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Thursday, September 13, 2012

I Love Free Software

I Love Free Software


Sketcher Lite App: Draw Sketch On Android

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 06:30 PM PDT


Sketcher Lite is a free Android app to draw sketches on Android. The app provides number of brushes from which you can make sketches of different types. On top of it, the app covers the full screen of your Android phone with the drawing white board. You just have to launch and get started with app to draw sketches.

For customized drawing, just select the brush type, color, and start drawing. This Android Sketcher Lite app is similar to Sketch app for Android. Sketch app for Android also allows you to draw sketch with similar shades.

Sketcher Lite

Sketcher Lite app even allows you to first draw and then save the masterpiece to SD card. I didn't find the app much interesting because of very limited options. But, if you are a beginner, then I would recommend you to download and install this Sketcher Lite app on your Android phone. This app is useful for the one who is really mad about drawing sketches on Android phone.

What I Like About Sketcher Lite App?

The app delivers simple and easy to use interface. Best for beginners and the ones who are truly interested in drawing sketches. The app runs in full-screen mode on Android.

Features Of Sketcher Lite App To Draw Sketch:

  • You can draw sketch with multiple shades.
  • Select from multiple colors and draw a colorful sketch.
  • Total of 11 brushes.
    Sketcher Lite brushes
  • Eraser available in the app.
  • Save the masterpiece.
    Sketcher Lite Save
  • You can share the masterpiece via Email, Messaging, and any other sharing application on your Android.
  • Clear the whole sketch with single "clear" button.

Install Sketcher Lite App:

Hit here to download and install Android Sketcher Lite app from Google Play Store. You can even scan the QR Code below.

Sketcher Lite QR Code

Sketcher Lite app makes your sketching experience a wonderful one on your Android phone. Also, if you want to try something new by creating sketch with shades, then you should opt for Sketcher Lite app. The app is a very light weight to install on Android.

You can also check out Sketch N Draw app for Android and some more drawings apps for Android.

Sketcher Lite App: Draw Sketch On Android was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Turn your Computer into Free Virtual Organ: jOrgan

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 05:00 PM PDT


jOrgan is a free virtual organ that is designed to be a MIDI console and can turn your PC into an organ. In the stored files it contains every detail for defining the usage and working of that organ. This free virtual organ comes a few examples of dispositions that have been already created to understand the software in a much easier way. Although once you get familiar with the software it is just your imagination which you need in order to use this amazing software as per your needs. Most of the users of this free PC keyboard organ create their custom dispositions to meet all their personal requirements.

Installing jOrgan

The process of installing this free PC keyboard organ can be quite complicated especially when one might end up getting lost when at the developer's website. When at the website one needs to click on the link to the installation section listed on the left of the main page. Clicking on those you would be redirected to a new page where you need to scroll down and click on the download link at the center of the page. Once you do so a zip file gets downloaded on your system. You would be required to unzip the file and run the installation process. Upon installation you would be ready to use this free virtual organ by just launching it from the shortcut on your desktop. You can also play drums on your PC with these top 5 software, play piano with Sweet Little Piano or create virtual music easily with BandzPro if you love music.

Using jOrgan

Once you launch this free PC keyboard organ you would see a small window appear on your screen. The window is compact but comes in with great options. In order to build disposition the software provides you several building blocks which have been placed in the console. Some of them have been listed below among the 35 building blocks available with the software.

  • Activator
  • Captor
  • Chorus
  • Combination
  • Console
  • Console switcher

In order to proceed and create one by yourself you would be required to click on the file and then create a new file to start the file creation process. Once you do so you will have all the options to play around appear on your screen. Now you are ready to use the software and create the disposition file for yourself. While you use the software along with the GUI extension installed you would see two modes i.e. construction and playing. You have the option to move from one to another mode by clicking on the button available in the toolbar.

While in the Playing mode you can use almost all the elements of Disposition along with the MIDI inputs and outputs. On the other hand the construction mode gives you the option to alter the current disposition where you may add new elements, and edit or remove the existing ones. A few shortcuts which might come in handy while using the software are Ctrl+C (copies the element and its properties), Ctrl+D (copies and pastes the selected element converting them into an entirely new element which includes the original properties), Ctrl+V (pastes the new elements that had been copied by the use of Ctrl+C key along with the properties).

Overall, this free virtual organ is pretty vast and can only be used by experts who are aware of the terminologies and technicalities of creating dispositions. Reading the online tutorials or going through the other dispositions that has already been created by the users would definitely benefit you to use the software in a much better way. Download jOrgan free.

Turn your Computer into Free Virtual Organ: jOrgan was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Create 3D Galleries for Digital Art and Photos for Free: Image Armada

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 03:30 PM PDT


Image Armada is a free 3D gallery exhibition creator which has been around for quite some time now. With it you can create actual galleries where your digital art can be shown on the walls of very realistically looking galleries through which you can even take a stroll. Application comes in two parts, you have the builder app where galleries are created, and a viewer app which will be able to run the created galleries.

Image Armada default window

On the image above you can see a gallery created with Image Armada. You can walk through them like you would be walking through a actual gallery, think of it as a first person shooter game, only here you are looking art on the walls of a gallery, instead of shooting aliens. Some of the more interesting features that Image Armada has would be:

  • Changeable galleries – choose from several different settings
  • Gallery furnishing – select if and which furniture you’d like to see in your gallery
  • Selection of several different artwork frames
  • Adjustable lighting inside the galleries

Free version of Image Armada has a few limitations though, major one would be that you can only have 10 artworks or images posted inside an exhibition. In the paid version you can also do other cool things, like for example add music to exhibitions, and also add your own furniture models. If you’re not too demanding free version of Image Armada should be more than enough for you.

Similar software: iWebAlbum Free, Arclab Thumb Studio, Flash Gallery.

How to create 3D gallery exhibitions with Image Armada

Download and installation of Image Armada is fairly simple, the only thing that you need to make sure is that the computer where you plan on using it has good graphics installed, basically if your computer can run Windows 7, it’ll be able to run Image Armada. Majority of computers will be able to create Image Armada, only those who have over 5 years of age will have problems.

Image Armada gallery display

To create galleries like the one that you can see on the image above there are several elements that you need to focus on when you open up Image Armada gallery builder.

  • Gallery selection
  • Artwork Frame selection
  • Lighting settings
  • Gallery decoration – furniture

You’ll have to import photos and artwork that you would like to see in Image Armada, after which you’ll have to go through all of the above mentioned steps. If the default gallery selection that Image Armada has isn’t enough for you, then you can download additional ones from the main website, furniture also. Once you’re finished setting up the gallery, you can export it to a CD together with the view app or you can create a gallery which can be opened inside a browser, without the viewer app, and that’s it.

Conclusion

Image Armada is a brilliant way of how you can display your artwork, without having to know programming or 3D modeling. In a few mouse clicks you’re gonna have a fully functional gallery. You can import vacation photos inside Image Armada and have fun looking at them there. Application is free, download it and see how much fun you can have with it.

Create 3D Galleries for Digital Art and Photos for Free: Image Armada was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Total Calculator Android: Scientific, Statistical, Unit, Date Calculator

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 02:00 PM PDT


Total Calculator is a free Android calculator app that provides multiple calculators on Android. This Android calculator app provides simple calculator, standard calculator, scientific calculator, statistical calculator, date  calculator, and Unit calculator (to convert between units).

I truly like the app, as you don't need any other calculator apps for Android other than this calculator app for Android.

The app works better on Android devices with big screen size. On launching the app, you will be asked to tap on the calculator type which you want to use.

The unique part of this Total Calculator app which I found is the date and units calculator. Till now, I didn't find any calculator which allows me to do date and units calculation. Date calculator of the app allows you to calculate difference in days and months from any starting and end date. Just select the start date and the end date and leave rest on date calculator of the app. You can also calculate the exact date after adding days to a specified date. The app will show you the exact or total number of years, months, and days.

Unit calculator of the allows you to calculate units as per the length, area, velocity, and time. Enter the number and select a unit to convert the number in other units. You will see the list of different units converted.

What I Like About Total Calculator App?

Total Calculator app defines its name in a perfect way as the app provides almost all types of calculators. After installing the app, you don't need any other app to make calculations of any type.

The default calculator of your Android phone does not allows you to make advanced calculations like scientific calculations, date, units, and simple calculation. Also, the user interface of the calculator app is simple to use.

Various Calculators Included in Total Calculator App for Android:

Simple Calculator:

Simple Calculator of the app provides basic calculator to make simple calculations which include division, multiplication, subtraction, addition, and calculation of percentage on Android. The calculator displays simple number pad to enter the number and make simple mathematical calculations.

Standard Calculator:

Standard Calculator works like an add-on to simple calculator. The additional mathematical functions include brackets, memory buttons, plus/minus button, square root, and percentage functions. You can easily use these functions while doing calculations on your Android phone.

Scientific Calculator:

Scientific Calculator provides complete calculator including scientific functions. Scientific calculator will be launched in landscape mode on Android. Along with the scientific functions, the app also displays functionality of simple and standard calculator on Android.

Statistical Calculator:

Statistical Calculator of the app provides statistical functions to make statistical calculation. Statistical calculator does not provide the functions of simple and standard calculator. You can only perform basic statistical calculations on your Android phone.

Date Calculator:

Date Calculator allows you to calculate difference between two dates. The difference between two dates are displayed in year, month, week, and day. You don’t have to take a notepad and calculate the difference in two dates. You just have to enter the start date and the end date and the app will automatically calculate the difference. You can even calculate the exact date by adding desired number of days to a particular date.

Unit Calculator:

Unit Calculator allows you to calculate a particular measurement in multiple units. The app allows you to calculate length, area, velocity, and time. The units are given accordingly in unit calculator app in different tabs on your Android phone.

Features Of Total Calculator App:

  • Provides multiple calculators which include simple, standard, scientific, and statistical calculator.
  • The app even provides date and unit calculator.
  • Simple to use interface.
  • Touch vibration feature.
  • Button sounds.
  • You can customize operator colors and bracket colors.
  • Works good on big screen Android devices.
  • You can customize the history settings as to keep your calculation records.

Install Total Calculator App:

Click here to download and install Total Calculator app from Google Play Store. You can scan the QR Code below to get the direct link of the app.

Total Calculator app makes your calculation easier and faster by providing almost all types of calculators. Earlier I used to make date calculations on Microsoft Excel on my computer. But I am glad to have this smart Android app installed on my Android phone. Now I can make all these calculations on my Android too.

Total Calculator Android: Scientific, Statistical, Unit, Date Calculator was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Free Feature Rich Text Editor: AkelPad

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 12:30 PM PDT


AkelPad is a simple text editor which comes with all the standard as well as some new features one can ask for. The basic motive behind developing this free text editor has been to provide a small and fast open source editor which adds more than the basic text editor available. Moreover, it's a nice addition to provide new software in the field of some handy text editors available.

Installing AkelPad

The simplicity as seen in the way we use this free text editor can also be seen from the way one installs the particular software. You would be required to visit the download page here and click on the download link available. Once you click on it the setup file would get downloaded on your system. The next step would be to run the setup file downloaded and follow the step by step process to install the simple text editor on your system. If you are interested to try some more text editing software, you can check out EditPad Lite, Caderno and Notepad X reviewed by us.

User Interface of AkelPad

When launched the greenish feel to this free text editor reminds you of the basic text editor that comes pre-installed on your Operating Systems. The entire screen presents you a blank area to type with the menu bar at the top having all the options to open, close, and access options for using this simple text editor. Clicking on the view tab could help you split the main window into 4 parts adding convenience while you wish to use or type multiple text documents.

Features of AkelPad

To list down some of the handy features this software comes with would be as follows:

  • Provides you three window options namely Single Window, Multiple Window, Pseudo window
  • It is compatible with all the operating systems starting from Windows NT to Windows 7. It also supports DOS/Windows, Mac and Unix operating systems
  • Some other notable features would include option of column text selection, faster search and replace option, multi-level undo, supporting different language modules, Print Preview and printing compatibility, etc
  • The AkelPad also supports various plugins such as the auto-completion, keyboard macros, syntax highlighter, etc.

Using this free text editor

Besides providing the above additional features the software works in the same way you would have used your favourite text editor or the MS Word before. When you have it in front of your screen you could start typing instantly. While you type the row you are on and typing the text is highlighted by an olive green colour to help you locate where you currently are.

In order to modify the page setup, you could click on file and select page setup. Further you may even select the Preview option to have a look at the document you are typing and the way it would get printed from your printer. Further clicking on edit lists down various options such as using the feature of finding texts, replacing them, inserting character, inserting date, etc. There are other handy options in this drop down such as the Newline format where you could change the UNICODE to a DOS, WINDOWS, UNIX mode depending on the system you wish to use this on.

Next to this tab you have the option ''View'' where you can select your preferred language, Display mode, and the options to add plugins. You also have the settings option from the drop down where you are provided both general settings and advanced settings for text editor. Finally the last drop down has the help option which provides you a help manual, update option, and about section for the details of its release and the developers.

Overall, the simple yet effective features AkelPad text editor comes with make it a pretty handy application. Further being available for free it is a great alternative to the age old text editors which we had been using.

Free Feature Rich Text Editor: AkelPad was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Free Mercedes CLC Car Racing Game

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT


Mercedes CLC Dream Test Drive is a Free Racing Game available for PC download. This Racing game features the Mercedes CLC 350 car for racing.

This game has good scenarios, night racing mode, realistic locations, etc. Though the download size is 105MB, it has pretty good graphics and sound effects.

Mercedes CLC game

Introduction of this Dream Racing Game:

This Mercedes CLC racing game gives an opportunity to Mercedes fans to test drive this model in the streets of London.

As soon as you start the game you can see options like:

  • Colors: Nine different colors are available in this CLC 350 Sport car.
  • Wheels: Three different wheel models are available. They are 18" Multi Spoke, 18"5 Twin Spoke, and 18" AMG 5-Spoke.
  • Race Mode: Two race modes are available: namely Race and Online Race. In race mode you can race against five other CLC Cars. In Online race you will race alone for a best lap; if you play again then you can play against your best lap ghost car.
  • Track: There are four tracks available. They are Nelson's Column-day mode, Tower Bridge-day mode, The Mall-night mode, and Southbank-night mode.
  • Difficulty: There are three difficult levels: Rookie for beginners, Intermediate for players who has little experience, and Pro for players who are expert in playing.

Make sure you use the hand brake to turn your car perfectly in those sharp corners. The car goes real smooth and don't loose the race while trying to enjoy the scenarios of the London streets. You can drive this Mercedes as rough as you can; as there will be no damages to your car in this game. Even if you dash a wall your car will bounce back; as if it has springs attached to it.

Mercedes CLC intro

Controls:

The controls are very simple. They are:

  • Press Up arrow for acceleration.
  • Down arrow to slow down.
  • Left and Right arrows for directions.
  • Space for hand brake.
  • [L] for lights On/Off.
  • [C] for different camera views.
  • [B] to view who's behind you.

As soon as you install and start the game, you may see a black screen. Try pressing Enter button and then you will see the game (as shown in first screenshot). If you have any other problems let me know in the comments section below.

Mercedes CLC night

This game is available in both Deutsche language and English also; your preference will be asked when you first install the game. The gameplay is not realistic because nothing happens to the car or there is no driver in the seat. If you want to play a real good racing game with a branded car then try BMW Racing Game Free. But if you are a fan of Mercedes or like to test drive this model, then definitely try this game.

You can Download Mercedes CLC Game here.

Free Mercedes CLC Car Racing Game was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Download KMPlayer: Free Media Player That Plays All File Formats

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 09:30 AM PDT


KMPlayer is a free media player which can play audio and video files in almost every file format.

It has built-in codec for each format. You don't need to download and install separate codec for different audio or video files that you play on your system. KMPlayer in itself, is a fully fledged media player which takes care of all the software specifications needed to play various audio and video files.

kmplayer interface 01It not only plays media files in different file formats, but also provides many additional features. You can capture screenshot of video, adjust screen resolution, control the brightness and contrast levels, reset audio controls, change player skin, resize image, and do much more with this amazing free media player.

However, the main reason I like this media player is because of the support it provides for almost all the media formats available out there. The primary reason for that is that it comes with all the required codecs. Before we proceed further, let’s take a moment to understand what a codec is.

What is a Codec?

A Codec is a computer program that compresses or decompresses an audio or video file through encoding or decoding. It is a short name used for "Coder/Decoder" or "Compressor/Decompressor".

Why do I need Codecs to play my media files?

The audio or video files that you download from the internet are generally very large in size. They take longer time to download. Codecs encodes and shrinks these files so that it becomes easier to transfer them over internet. You cannot run these compressed files on your system unless you decompress them back using an appropriate codec. So, every media format is essentially a way of compressing and packaging media files. Some commonly used codecs are WMA, MP3, RealAudio, RealVideo, DivX, etc.

Which codecs are included in KMPlayer?

KMPlayer supports various build-in codecs for almost all audio and video file formats. These codecs include MPEG, MP3, AC3, DTS, LPCM, OGG, AAC, WMA, MPEG, DivX, and lot more.

Media support in KMPlayer:

KMPlayer provides support for various input media.

  • You can open a file from a local disk, CD, Video CD, USB device, or DVD.
  • It supports connection to Satellite TV, Digital TV, Cable TV, HDTV, and Radio (LiveFM).
  • You can play files on a local network or internet by entering the URL of the file.
  • It scans the Web Pages of Internet Explorer to access URLs of broadcasting media from hidden sources.

Audio/Video format support in KMPlayer:

KMPlayer supports a huge variety of audio and video formats. Some prominent ones are listed below. Refer the website for more details.

  • Input Formats: MPEG, AVI, WMA, WMV, ASF, MP4, MOV, 3GP, OGG, OGM, WAV, AAC, AC3, FLV, Standard MIDI, 3D, etc.
  • Audio Formats: MPEG, MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA, Wavpack, TrueAudio, APE, RealAudio, MIDI, DV Audio, QuickTime, etc.
  • Video Formats: MPEG, DivX, MJPEG, Cinepak, Digital Video, RealVideo, etc.

Filter Support in KMPlayer:

This free media player offers various audio and video filters which let you change the display and volume control settings of different audio and video files on your system.

  • Audio Filters: Equalizer, Spatializer, Visualization effects, Dynamic Range Compressor.
  • Video Filters:  Cropping, Image Adjust, Deinterlace, Rotate/Mirror, Flip, Image Distortion, Bluescreen, etc.

Features of this Free Media Player:

  • Build-in codecs: Unlike other free media players, KMPlayer provides various built-in codecs for easy access of all kinds of audio and video files.
  • Support for different types of media equipments:  This free media player supports various media devices including live media.
  • Support for various Audio/Video formats: KMPlayer can play almost all kinds of audio and video files.
  • Screen Controls: KMPlayer provides various screen controls to adjust the screen according to different media playing on your system. You can adjust the Aspect Ratio, Video Frame, Playbacks, Transparency levels, etc.

kmplayer screen controls

  • Pan and Scan: You can reset frame and window size; increase or decrease the height and width of the frame or window. You can also position the player anywhere on the screen.
  • Audio Control Options: KMPlayer provides various audio control options for the files playing on this free media player. You can increase or decrease the volume, set Bass or Treble, reset Equalizers, or Reduce Noisein the files.
  • Video Control Options: KMPlayer provides some basic and advanced options for video controlling functions. You can set the Grayscale level of the video, Soften or Sharpen contents, Blur picture, or Resizeit if you want.
  • Subtitles:You can add subtitles to your audio or video files.
  • 3D support: You can play 3D graphic files on KMPlayer.
  • WiDi support: KMPlayer provides WiDi (Wireless Display) support for media devices like TV and projectors.
  • Screen Capture: It offers a screen capture function which lets you capture screenshots from the moving video files.
  • Video Capture: It also allows you to record your favorite video scenes from the playing movie or song which you can play later. 
  • Skins: You can change skins of your media player from a variety of color themes available.
  • Language Support: This free media player supports 25 different languages. You can switch to a particular language through the "Language" option of its context menu.
  • Control Box: KMPlayer provides a mini control box which you can use to directly control your Audio settings, Video settings, PlayControl settings, Subtitle settings, and other miscellaneous settings. 

kmplayer control box

  • Playlist Editor: It has a small playlist editor at the bottom left corner which you can access to directly view or edit your playlist.

If you have many media players on your system, you can check our reviews on Media Player Hotkeys, which is  a free plug-in to control various media players easily.

Final Verdict:

KMPlayer is loaded with features and allows you to play multiledia files in almost every file format. I am yet to come across any other player that supports so many file formats. If you know something better, do let me know in comments.

Click here for a free download.

Download KMPlayer: Free Media Player That Plays All File Formats was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Free Software To Unzip Files

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT


Here are 5 free software to unzip files on your computer. Unzip software is an essential software that should be there on your computer to extract or to unzip files in zip format. Most often, we come across zip files which need to be unzipped or extracted, so with the help of any of these software you can easily unzip files. These software are the best among other free unzip software and works perfectly with zip files. Download these unzip software for free.

Extract Now

ExtractNow

Extract Now is a free unzip software to unzip files in Zip format. With the help of this software you can unzip multiple zip files like a breeze and for this reason it is well-known. You can even drag and drop zip files from the Windows explorer into this software interface. This unzip software has got a simple, easy and user-friendly interface which makes this unzip software easy to use. This unzip software is capable enough to extract files into named or favorite directory, current directory or folder. This unzip software also allows you to delete or close files after extracting them.

Read more about Extract Now or try it here.

ZipGenius

ZipGenius

ZipGenius is another straight forward unzip software to unzip files on your computer. This unzip software allows you to zip or unzip files and folders. This unzip software comes with a user-friendly and easy to navigate interface. This unzip software can be easily used by even inexperienced user. With the help of this unzip software, you can create an encrypted archive. This unzip software is currently available in two versions which are, standard edition and Suite edition. Standard edition is very basic and does not include any extra functionality. Whereas Suite edition is bit more functional than standard edition, as it includes applications and extra themes. Download ZipGenius for free.

Read more about ZipGenius or try it here.

Zip995

Zip995 is one of best and simple software which allows you to zip or unzip files on your PC. This unzip software also allows you to create self extracting archives. With the help of this unzip software contents of any 2 files and folders can be compared. You can even adjust the compression level, repair the existing archive, adjust unzip preferences. This unzip software also allows you to extract and view files in an archive. If you are using this free unzip software, you can even encrypt files while zipping.

Read more about Zip995 or try it here. Also, check out some free software to extract RAR files.

PeaZip

Peazip

PeaZip is also one of the best and free unzip software to unzip files. With the help of this unzip software you can easily compress and save file as an archive. This unzip software allows you to create and extract several archives at once. This unzip software includes a simple and user-friendly interface suitable for the novice users. This unzip software is small in size, so you can easily install it on your system. It’s also available in portable version for user convenience.

Read more about PeaZip or try it here.

Disk Internals Zip Repair

DiskInternals Zip Repair

Disk Internals Zip Repair is a free zip file repairing software to repair zip files which are damaged. Apart from repairing zip files, it includes a feature which allows you to extract zip files in a systematic manner. This repair software is basically well know for repairing zip files. This repair software basically detects the zip files and checks for errors, after the error detection the recovery engine starts its work. However, it has got a capability to extract or unzip the zip format files. Download this free unzip software for free.

Read more about Disk internals Zip Repair or try it out here.

Free Software To Unzip Files was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Free CAD Application to Create and Edit 3D Objects: FreeCAD

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 06:30 AM PDT


FreeCAD is a free 3D modeling application which can be used by scientists or anyone else who’s interested in creating 3D modular sketches of practically anything, mechanical parts, architectural objects or engineering structures for which you can also use 2D editing of whatever it is that you’re doing. FreeCAD can be used as an alternative to commercial applications like AutoCAD which are gonna do very similar tasks to those of FreeCAD only they come with a price tag.

FreeCAD default window

Work area of FreeCAD is located on the right side of the application window, and important toolboxes can be seen in the left sidebar which can be seen on the image above. By default, after a very easy and uneventful installation, upon opening up the FreeCAD for the first time you should see the Start Center where you are gonna be greeted with resources, how to’s and also a start new project selection window. It’s very useful if you don’t have a lot of experience with CAD software. Everyone who’s used similar type of applications shouldn’t have any problems adapting to FreeCAD in a very short period of time. Useful features found in FreeCAD would be:

  • 3D computer aided Part and Architectural design
  • Complex 3D operations for complex shapes are available
  • Objects can be fully programmable in Python
  • Support for recording macros – for repetitive tasks
  • Tabs for when you have several designs opened
  • Add additional features with the help of plugins
  • Good format support – IGS, STEP, BREP, SVG, STL, AST, OCA etc.

Great thing about FreeCAD, next to the fact that you can freely draw various different designs, would be that you can run this free 3D modeling application on all the major operating systems, Windows, Linux, Mac and BSD are supported, so regardless of which operating system it is that you use, FreeCAD should be working for you just fine.

Similar software: Autodesk123, DraftSight, CadStd.

How to create 3D models with the help of FreeCAD

If you’re new to computer aided design making, it’s best that you open one of the examples from the start menu and you start studying the application by modifying it.

FreeCAD shape editing

Or alternatively you can start with some of the tutorials which can also be found on the welcome screen. On the image above we have a model opened and you can see how each parameter of the design can be edited in the left sidebar. At the top portion of the window the various different components of the design can be selected, and below we can adjust the parameters.

FreeCAD drawing 2D

The first image above you can see that we adjusted the color of the example project, on the second, we now have drawing activated, various different modes of operation can be selected at the top dropdown menu, where the arrow points. Here you can now freely draw the basics of your creating, before moving on to something more advanced.

Conclusion

FreeCAD comes with a lot of useful features which you can use in order to manipulate and edit 3D models easily. It might take some time for getting used to but FreeCAD can be used as a serious alternative to paid commercial software like AutoCAD.

Free CAD Application to Create and Edit 3D Objects: FreeCAD was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Desktop Client for Amazon Glacier for Windows, Mac, Linux

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 05:00 AM PDT


Simple Amazon Glacier Uploader is a free desktop client for Amazon Glacier that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. This free file uploader for Amazon Glacier is built with Java, so it is OS independent. You can download it as a exe or a jar file, and run it on operating system of your choice. This desktop client for Amazon Glacier lets you connect to Amazon Glacier vaults, create new vaults, upload files on Amazon Glacier, and download archives.

We covered the launch of Amazon Glacier earlier. Peculiar thing about Amazon Glacier is that Amazon hasn't provided any interface to upload or download files from Glacier. It has just provided API that can be used by program developers to create their own programs. Soon enough, one of the first desktop client for Amazon Glacier was launched as FastGlacier. And now there are many clients for Amazon Glacier out there.

Simple Amazon Glacier Uploader completely justifies its name in being very simple. It has just one window that does everything, without other tricky configuration options.

Simple Amazon Glacier Uploader Interface

Download and Installation of Simple Amazon Glacier Uploader:

As I mentioned above, Simple Amazon Glacier Uploader can be downloaded as exe file or jar file. The download size is less than 10 MB. It requires Java version 1.6 or above on your computer to run (you'll most probably already have it).

Once you have downloaded the file, there is no installation at all. Just double click on the file to run it. I tried it on Windows 7, but the process will probably be same on Mac OS X as well as Linux.

When I tried downloading and running it, I got all sort of warnings from my antivirus, but I ignored all those and it worked fine.

How to Use this Desktop Client for Amazon Glacier:

Simple Amazon Glacier Uploader is extremely simple to use. When you run this program, you see the window as I have shown above. In that, you need to provide your AWS credentials. This is the part where I hated this program: it shows both access key as well as secret key as plain text. So, if anybody sees your computer, they will be able to access both. I hope developer changes this to show the key as asterisks.

Once you have added the credentials, you will probably look for a login button, but there is none. Ideally, it will automatically connect to your Amazon Glacier account, and pull information about your existing vaults. My vaults are in US East, and that was the selection, but it wasn't showing my vaults. Then I realized that the coding must have been done to capture login information on change of "Server Location" drop-down. So, I changed server location to something else and then back to US East, and it started showing my vaults in "Vault Selection" section. Quite happy to see that it showed my existing vaults correctly.

It also shows an option to "Create Vault". Do ensure that you have already selected correct server location before you create vault. Once you have selected the vault or created a new vault, next step is to upload files. My file upload test with FastGlacier hadn't gone as smooth as I expected, so I was a bit apprehensive about this program too. It quickly removed all my doubts.

To upload files to Amazon Glacier, you can click on "Select File" option to select a file from your computer. Or, you can just drag and drop files there. After that, click on "Upload" button. Simple Amazon Glacier Uploader will quickly start uploading the files.

I tried uploading two small files in one go, and the upload process finished quickly.

Apart from that, this Amazon Glacier software also gives you option to download archive, batch upload multiple files to different servers, create log of all the actions done, and much more.

Verdict:

Simple Amazon Glacier Uploader is definitely one of the simplest Amazon Glacier desktop clients out there. I really liked its ease of use, its small size, no install feature, and the fact that it works on Mac and Linux as well. However, what I didn't like was the fact that it shows keys in plain text, and missing "Login" button.

So, if you want a bare bones client for Amazon Glacier, then this would be your favored pick.

Download Simple Amazon Glacier Uploader.

Desktop Client for Amazon Glacier for Windows, Mac, Linux was originally published at I Love Free Software

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