n00b perspective on Usenet
- Thread starter Alyha
- Start date
blouhoender
New member
Well, I used to be a hardcore public torrent man, but I had a couple ISP security breaches that have left me searching for an alternative. And the idea of extra speed was apealing as well.
I have put a lot of time in the last couple days trying to figure out this whole newsgroup thing, and here is sort of a guide from what I have found to be the best noob approach
1: Client
I started out by acquiring a handful of free newsreaders,as well as a trial of a couple free ones. Verdict: i don't see any reason to use anything other than grabit. Its free, and works flawlessly, seems to be designed well, and
2: Server
I originally tried my charter ISP's newsgroup server, and I was getting around 40-50kb/s. Then I performed a futile search for some free ones... don't bother. I switched to a Giganews trial and was averaging around 900-1000Kb/s and used up my 10Gb trial in a matter of a few hours... Crazy fast and awesome! So a pay news server is definitely worth it. I'd still like to experiment with some of the other premium ones that are a bit cheaper, but giganews performs very well!
3: Finding Files
This is where i hit some snags, until i found this site. I have checked out a lot of sites to find files, like binsearch, newzleech, and a couple of in-client search engines. I didn't really like any of these, the file lists seemed convoluted and limited. I still haven't had a chance to try out Newzbin, but The NZB section on this site is mighty fine, as is the site NZBmatrix. Those are the two best ways to find the files you want that I have found. I am still looking for better ways, so feel free to suggest!
I still have a few files that I could find on torrent, but not on newsgroups, but it also goes the other way, so I think all in all , the switch will be good for me. Now i just need a bigger hard drive. I can download a gigantic 720p - 1080p movie in about the same time as i used to download a standard divx 700Mb movie on torrent... not bad.
I have put a lot of time in the last couple days trying to figure out this whole newsgroup thing, and here is sort of a guide from what I have found to be the best noob approach
1: Client
I started out by acquiring a handful of free newsreaders,as well as a trial of a couple free ones. Verdict: i don't see any reason to use anything other than grabit. Its free, and works flawlessly, seems to be designed well, and
2: Server
I originally tried my charter ISP's newsgroup server, and I was getting around 40-50kb/s. Then I performed a futile search for some free ones... don't bother. I switched to a Giganews trial and was averaging around 900-1000Kb/s and used up my 10Gb trial in a matter of a few hours... Crazy fast and awesome! So a pay news server is definitely worth it. I'd still like to experiment with some of the other premium ones that are a bit cheaper, but giganews performs very well!
3: Finding Files
This is where i hit some snags, until i found this site. I have checked out a lot of sites to find files, like binsearch, newzleech, and a couple of in-client search engines. I didn't really like any of these, the file lists seemed convoluted and limited. I still haven't had a chance to try out Newzbin, but The NZB section on this site is mighty fine, as is the site NZBmatrix. Those are the two best ways to find the files you want that I have found. I am still looking for better ways, so feel free to suggest!
I still have a few files that I could find on torrent, but not on newsgroups, but it also goes the other way, so I think all in all , the switch will be good for me. Now i just need a bigger hard drive. I can download a gigantic 720p - 1080p movie in about the same time as i used to download a standard divx 700Mb movie on torrent... not bad.
Tiffany Baby
New member
Sweet, thats what i get with giganews, might have to give astra a try. I thought they had a deal going yesterday, now i dont see it 
Italian Smile
New member
what do you mean by "grab headers" I'm not even sure what a header is...
Heal the World
New member
...
First NameLaura
New member
Once you join this side you'll never go back..
For finding stuff..
http://filesharingtalk.com/
http://www.newzbin.com/
http://www.binsearch.info/
Those are the only 'sites' I use to find stuff..
I am a header whore.. That by far is the best way to find those gems that don't make it to an indexed site.
Learn which groups have what....
a.b. = alt.binaries.*
a.b.boneless the bone yard.. its probably the biggest group out there..
a.b.mutlimedia
a.b.tv
a.b.dvd (there are a few worth looking at like that)
a.b.sounds.mp3.complete_cd
a.b.e-book.technical
that's just a few that I often check out..
#altbin of efnet has a way of searching and requesting material. Just because you can't find it, doesn't mean that it can't get added.. And quickly I might add..
Basically you can sift through headers and find what you want, or use an indexing site and find stuff that other people are looking at.. You can kind of think of indexing sites, this one newzbin whatever as sort of like digg.com.. It's a social thing, so it takes someones effort to look at those headers and find the files to post here.. Sometimes we are lucky enough to have whoever uploaded the content to post a .nzb for it right away, other times you'll have to just find it for yourself.
Clients... Well I have no idea what to use on windows.. I'm a linux fan, so I use Pan, Icedove (thunderbird) and SABnzbd. Not one fits the bill for a specific task.. Each has it's own job.
Servers... Decide on what RETENTION you need.. that's all that it really comes down to. Retention is how long the material will live on the servers.. old stuff is dropped making space for new stuff. Giganews has 240 days or so.. That cool and all but I don't really need that much retention, and once you've been using newsgroups for a while no one should really.. You'll be after 'new' content most of the time and if it's new and hot, it is posted many many times by a lot of different people. You might even be able to find the same DVD in 3 or 4 groups.. So 240 is overkill in my book.. Astraweb is having some promotion going on (maybe check) for ~ 120 days or close to it for $11USD for unlimited BW. I wouldn't pass that offer up.
For finding stuff..
http://filesharingtalk.com/
http://www.newzbin.com/
http://www.binsearch.info/
Those are the only 'sites' I use to find stuff..
I am a header whore.. That by far is the best way to find those gems that don't make it to an indexed site.
Learn which groups have what....
a.b. = alt.binaries.*
a.b.boneless the bone yard.. its probably the biggest group out there..
a.b.mutlimedia
a.b.tv
a.b.dvd (there are a few worth looking at like that)
a.b.sounds.mp3.complete_cd
a.b.e-book.technical
that's just a few that I often check out..
#altbin of efnet has a way of searching and requesting material. Just because you can't find it, doesn't mean that it can't get added.. And quickly I might add..
Basically you can sift through headers and find what you want, or use an indexing site and find stuff that other people are looking at.. You can kind of think of indexing sites, this one newzbin whatever as sort of like digg.com.. It's a social thing, so it takes someones effort to look at those headers and find the files to post here.. Sometimes we are lucky enough to have whoever uploaded the content to post a .nzb for it right away, other times you'll have to just find it for yourself.
Clients... Well I have no idea what to use on windows.. I'm a linux fan, so I use Pan, Icedove (thunderbird) and SABnzbd. Not one fits the bill for a specific task.. Each has it's own job.
Servers... Decide on what RETENTION you need.. that's all that it really comes down to. Retention is how long the material will live on the servers.. old stuff is dropped making space for new stuff. Giganews has 240 days or so.. That cool and all but I don't really need that much retention, and once you've been using newsgroups for a while no one should really.. You'll be after 'new' content most of the time and if it's new and hot, it is posted many many times by a lot of different people. You might even be able to find the same DVD in 3 or 4 groups.. So 240 is overkill in my book.. Astraweb is having some promotion going on (maybe check) for ~ 120 days or close to it for $11USD for unlimited BW. I wouldn't pass that offer up.
Mrs. Taylor Lautner
New member
Yeah, i found the astraweb deal, i signed up for 11$/mo and ditched my giganews before the trial ran out.
The speeds seem just as good and still ssl secure, i'm lovin' Astra so far!
Any suggestions for different clients... i'm thinking about getting newsleecher - worth it?
The speeds seem just as good and still ssl secure, i'm lovin' Astra so far!
Any suggestions for different clients... i'm thinking about getting newsleecher - worth it?
ora shinchan
New member
too expensive
Future Mrs. W
New member
Finish High School and get a job.
I use alt.binz and havent had any trouble with it so far.
lol, yeah, i would tend to agree... and the way i see it, I'm saving money on buying renting movies/ buying games/ software, ect.
20$ a month for super fast downloads of anything you can dream up isnt too bad of a deal. and when i can download a brand new movie thats just in theaters in 15-30 minutes and be watching it in HD through the xbox,on my HD projector, i feel i'm getting my moneys worth.
fender_gurl_1991
New member
Try Astraweb:
$11 for 20 connections ( SSL or not ) no limits.
http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html
Well worth it.
[email protected]
New member
fuck... think of it as an Insurance policy.. what's the RIAA want now a days?
well.. 150K / 240/yr = 625yr subscription to Giganews.. Double those years for something else or add some violations..
That free swarm seems pretty expensive to me.I would recommend Alt.Binz if you only use NZBs. Faster and uses less resources than Grabit.
You have to donate a little to get the newest version, or you can download it from usenet
fuck... think of it as an Insurance policy.. what's the RIAA want now a days?well.. 150K / 240/yr = 625yr subscription to Giganews.. Double those years for something
Another good point, if you havent got a notice from you ISP for using public torrents yet, your lucky, and you probably will get one eventually, not worth the risk in my opinion. SSL and Anonymity are worth alot on the usenet.
hows your speed on that? have you compared it with giganews?