Learn Me About Usenet

[MickMcGeough]

I know next to nothing about usenet. I've heard that it's a far better way to download Linux Distros than any other method. What are the best free servers? What are the best pay servers? What are the best clients for Mac/PC?

I thank the knowledgable tech talk community in advance.

[Hack&Lube]

Let's start with "who is your ISP" because many already come bundled with usenet access. Shaw for instance started farming out their usenet service to Highwinds a year ago.

There are no such things as "free servers". Usenet access is provided to you either as bundled with your ISP or via subscription to a Usenet provider.

Usenet is actually the primary distribution route for many release groups (after IRC), before they get filtered down to torrents, etc. It's probably the fastest way to get anything since your download speed is only capped by the maximum speed of your provider and there is no need to upload anything.

The two important things to look for in a Usenet provider is maximum download speed (most will max out your connection but Shaw caps their's at around 600kbps unfortunately) and retention (Shaw only has 30 days retention). On a premium provider, I usually max out at like 2.1mbps or something gross like that. Premium providers sometimes provide up to two years of retention.

For Usenet, it's based on a sort of old bulletin board system so uploaded binaries will eventually be wiped from the server. If your premium server/provider retains files for a year or more, that means you can download files that have been posted up to 2 years ago, etc. For Shaw, you can only download files uploaded in the past 30 days.

[Hack&Lube]

How to find binaries on Usenet to download:
1. Use a search engine like http://binsearch.info/ (there are others). People used to download the headers from the newsgroups and use newsreaders or even mail clients like but that's so 1980s.

2. Create and download an .nzb file which is the engine's method of packaging all the related headers for binary files in a format which a Usenet client can understand.

3. Use a usenet client to open the .nzb file. I use Newsbin Pro but that's a bit old. Usenet really hasn't changed in decades so anything works.

4. Download and assemble all the parts of the file, usually dozens of rar files.

5. Download one .par file to verify the integrity of the archive. Use a program like QuickPar (http://www.quickpar.org.uk/). Download additional pars if the files are incomplete. You can read up on pararchives here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchive

6. Once the parity archive has been used to verify or rebuild any missing pieces, unrar the rest and you're done.

[Cain]

I pay 10 bucks a month for Usenetserver (google them) for unlimited downloads. Best deal I've found.

Usenet is great for movies/tv/games. Not good for music. Alright for e-books.

Forgot to add, I use Grabit. Simple and decent enough for what I need to do.

Also, as far as retention, it seems like all the major players are at 600+ days now, so it is just getting better and better for finding older things (and will continue to do so hopefully as space becomes less and less costly.)

[SebC]

Wait, how does free usenet from Shaw work?

[Cain]

The same way as paid usenet.

Grab a usenet reader/downloader, find out what shaw's servers are and configure the program.

Then use a site like binsearch.info and see if you can find anything on the newsgroups that you'd like to download. Find it, create a nzb file, open that with the program and it will start downloading magically.

The only problem with free usenet like what shaw provides is that they have a high amount of turnover (low retention, they don't keep things on there for long) and often have poor completion rates (pieces missing sometimes...fixable with par files potentially).

Check it out for sure, if you download things constantly and are on top of when things are released free usenet can often suffice.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Cain

The same way as paid usenet.

Grab a usenet reader/downloader, find out what shaw's servers are and configure the program.

Then use a site like binsearch.info and see if you can find anything on the newsgroups that you'd like to download. Find it, create a nzb file, open that with the program and it will start downloading magically.

The only problem with free usenet like what shaw provides is that they have a high amount of turnover (low retention, they don't keep things on there for long) and often have poor completion rates (pieces missing sometimes...fixable with par files potentially).

Check it out for sure, if you download things constantly and are on top of when things are released free usenet can often suffice.

I've never had any issues with completion on Shaw and the existence of pars has rendered that problem almost completely gone.

The only completion issues crop up when files near the 30 day mark and start to be deleted off the servers.

I stopped subscribing to premium Usenet providers (Giganews, Usenetserver, Astraweb) for awhile and find using Shaw's service is actually fine for my news. It is annoying when you see a file posted 1.5 years ago and really want it but you can't get it though. However, for something that comes out regularily (programs, packages, shows, etc.) 30 days retention is more than enough for most casual users.

[MickMcGeough]

I'm on Telus. From what I've read they don't have news servers?

I checked out usenetserver but it looks like it's $15/mo for the unlimited plan now.

[Old Yeller]

Originally Posted by SebC

Wait, how does free usenet from Shaw work?

Download a newsgroup reader/downloader, I use Grabit, and just enter "shawnews" without the quotes when adding your news server.

You can have 4 concurrent connections with shaw and it's pretty damn fast for a "free" service.

Like Cain said, the retention rate compared to a pay service is not very good, but I've found the completion rates to be quite good since they contracted it out to a 3rd party.

[1_Flames_Fan]

I use grabit for software(free) and thunder news for my newsserver(unlimited for $5/month) I believe that was a promo only special so I don't know what their current rates are. They do offer 600+ days retention though. To find stuff I use www.newzbin.com or www.nzbmatrix.com both are fairly good.

[Mtt48]

Try out astraweb. They sell 180GB blocks with no time limits for 25$ USD. They are almost up to 1000 days retention. The service is fast and it caps my connection no problems.

For Mac I use Unison.

[FanIn80]

Usenet is all about nzb files. Get an unlimited SSL encrypted usenet sub from Astraweb for $11/mo, find a site that distributes nzb files and get a decent client like sabnzbd+. You'll be downloading whatever you want at full bandwidth in no time.

Don't get sucked into the old school mentality of digging around through thousands of messages for bits and pieces of different files. Save yourself the grief and stick with nzbs.

Edit: The single greatest usenet client in the history of the universe: http://sabnzbd.org

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

I'm on Telus. From what I've read they don't have news servers?

I checked out usenetserver but it looks like it's $15/mo for the unlimited plan now.

Just wait for sales and discounts. Sometimes you find them on RFD, etc. I remember Astraweb was down to $8/mo for unlimited if you bought a year's subscription once.

[DownInFlames]

Have you guys forgotten the first rule of usenet?

I agree with those that say start with Shaw's server and upgrade if you find yourself needing a service with more retention. And NZBs are the greatest thing to happen to usenet in 10 years, along with PAR recovery. It's so easy to go to a site and search for what you want, and have a client download, repair and decode your files automatically.

[Finner]

I also use Astraweb. I only use usenet when i need a faster download then what torrents can offer. I regularly get 2-5000 kb/sec on usenet. I bought a 125GB plan and have had it for ~a year and only have used about 80GB of it so far.

Also for my client i use SABnzbd.

[freakinsaprikin]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Usenet is all about nzb files. Get an unlimited SSL encrypted usenet sub from Astraweb for $11/mo, find a site that distributes nzb files and get a decent client like sabnzbd+. You'll be downloading whatever you want at full bandwidth in no time.

Don't get sucked into the old school mentality of digging around through thousands of messages for bits and pieces of different files. Save yourself the grief and stick with nzbs.

Edit: The single greatest usenet client in the history of the universe: http://sabnzbd.org

I second this, Astraweb subscription sabnzbd as the client have made using newsgroups way easier than doing torrents ever where.

[J Diddy]

I use sabnzbd as my client. It has a web based interface that ties in nicely with NZBmatrix ($10 for life). I have it setup to look at the Shaw newsgroups first and then Blocknews ($21 for 200GB with no expiry) if Shaw doesn't have it.

If you want to automate things take a look a sickbeard (usenet PVR software for TV) and couchpotato (usenet PVR software for movies). I walked through a guide to get these setup in minutes and it is awesome.

[oilyfan]

I use sabnzbd on my computer, installed as a service. Newzbin as my search and Usenetserver as the provider, it costs me approximately $15/month to run this all but it is the cat's you know what.

Search on Newzbin and the NZB downloads into a watched directory, sabnzbd automatically downloads the file, uncompresses it, verifies it and repairs if necessary. It is almost completely automated.

I also have the iphone app for sabnzbd that can search and initiate the download on my computer, on the go anywhere.

Never going back to torrents.

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by oilyfan

Search on Newzbin and the NZB downloads into a watched directory, sabnzbd automatically downloads the file, uncompresses it, verifies it and repairs if necessary. It is almost completely automated.

I like how SAB can also put things into directories you specify based on the content type...like put a movie in your movie folder.

[fredr123]

Is there actual news posted on usenet or is it all about downloading pirated media? I'm sure it's a great way to get the latest test release of slackware or something, but that's not what usenet is about for most people. Let's be honest: we're all talking about how to get away with downloading pirated material under the watchful eye of Shaw and Telus.