I Love Free Software

Capture Screenshots with Effects: WinSnap
Free Calls and Free Voicemail with Tru App VOIP
Free Audio Editor to Record, Edit, and Mix Music Files: MP3 Editor
Hide Files and Folders inside Another File: clotho

Capture Screenshots with Effects: WinSnap

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 06:30 PM PDT

Windows Snapshot Maker is a very advanced Windows screenshot utility which allows you to capture screenshots easily with a lot of interesting effects that you can then later add to the image. WinSnap, which is another name that this screenshot utility is known under, comes in two version, there’s the free version that we tested, and then there’s also the paid versions, which are updated, but which offer majority of the same functionality that you get in the free version.

On the image above you can see Windows Snapshot Maker in action, after it has taken a screenshot. As soon as you start the program it will create a desktop screenshot which will be displayed in the main program window where it can be edited to your liking, with several different image manipulation techniques.

Create and edit screenshots with WinSnap

Creating screenshots is not that difficult, like it was said in the introduction as soon as you start the program it will automatically create a screenshot of the entire desktop. Most of the time entire desktop screenshots are not necessary that’s why with Windows Snapshot Maker you get several other capture modes:

Entire desktop (Fullscreen)
Application
Window
Client Area
Popup Menu
Region

Window and region screenshots would be the most popular ones, and they are all offered in this free screen capture software. After the screenshot is taken, it will be opened in WinSnap for editing. The most interesting effect that you can add to a image would be the Shadow effect. Full list of image effects and edits is as the following:

Change screenshot coloring – Grayscale, Sepia, Invert
Add screenshot shadow – Positive, Negative, Outline
Contour – Add a small frame
Watermark – Use your watermark, loaded as image
Scale – change image site if it’s big
Screenshot rotation

One of the things that are very useful when it comes to screenshot utilities but no matter how much we tried we were not able to find in Windows Screenshot Maker would be the image editing options where the red arrows can be added easily, if you were writing a tutorial for example, see below:

Screenshot effects that can be created with the help of WinSnap, which you can see on the screenshot above and they more than make up for the fact that some useful options are missing. If you want more options click on the Options tab that can be seen above and then select Settings.

A lot of options can be changed in Windows Snapshot Maker, you have the basic image auto save options, and also selecting the image format, but what’s more interesting is the Watermark tab where you can add you own logo, which will be used on the taken screenshots. Shadow effects, like shadow direction can also be edited, all that for free, make sure to try WinSnap if you need a free screen capture program, because with Windows Snapshot Maker you get a lot of options which with other similar software you normally wouldn’t, and you’ll enjoy using it for sure.

Capture Screenshots with Effects: WinSnap was originally published at I Love Free Software

Free Calls and Free Voicemail with Tru App VOIP

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 05:00 PM PDT

Tru App is a VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) based application which enables the user to make calls to other Tru App users for free. The users can also make low cost calls to landlines and mobile phones all over the world. This VOIP software also provides free voicemail.

Tru App is a free to download software from Tru and works across Linux, PC, and MAC. This free VOIP based calling app is also available on all leading mobile phones such as Android, as well as the iPad, iPhone and iPod. An Android version of the app is also present for all android powered devices. The desktop version for Windows has been recently released by Tru and here we are going to see some of the exciting features of this software. If you are looking for a good, free PC to PC calling app, you can try Skype, GroupMe and ooVoo.

Features of Tru App free VOIP Software:

On the first launch, users are greeted with the "Welcome to Tru" login page. Users need to create a Tru account in order to login and use the Tru App VOIP application. Once the user logs in with his/her Tru account, he/she is asked for a guided tour through all the various features of this VOIP application.

The Tru App has a sleek metallic black interface housing the following features:

You can add Truphone and Outlook contacts and can also Manage IM services across Twitter, Facebook, AIM, Skype, MSN, and Gtalk.

The Dialpad allows you to call any mobile or landline number. International calling codes for each country are also provided thus making it all the more easy for the user to make calls to landline or mobiles. You can also send SMSs to mobiles all over the world provided your cell phone number is validated by Tru. In order to make these calls or to send SMS, you need to buy credit. The call rates and SMS rates are nevertheless cheap.

The applications also comes equipped with a Voicemail which stores calls for you when you are busy or when you are not present in front of your computer.

The user can randomly search for other TruPhone customers by simple searching with their phone number or TruPhone ID.

Download and Installation

The Tru App for Desktop, Windows version can be downloaded free of cost from the official site by clicking here. The file size is just over 21MB. Installation is simple and takes hardly few minutes for completion.

Tests and Remarks

This application performed admirably well in making calls as the calls were crystal clear, had no distortions and connected without any trouble. The application has a built in Echo Test which handles and prevents Echoes from occurring during calls. The application passed in all the performance measure tests except from the Skype IM login feature. A missing feature in this application is the lack of the video calling feature. Apart from its two disadvantages, this app continues to function smoothly in the other spheres of VOIP requirements and can thus be recommended for use.

Upcoming Update

Tru Labs is planning to announce a major update to TruApp which would result in better quality of calls and other features. They are planning to remove some of the existing features and also to include some new features in order to give this software a performance boost.

Download Tru App free.

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Free Calls and Free Voicemail with Tru App VOIP was originally published at I Love Free Software

Free Audio Editor to Record, Edit, and Mix Music Files: MP3 Editor

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 03:30 PM PDT

MP3 Editor for free is a free audio editor which comes with a plethora of features if you love to play with music. The specialty of this free audio editor is that you can apply a number of audio effects and have fun with music. The clean and reliable software is fit for you if you are a beginner or a sophisticated user. A delight for the advanced users, this free audio editor lets you create anything with its tons of audio effects. Whatever you wish to do, MP3 Editor for free is a powerful software and can help you in meeting all your needs.

Interface

The interface of this free audio editor is quite impressive and attractive. Some of the effects are present in the left panel and the menu on the top gives you a lot of additional options and features which can be used. The advanced users can have a good time trying out the different features of this software and on the other hand, the beginners will have to brush up the tutorials to understand the basic functions and features.

Key features of Audio Editor:

With this free audio editor, you can work on a number of audio formats such as MP3, AAC, RAM etc. You can edit or save them to other popular formats available.
Tracks from audio CDs can also be imported and worked upon.
Audio recorder which is also available in MP3 Editor for Free allows you to record audio from different sources. The quality is also preserved and you need not worry about the output.
While you are editing, you can also check out the visual waveform so that you have an idea of the operations you perform. There are a number of editing features including copy, paste, trim, repeat, crop and many more.
MP3 editor for Free gives you dozens of effects to work with. These include Invert, fade, echo along with filters such as high pass filter, notch filter and many others.

This free audio editor also allows you to mix a couple of audio tracks to create the kind of music you want.
You can also extract audio from video files available in different formats.
Your favorite YouTube videos including music, episodes of your favorite season, movie trailers and a lot more can also be downloaded. The YouTube videos can be converted into the desired audio format.

Verdict

MP3 editor for free is a very powerful software when it comes to audio editing. However, there are a number of better audio converters which are available in the market. These audio editors offer a number of advanced features which are absent in MP3 editor for free. The only issue with these audio converters is their hefty price tag. On the other hand, if your requirements are minimal and all you require is a handful of essential operations, MP3 editor for free is a good choice. Considering the fact that this software is available for free, the features it offers are optimum.

Download MP3 editor for free.

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Free Audio Editor to Record, Edit, and Mix Music Files: MP3 Editor was originally published at I Love Free Software

Hide Files and Folders inside Another File: clotho

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 12:37 PM PDT

Clotho is a free software application which has been designed for a special purpose and i.e. to hide files or folders within another file. What sets this free software apart from others is the fact that your file doesn't get damaged. So if you wish to hide your file in a video file, then this is the best way to do so. Clotho is an application which makes the best use of steganography which is the technique of concealing your information so that only you are aware of its existence.

Installation of this software to hide files

The installation of this lightweight and straightforward application is completed in a jiffy. It is completely hassle-free and you need not worry about any adware being installed in your system. Hence this free software is completely reliable as it also does not add any malware to your system. Any additional software framework is also not required to support this software.

Interface of this software to hide files

This free software application has a very intuitive and user-friendly interface. There are minimal options which are easy to comprehend and use. Whether you are a beginner or a sophisticated user, you can use Clotho with the same ease. There are basically three options: Pack, Unpack and Option on which the entire application is based.

How to hide files?

For secretly hiding your file

Initially, you need to choose the Pack option if you wish to hide your files. The default window is for the 'pack' option itself.
You need to enter the path of the file which you would like to use for masking under 'File As Mask' and also the file or folder to be hidden under 'File/Folder to Hide'. You can push the File or folder tab depending upon what you require to be hidden. The destination file would automatically appear under 'Save as'. The mask file can be in a number of formats including audio, video, image etc. and hence it becomes difficult for anyone to imagine the possibilities of where your data might be hidden.
You can use additional options to ensure more security. This can be done by encrypting data, using your own password, compressing the data to reduce the size of the output file so that it doesn't take up more space, scrambling data ensuring that your data isn't damaged and also restructuring it in a way so that it is completely compatible with WinRAR.
The estimated size is displayed and then you can push the 'Pack' tab to hide your file or folder.

For extracting the hidden data

Hit the 'Unpack' tab to extract your file.
You need to enter the source file and then your file is checked for any hidden file or folder. If there is no hidden file, a message is displayed.
You can view the complete information and details about the files under archive information displayed at the bottom of the window.
Hit the 'Unpack' option to extract the information. In case, you specified a password while packing the file, you would be prompted for it while unpacking.

Verdict

Clotho is a lightweight free software which can be used to hide files and folders. It offers you a number of options when it comes to data concealment. So it's worth a try!

Download Clotho free.

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Hide Files and Folders inside Another File: clotho was originally published at I Love Free Software

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Monday, July 9, 2012