Does anyone use binary newsgroups for downloading?

MaxwellSmart

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I'm not sure how much is okay talk about, but I was just curious if anyone here used binary newsgroups.

I won't go into any details yet, in case E has a problem with this.
 
It's basically a system for file sharing that's fairly obscure.

I would say it's the best system, though.
 
I should definitely look into it. I've downloaded a few things here and there.
 
The people who would be most interested in Newsgroups are people who use Torrent sites. They're substantially better than torrents in several key areas, though. Your download rate isn't capped by others upload. Leeching is perfectly acceptable, and theoretically preferred. Servers don't get shut down on you the way private torrent sites are. The only thing torrents have over newsgroups is that you pretty much can find anything you're looking for on bittorrent.

Newsgroups basically form a centralized network for discussion forums on specific news servers. Newsgroups use usenet networking protocols, which actually predates http. There are two types of newsgroups the most common being text newsgroups, which are basically discussion forums. The other is binary newsgroups which are used for uploading files to each post. This is what makes newsgroups so great. It allows you to use WinRAR and QuickPar to compile large files like DVD ISOs from a lot of 50 MB *.rar files. Posts are sorted and organized by various websites that compile the all the post necessary for the given file. The site I use is called newzbin.com. The best way to gain access to binary newsgroups is by subscribing to a private news server. Plans vary from $10 to $30. My plan is $15/month for unlimited bandwidth, 100 day file retention, and 10 connections. The other big advantage to newsgroups is that because news server synchronize it only takes one person to upload a file to one server once for everyone to have access to it. This also means you're not forced to maintain a download to upload ratio like many private torrent sites. One thing torrents have over newsgroups is that it's hard to find anything really obscure on newsgroups. Files retention on news servers is generally around 100 days(up to about 200 days), which means the file you're looking for has to be uploaded about every 100 days for you to have constant access to it. This can make it difficult to find stuff like obscure movies or music.
 
If you're interested in trying newsgroups but you don't want to spend the money, your broadband supplier may offer limited newsgroup access. My personal cable provider offers 30 day file retention, four connections, at about 225 KB/sec. If you end up liking it by this method and want to upgrade to a premium new server, I recommend usenetserver and giganews.

I've thought of another way to explain how News Servers work. The news servers connect to each other via the usenet, similar to the internet. All news servers synchronize with the each other, so they all contain the same files. The site Newzbin.com organizes the posts to the usenet, so that you can download whole files more easily. You have to subscribe to Newzbin, but a one month subscription is only 1.2 British pounds.

You would also have to install a newsreader(I use Newsbin Pro). You can find either an install of an old version(I actually use version 4.32) or download a trial version and then download the full version off of Newzbin.com. You'll also need to install WinRAR(download trial then full version off newzbin), to extract RAR files, and QuickPAR, to repair corrupted RAR files.

Another side comment, Newzbin.com is kept pretty clean of pornography, so you won't have worry about sifting through porn to find a movie or anything like that. All newsgroup porn is neatly organized by genre, format, and language on Newzxxx.com, run by the same people as Newzbin.com, so your account works for both sites.
 
Since this post was made, my boss made me aware of a paid Usenet service that I have been using. We are sworn to secrecy - the last thing I want is to have this pulled out from under me by the RIAA.

It is better than Bittorrent. SRSLY.
 
Since this post was made, my boss made me aware of a paid Usenet service that I have been using. We are sworn to secrecy - the last thing I want is to have this pulled out from under me by the RIAA.

It is better than Bittorrent. SRSLY.
I am constantly shocked at the number of people who get stuck on the idea of spending $15/month for uncapped downloads of pretty much anything you might find on Bittorrent. I tell people I use it as a virtual version of Netflix and iTunes. I tell people I can download, extract, and burn a DVD ISO in almost exactly 2 hours flat.

One of the reasons Bittorrent gets heavily targeted and not newsgroups is that Bittorrent consumes a huge amount of bandwidth that ISP can't charge extra for. Private news servers charge for their bandwidth, so that's one less group to complain.

EDIT: My roommates want to get rid of Cable TV altogether and just keep Cable internet. I decided I'm going to get my own 12 Mbps High-Bandwidth Cable line for my room for $65/month. I then plan to upgrade to a better news server plan. I'll also probably have to get a second bigger hard drive for my computer as well. Running out of hard drive storage can be a problem.
 
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I am constantly shocked at the number of people who get stuck on the idea of spending $15/month for uncapped downloads of pretty much anything you might find on Bittorrent. I tell people I use it as a virtual version of Netflix and iTunes. I tell people I can download, extract, and burn a DVD ISO in almost exactly 2 hours flat.

Totally agreed.

And not to mention - there's TONS of stuff you can't find on Bittorrent, just because it's obscure. It's nice to not have to post messages begging for people to seed something and hoping they see it.
 
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[youtube]Ia9N_wZaoa4[/youtube]
 

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