articles and reviews.

Hollywood Jesus

Christian Spotlight on Entertainment

Movie Previews and News

Wanna know the scoop on all the new movies heading your way? Then check out these movie review websites! Chock full of news, reviews, previews and interviews. Plus downloadable goodies!

Latino Review

Dark Horizons

IGN FilmForce

Empire Online

Rotten Tomatoes

The Movie Reporter

ComingSoon.net

Hollywood.com

Yahoo! Movies

JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Ain't It Cool News

Anti-Spyware Testing

As the the threat of "spyware" and "adware" has escalated over the past few years, the number of "anti-spyware" scanners available on the Net has grown equally fast. At present there are over 100 anti-spyware scanners available for download -- some for free, some for pay. Users looking for recommendations, comparative breakdown of features and a more comprehensive list of anti-spyware products, should look here.

The Spyware Warrior Guide to Anti-Spyware Testing

Overture's Reverse Search Engine

You want to see what keywords people are typing in for search engines? Overture (a Yahoo Company) have this tool available online. As an example, say you're trying to sell dogfood online, type it in and see what other keywords people are using to look for their favourite canine snacks! Then add the most common keywords to your website to enhance your traffic!

More free Spyware detection software

Zonelabs, the makers of the free zonealarm personal firewall now have a free online spyware detector. It doesn't remove spyware though, but it is good to have another way to check your that your PC is all clear.

Also "for a limited time", until July 31 2005, Microsoft's Antispyware Beta is available for free. Independent trials have given this product a very high rating!