My Freeware Database Posted In alt.binaries.freeware

C

Cookie

I will be posting a PDF file to alt.binaries.freeware. It is a report
generated by SoftCat of about 5,000 freeware programs that I have. It
will be under the title Freeware PDF. It is not a complete list of all
the program that I have.

I only listed the name of the program, the version number, the size and
the home page. With the descriptions it would have would have made the
display messy and would have created a much larger PDF. Current is 1.97mb
zipped and 3.20mb unzipped.

Since this is a work in progress there are things missing from a lot of
the entries. There are also duplicate entries because some of the
programs come on CD cover disks which I buy. There are also multiple
versions of some programs. Please note that since I have no choice what
is on a CD when I buy it that some of the entries might very well be
Adware or Spyware.

Also note that some of the programs might not even be freeware. I have
found programs listed as freeware on cover Cd's that where in fact
shareware. I of course also make mistakes when adding entries.

I would also like to note that I have been doing this for years. I regret
to admit that when I first got online (back in 2000) I was introduced to
warez as a form of freeware. I was told it was ok to use them by family
member so I never doubted their use. I have long since stopped using
warez as I know now that it's wrong to use them.

I have gone through the list a few times and I am almost 100% sure that I
removed all the warez entries. My whole SoftCat database contains over
10,000 entries. So there is a chance that I have missed some entries that
should be removed.

To the best of my knowledge I have every program that is listed. If you
require more information on a program please let me know. If you want one
of the programs and can't find it online let me know.
 
B

Bob Adkins

I would also like to note that I have been doing this for years. I regret
to admit that when I first got online (back in 2000) I was introduced to
warez as a form of freeware. I was told it was ok to use them by family
member so I never doubted their use. I have long since stopped using
warez as I know now that it's wrong to use them.

You're forgiven. Go in peace and pirate no more. :)

As an extra penance however, you should visit alt.binaries.cracks and thump
on them once in a while like I do. It's frustrating to see people asking
for a crack for a cheesy Shareware program for which there is a very good
Freeware alternative.

Bob
 
R

REMbranded

You're forgiven. Go in peace and pirate no more. :)
As an extra penance however, you should visit alt.binaries.cracks and thump
on them once in a while like I do. It's frustrating to see people asking
for a crack for a cheesy Shareware program for which there is a very good
Freeware alternative.

That's interesting. I'm not sure if helping them is the best thing to
do or not. Free is all they care about, legal or illegal. The lack of
distinction is a problem for me I guess.

I tend to think they should reap what they sow; cheesy shareware that
is. But you never know. You might well show them the way out and how
to make such distinctions in the future.
 
B

Bob Adkins

That's interesting. I'm not sure if helping them is the best thing to
do or not. Free is all they care about, legal or illegal. The lack of
distinction is a problem for me I guess.

I tend to think they should reap what they sow; cheesy shareware that
is. But you never know. You might well show them the way out and how
to make such distinctions in the future.

Yea, I recognize the dilemma. On the 1 hand, I don't want to help them at
all. On the other hand, most are just kids and don't even know all the good
Freeware exists. It's time I paid them another visit. :)

Bob
 
C

cactus

Yea, I recognize the dilemma. On the 1 hand, I don't want to help them
at all. On the other hand, most are just kids and don't even know all
the good Freeware exists. It's time I paid them another visit. :)

Bob

Helping them is a good thing, for several reasons. First, it shows that
there are better, legitimate alternatives to theft. Second, it plants the
seeds that honesty might actually be beneficial. You never know - some
people will learn to change their behavior. Maybe not immediately, but if
people survive, they usually mature.
 
D

dszady

You're forgiven. Go in peace and pirate no more. :)

As an extra penance however, you should visit alt.binaries.cracks and thump
on them once in a while like I do. It's frustrating to see people asking
for a crack for a cheesy Shareware program for which there is a very good
Freeware alternative.

Bob

I can't believe there is a group called alt.binaries.cracks.discussion.
Probably derived from the heinous USA.
 
S

Steven Burn

I can't believe there is a group called alt.binaries.cracks.discussion.
Probably derived from the heinous USA.
</snip>

I can't get access to any of the binaries NG's, so have absolutely no idea
what anyone is talking about, lol. (I'm trying to avoid the HTTP access
method if possible, lol)

--
Regards

Steven Burn
Ur I.T. Mate Group
www.it-mate.co.uk

Keeping it FREE!

Disclaimer:
I know I'm probably wrong, I just like taking part ;o)
 
D

dszady

</snip>

I can't get access to any of the binaries NG's, so have absolutely no idea
what anyone is talking about, lol. (I'm trying to avoid the HTTP access
method if possible, lol)

You're not missing anything. Alt.binaries.cracks.discussion has almost
as many posts (2) as alt.comp.freeware.discussion(757).
Ok. so it's not even close.
Whatever happened to that alt.comp.freeware.discussion? Is it still
around? Or is all the "discussion" going on here?
 
S

Steven Burn

dszady said:
On Tue, 30 Dec 2003 21:43:50 -0000, Steven Burn wrote:
You're not missing anything. Alt.binaries.cracks.discussion has almost
as many posts (2) as alt.comp.freeware.discussion(757).
Ok. so it's not even close.
Whatever happened to that alt.comp.freeware.discussion? Is it still
around? Or is all the "discussion" going on here?
</snip>

hehe, I think the discussion is going on in here instead ;o)

--
Regards

Steven Burn
Ur I.T. Mate Group
www.it-mate.co.uk

Keeping it FREE!

Disclaimer:
I know I'm probably wrong, I just like taking part ;o)
 
J

John Fitzsimons

Hi Cookie,
I will be posting a PDF file to alt.binaries.freeware.

Fine, but some people don't get that newsgroup. For those of us that
do we did not necessarily receive all six parts.

I only listed the name of the program, the version number, the size and
the home page. With the descriptions it would have would have made the
display messy and would have created a much larger PDF. Current is 1.97mb
zipped and 3.20mb unzipped.

< snip >

If you want to email me that zip I will see if I can put it on a site
for downloading. At least for a few days. You can get a working email
link to me by clicking my email link at ;

http://home.vicnet.net.au/~johnf/welcome.htm .

Where it says "Where are we ?"

Regards, John.
 
C

Cookie

|If you want to email me that zip I will see if I can put it on a site
|for downloading. At least for a few days. You can get a working email
|link to me by clicking my email link at

Super. Email sent
 
J

John Fitzsimons

On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 09:37:56 +1100, John Fitzsimons

Hi Cookie,

Your PDF database ;

for downloading. At least for a few days.

http://members.optushome.com.au/jfweb/freeware.zip

In case anyone cannot get the binaries newsgroup.

Now, what are the best ways to make all those URLs "hot links" ?
I have an idea of how I would do that but what about others ?
Anyone ?

Regards, John.

--
****************************************************
,-._|\ (A.C.F FAQ) http://clients.net2000.com.au/~johnf/faq.html
/ Oz \ John Fitzsimons - Melbourne, Australia.
\_,--.x/ http://www.aspects.org.au/index.htm
v http://clients.net2000.com.au/~johnf/
 
C

Cookie

|On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 09:37:56 +1100, John Fitzsimons
|
|Hi Cookie,
|
|Your PDF database ;

|
|>for downloading. At least for a few days.
|
|http://members.optushome.com.au/jfweb/freeware.zip
|
|In case anyone cannot get the binaries newsgroup.
|
|Now, what are the best ways to make all those URLs "hot links" ?
|I have an idea of how I would do that but what about others ?
|Anyone ?

Coolbeans. I can make it in other formats (html,Excel,JPEG,Lotus 1-2-3,
Quattro Pro, and Rich Text Format). If I take out the icons the file will
probably be smaller. Maybe one of these will make it easier to convert
the URLs to working links.

It is in no way a well kept database. A lot of the URLs don't work. Some
are from sites like Xoom which has been gone for awhile now.
 
K

Keenan P.

snip
Helping them is a good thing, for several reasons. First, it shows that
there are better, legitimate alternatives to theft. Second, it plants the
seeds that honesty might actually be beneficial. You never know - some
people will learn to change their behavior. Maybe not immediately, but if
people survive, they usually mature.
In my 23 years in Ontario Corrections I suppose there were a few who
changed their behaviour. God bless you taxpayers,
POKO
--
P. Keenan - Webmaster
Web Page Design
Manitoulin Island, Canada
http://www.members.mher.org/pokokat/
(e-mail address removed)
 
J

John Fitzsimons

(e-mail address removed) says...

|>for downloading. At least for a few days.

|In case anyone cannot get the binaries newsgroup.
|Now, what are the best ways to make all those URLs "hot links" ?
|I have an idea of how I would do that but what about others ?
|Anyone ?
Coolbeans. I can make it in other formats (html,Excel,JPEG,Lotus 1-2-3,

Well, *my* preference would probably be Lotus but that might not suite
others. Many have Excel BUT even more would have something to read
RTF (MS Write ?). Or even HTML ?

If you get the time perhaps you could sent either/both a HTML/RTF
version to me at the same address as previously ? I can only get 5MB
per email so you should perhaps only send one file per email.
Quattro Pro, and Rich Text Format). If I take out the icons the file will
probably be smaller. Maybe one of these will make it easier to convert
the URLs to working links.
It is in no way a well kept database. A lot of the URLs don't work. Some
are from sites like Xoom which has been gone for awhile now.

Not a problem IMO. I have no intention going through the links one by
one. I was considering making them into a HTML file and use a "link
checker" to see which were the valid links. If you can send a HTML
copy I expect I could probably work directly off that.

Though * if * you have time both would be better. I am curious about
how the file sizes would compare and how easy/difficult working from
an RTF original would be.

A top class job you have done here, and IMO getting some of my
grey cells exercised a bit. They needed a new year workout. :)

Come to think of it I suppose if I convert what you send to a
spreadsheet as well that would be an idea too. < he he >

Regards, John.
 
C

Cookie

|Well, *my* preference would probably be Lotus but that might not suite
|others. Many have Excel BUT even more would have something to read
|RTF (MS Write ?). Or even HTML ?

|If you get the time perhaps you could sent either/both a HTML/RTF
|version to me at the same address as previously ? I can only get 5MB
|per email so you should perhaps only send one file per email.

You have mail.

Lotus = 179kb zip 561kb unzipped
Excel = 195kb zip 564kb unzipped
RTF = 247kb zip 5.99mb unzipped
HTML = 896kb zip 9.89mb unzipped 327 files

|Not a problem IMO. I have no intention going through the links one by
|one. I was considering making them into a HTML file and use a "link
|checker" to see which were the valid links. If you can send a HTML
|copy I expect I could probably work directly off that.

|Though * if * you have time both would be better. I am curious about
|how the file sizes would compare and how easy/difficult working from
|an RTF original would be.

The link checker might help some. I found that some sites are no longer
around, some are no longer offering the program in question, some have
gone shareware, some are now porn sites, ringtone sites and so on. With
some the links work but the downloads don't.

I used to have about 3,000 of the URLs from SoftCat in a folder in my
favorites. I used to check them once a month with Am Deadlink. Even that
was a pain to do after awhile.
 
O

omega

Date: 30 December, 2003
Re: My Freeware Database Posted In alt.binaries.freeware
From: dszady said:
Whatever happened to that alt.comp.freeware.discussion? Is it still
around? Or is all the "discussion" going on here?

The reason for ACF.discussion to have got born in the first place would
have been to provide a text discussion group when ACF itself started its
life as a binary group. Now that these things are in order, where ACF is
the freeware discussion group, it makes ACF.discussion redundant.

I check on it periodically. My reader deletes out any posts there which
are also X-posted here, and that leaves extremely little. For a short
period, it had a handful of regulars/squatters - but as now, none that
I can discern. So I view it as free to use as we see fit.

I want to describe a proposition. Its use as a "watercooler" group. Those
threads that meander away from a discussion of freeware (not a post or
two, but a longer discussion) - that they could meander over there, when
the participants see appropriate. Not world politics, but maybe computer
politics. And especially the various lighter stuff.

For example, at the moment, I am engaged in an OT thread (on ISPs) and
the particular followup I'm inclined to post, it includes nothing that
I sense might bring back in freeware to the topic, and it is feeling
natural to me to post it over in ACF.discussion.

One main issue, though, is how many people get this group. The Berlin
server (aka individual.net) that meany of us here use, it carries it,
but I don't know about how widely it is carried by other servers.
....?
 

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