I been on the internet since 56K. I use P2P through Soulseek all the time and occasionally use Bitcomet to snag some bit torrents but for some reason I have never used Usenet. Is there a free client? What search engine do you use? How do you key Usenet serches? How is it better or worse than P2P and Bit Torrents. (What I want is a really, really big file by the way) Thanks, Duby
There are a few free clients out there but they all suck. I shelled out some money and paid for NewsBin Pro. Its worth it in my opinion. To search i use binsearch.info The speeds are better than P2P since you aren't limited to another users upload speed. I prefer newsgroups since you just go and get it rather than waiting on someone that might be seeding something you want and the aren't on or they are just slow. I use torrents also, but I stick with newsgroups mostly.
Newsgroups are the Shiznit I also recommend NewsBin Pro. Chances are if you know about p2p and torrents, getting that software should not be a problem. As for searches, I use www.newzbin.com. The free search feature on that site is ok but you don't get NZB files. I pay for it but its something ridiculously low like 50 cents a week. NZB files allow your client to download the files, without you having to browse the newsgroup and find the post yourself. Makes it so much quicker. Make sure you get all your news server info from your ISP or the company you are subscribing access with. I also recommend you get a program called QuickPar. Most of the stuff on newsgroups comes with extra files, having an extension of .par2. QuickPar checks all the files after you have downloaded everything and makes sure all the files you downloaded are complete. If they aren't, it can actually rebuild the corrupt or incomplete files by using the .par2 files. Neat feature and helps out a bunch.
Forte Agent isn't a bad reader either... If your serious shell out a little cash for a decent news feed..giganews has a nice retention rate on binaries. ISPs are usually severely limited on retention rate and also on the number of groups they support.
I used to use Forte but am now using GrabIt. I tried Newsbin Pro but it ate up my CPU so I dropped it. For services I used to use whichever one came with my ISP but it would always miss parts. So I subscribe to Giganews now. It's something like $12/month and you get 25 Gigs worth of downloads. I don't download all that much so that's plenty for me. They have unlimited rates too. GrabIt is a free newsreader but they also offer services. I don't use their servers but I do use their search service. It's built into the reader and allows me to quickly look up something and just download it, all from that app.
altbinz [http://www.altbinz.com/] is the best one and its free. I use to use newsbin pro but switched over because it does everything newsbin does and better. It includes all the best search engines like binsearch,newzleech,ect. So you just search, click, and download, all within the program. Also takes up much less resources than newsbin.
