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BOOT CAMP 345 (28/09/04)
Shareware and Freeware part 3 --
multimedia
The subject of this
week’s foray into the world of shareware and freeware -- software that is either
very cheap or free -- is multimedia. The
programs we are looking at are all connected in one way or another with your
PC’s audio and visual facilities. Recent versions of Windows comes with a basic
set of multimedia tools but to get the most out of your PC and AV devices like
digital cameras and camcorders you will need some extra
software.
REAL ALTERNATIVE, freeware, 5.7Mb, Windows 98/SE/ME/NT4/2k/XP
www.majorgeeks.com/download4094.html
As the name suggests
this is an alternative to Real Player, without the intrusive add-ons and
updates. Real Alternative plays most RealMedia files and formats (.ra .rpm .rm
.ram .rmvb .rt & .rp) including BBC radio programs streamed over the
Internet. It is very simple to setup and use, however, it is important to
uninstall RealPlayer and RealOne player before loading Real Alterative.
Otherwise you will find that it does everything you need and it integrates
seamlessly with most browsers, including IE, Mozilla, Firefox, Netscape and
Opera.
TOTAL RECORDER, shareware $11.95, 1.3Mb, $11.95, Windows
98/SE/ME/NT4/2k/XP
www.tucows.com/preview/193458.html
Total Recorder is a
versatile general-purpose audio recorder that can record virtually any sound
coming into or generated by your PC, including ‘streamed’ Internet broadcasts.
It is compatible with most common audio formats, including .wav and mp3 and it
has a built-in scheduler or timer to let you make unattended recordings at
specified times.
WINAMP, freeware, 4.3Mb, Windows 98/SE/ME/NT4/2k/XP
www.winamp.com
Winamp was one of the
first and is still one of the best media players for a Windows PC. It does just
about everything the built-in Windows Media Player can do, including play music
and videos in a wide range of formats. However the big selling point -- not that
Winamp will cost you a penny -- is the huge community of users that continually
work to add features and customisations, like the famous ‘skins’, which now run
include several hundred eye-catching and interesting
designs.
IRFANVIEW, freeware, 850kb, Windows 98/SE/ME/NT4/2k/XP
www.irfanview.com
Irfanview is an old
favourite and a must for anyone with a digital camera. It is an extremely well
equipped image editing program with a range of tools that lets you rotate, flip,
resize, switch negative/positive, adjust picture colour depth, brightness,
contrast, saturation and sharpness. It has a good range of effects (blur, oil
painting, explosion, emboss, pixellate etc.), you can crop, copy, zoom, view as
a slideshow or thumbnails, create ‘contact’ sheets and a great deal more. It is
compatible with most common image file formats and can import images direct from
your scanner. You can also download a huge range of free-plug-ins, including an
EXIF data reader, which extracts and displays comprehensive details about the
digital camera on which an image was taken. This may be the only image editing
program you will ever need!
DVD PHOTO SLIDESHOW, shareware $29.95, 4.0Mb, Windows 98/SE/ME/XP
www.dvd-photo-slideshow.com
If you have a digital
camera you probably now have hundreds if not thousands of images stored on your
PC. Of course you can print out the best ones but there’s a better way to
display your photographs and that is to use your PC’s CD or DVD writer to turn
them into a slideshow Video CD (or DVD), which you can play on a DVD player and
view on your TV. It’s also a great way to share your pictures with friends and
relatives. Simply choose the pictures that you want to include then to give it a
really professional finish add titles, background music, commentary and
eye-catching transitions.
WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER 2.1, freeware,
Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/
downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx
And
ZWEI-STEIN VIDEO EDITOR, freeware, 3.3Mb, Windows
98/SE/ME/NT4/2k/XP
www.thugsatbay.com/software/index.html
If you have a digital
camera or camcorder and enjoy a bit of challenge then you can try your hand at
basic video editing using Windows Movie Maker, bundled with Windows XP. The
latest version (v2.1) is included with the new Service Pack 2 upgrade, which is
now being distributed to Windows XP users. Movie Maker should be regarded is the
first step on the video editing ladder and if you want to really do your home
movie justice you should be thinking about buying a commercial application like
Pinnacle Studio 9 or Ulead Vieostudio 8 (see Boot Camps 326 & 327) but there
is a freeware alternative called Zwei-Stein. Be warned that it is not especially
easy to use and the English user manual is poor, (the downloadable French one is
better), but it has many of the features of more sophisticated applications, it
can assemble up to 256 video ‘clips’, add simple titles, there’s a DV capture
utility (requires a FireWire card/port on your PC), a timeline display, basic
audio editing plus a range of tools, wipes and effects (including some unusually
advanced options like Chroma and Luma Key).
As usual before installing any new software on your PC
make sure that your backups are up to date and don’t forget it is good manners
to pay the licence fee or make an appropriate donation for any freeware programs
that you find useful and continue to use. Please note also that you install
these programs entirely at your own risk; we are unable to provide any help or
support; in most cases you will find the information you need on the publisher’s
web site.
Next week – Shareware and freeware, part 4 -- MS
Alternatives
JARGON FILTER
EXIF
Exchangeable Image File Format -- standard for storing data
within JPEG image files, used by most digital cameras. Includes information
about the camera, exposure, mode, compression settings etc.
SKIN
Custom user interface for a program -- allows users to choose
from a range of designs with alternate cosmetics, colour, shape and layout of
graphical elements like buttons, menus and dialogue boxes etc.
FIREWIRE
(aka IEEE
1394) high-speed serial data connection system used to connect PCs and laptops
with other devices including digital camcorders and high-end
peripherals
TIP OF THE WEEK
PHOTORESCUE, shareware, $29, 820kb, Windows 2K, XP
www.datarescue.com/photorescue
The memory cards used in digital cameras are generally quite
reliable however occasionally the data they contain can become corrupted,
resulting in the loss of one or more images. Photorescue is a simple to use tool
that recovers images from a wide range of memory cards. It is non-destructive so
it doesn’t affect the contents of the card. To see if it can help you download
the trial version, which will show you what, if anything, can be recovered. The
licensed version will allow you to recover and save lost images.
NEXT
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