Astraweb Usenet Unlimited/456 days retention/20 connection

[Flix3r]

Astraweb currently has a special plan for usenet usage. I signed up to it yesterday and it maxes out my connection of 10mbit. I dont know about how it handles faster connections.

This is what it offers:


Unlimited DSL - US$ 11 every month

# No Speed Limits
# No Download Limits
# 456 days retention!!!
# 20 Connections
# SSL Access
# You will pay $11 for every month as long as your subcription remains active. We will not raise the price.


* This is a SPECIAL offer. Available for a Limited time only.

UPDATE 2:
Astraweb have upgraded (https://helpdesk.astraweb.com/index.php?_m=news&_a=viewnews&newsid=20) servers to support 365 days retention capacity.

Please note that obviously retention will not be 365 days as of today. Each day, retention increases by one day and at this moment is around 210 days and will continue to grow until 365 days.


UPDATE:
Astraweb upgraded (http://helpdesk.astraweb.com/index.php?_m=news&_a=viewnews&newsid=12) retention to 270 days on Dec 31

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html


Credit goes to jbloggs @ fatwallet

[Riflem@n]

Good deal.

[cantbprince]

seems pretty good except i'm already with giganews and that gives you free newsleecher use. I can't live without supersearch...

[Geese_Howard]

seems pretty good except i'm already with giganews and that gives you free newsleecher use. I can't live without supersearch...

I use NZB sites and *********, they do the trick for me.

Giganews i hear is the best but the most expensive, this news group is REALLY cheap, I've never heard of it but its a heck of a deal.

[M.D.]

SSL connection available?

[arcane47]

:cheesygri
Nice, was looking to move off of newshosting... Cheers

[JAC]

No SSL?

[M.D.]

No SSL?

"All plans include SSL access"

[hondas3000]

this seem better then newshosting. But I wonder with 1Mbits is that like 1000kb? because I got shaw extreme it said 10Mbps download but newsleecher can download max at 1.2Mb.

[mikecanada]

Thank op. Signed up.

[Traian2003]

this seem better then newshosting. But I wonder with 1Mbits is that like 1000kb? because I got shaw extreme it said 10Mbps download but newsleecher can download max at 1.2Mb.

8mbits/s = 1Megabyte/s

[bug]

Anyone here currently using Astraweb? I'm wondering what kind of speeds people are getting.

[KrazyDesi]

lol @ being sponsored by Kleverig.nl ... pr0n forums ... but yeah seems to be a good deal.

[Hello-]

I've never used usenet before. Can it be used as a torrent replacement?

[Desolatax]

Anyone know if you can use multiple IP's simultaneously?

[Longobongo]

sounds like a great deal, tempted to sign up however, i'm still unfamiliar with newgroups, so with astraweb, whats the best app to search and grab files you want?

[Deals1]

I've never used usenet before. Can it be used as a torrent replacement?

It can. Personally I wouldn't though.

Here's the first hit on Google for "Usenet vs Torrents" it explains some of the differences:
http://www.slyck.com/story1376_BitTorrent_vs_Usenet

[digdoug]

I only plan on using the newsgroups one month every two months (because of rogers' overages). Does someone want to alternate with me?

I'll drain rogers for a month, then keep under the limit the next... etc. and no, I cannot escape from rogers since we're signed up for a year. :o

[lotfi.bm]

Anyone know if you can use multiple IP's simultaneously?

For $11 a month?? I don't think so :(

[Desolatax]

Ack, unfortunately they don't let you use multiple IP's.


III. Accounts may be used for the subscribers personal use only. To ensure personal usage, accounts may only be logged in from a single location or IP address at any one time.

[HKPolice]

Can any1 confirm 150days retention or is it only in select groups?

[pacman99]

Ack, unfortunately they don't let you use multiple IP's.
confirmed here. Just signed up and tried using it with more than one ip at the same time and I got an error. Oh well, it's still better than what I was paying w/ newshosting.


Can any1 confirm 150days retention or is it only in select groups?
I just tried downloading something that was 147.5 days old and it downloaded completely so I guess it's 150 days retention for every group. This group didn't seem as popular as some of the other ones out there.

[KrazyDesi]

To those looking to share, www.usenetserver.com is a good one. I've had up to four people using it at once.

[Vertigo]

Keep in mind that if you plan to download less than 48.4 GB a month, the 110 GB for $25 prepaid option (with no time limit or expiry on your download credits) is the better way to go.

[zod]

I hope this holds out til the 23rd. My newshosting runs out that day. I've been with newhosting a for a number of years now, probably the longest out of any NSP i've used. Rock solid connection. However they seem to have stalled out with their retention and now other companies like astraweb and powerusenet have surpassed them.

This astraweb deal is really good too because it includes SSL, if that legislation passes in the fall, encryption could come in handy.

[HKPolice]

I hope this holds out til the 23rd. My newshosting runs out that day. I've been with newhosting a for a number of years now, probably the longest out of any NSP i've used. Rock solid connection. However they seem to have stalled out with their retention and now other companies like astraweb and powerusenet have surpassed them.

This astraweb deal is really good too because it includes SSL, if that legislation passes in the fall, encryption could come in handy.

What legislation?

[predator]

Thank OP

I don't usually use newsgroups as I had good luck with torrents and currently not throttled but that might change when I move out in September so might as well get an account.

[Solidus Snake]

Keep in mind that if you plan to download less than 48.4 GB a month, the 110 GB for $25 prepaid option (with no time limit or expiry on your download credits) is the better way to go.

Yup. I signed up for the prepaid back in January when it was 90 GB for 25, and I still haven't used it up.

[Ch28]

To those looking to share, www.usenetserver.com is a good one. I've had up to four people using it at once.

usenetserver is absolutely HORRIBLE

Stay far away from that. I've used it in the past and got constant disconnections and errors while trying to log onto the server. It wasn't just me because a bunch of members on another forum reported the same thing.

[blahs]

damn still got a month and a bit on another provider or id jump on this. 150 day retention is enticing.

[lotfi.bm]

usenetserver is absolutely HORRIBLE

Stay far away from that. I've used it in the past and got constant disconnections and errors while trying to log onto the server. It wasn't just me because a bunch of members on another forum reported the same thing.
Well, for the last 6 months or so I never had a single problem with them and nothing can beat the $3/3days unlimited

[komal]

This is nice. I'm on the $9.99 unlimited deal with ngroups but I used astraweb for about a year and really liked them. I'm tempted to switch back for the greater retention.

[brunes]

Currently still cruising on the $9.99 Octoberfest deal from Ngroups. What I like about NGroups is you get SSL encryption for free. Nice to know in these days of lawsuits. Bigger retention would be nice but I will stick with NGroups for now.

EDIT: I see Astraweb finally has SSL! Might be time to jump ship - thanks OP.

EDIT 2: Just a note to people, if you are like me and on Rogers Express with the 60 GB cap, it is worth considering instead going with the $25 / 110 GB plan. Considering you can't download more than around 50 GB / month without blowing your Rogers cap anyway, this plan works out to be a cheaper option - and you are allowed 50 connections instead of only 20.

[MaDgamEr]

Thanks OP, just signed up!

Not to go off topic too far, anyone have a spare newzbin invite by any chance? Please PM me if you have one to giva away, or I may have something of intrest in exchange.

[TypeVR6]

Thanks OP - signed up. Cancelled Giganews :)

[Emancipated]

I've used Astraweb before and the completion of files were good or comparable to Giganews, Newshosting, UsenetServer, etc. which I've used before. I never took note of the speeds but my current provider (Newshosting) seems to be hitting a barrier at 800kbs or so.

Anyone hitting 1.2Mbit on Roger's Extreme?

[lil_c09]

usenetserver is absolutely HORRIBLE

Stay far away from that. I've used it in the past and got constant disconnections and errors while trying to log onto the server. It wasn't just me because a bunch of members on another forum reported the same thing.

That happened to me also. Mind you I was able to download some things, and when I had requested support they were no help at all. They said because I was able to connect at one point, then it had to have been my fault I wasn't able to connect all the time.

Pretty stupid explanation if you ask me, considering I wasn't the only one having problems at the time.

[Mendes]

Ive been with usenetserver for YEARS and their service has gone to poop. Every weekend like clockwork they bottleneck.

Any long time users of Astraweb want to comment on service? and throughout?

[Acuratl]

UNS is not that good lots of dropped connections.

i was using www.hitnews.eu for the longest time my sub with them is running out. so this was perfect timing can't really quarrel with 150 days ret.

[Happy13178]

Btw, if anyone has an invite to newzbin I would be glad to take it :D

I'm sticking with Giganews...they've always been good to me. :) Anyways, I've got 5 invites to newzbin, send me your email and I'll send you one.


EDIT: Please note that due to people flooding my inbox with demands for the invites, one threatening to call the police on me for piracy if I didn't send him one, another calling me a jerk for not sending him one, I'm not giving out the invites. The OP got one, and that's it.

[Ch28]

I've used Astraweb before and the completion of files were good or comparable to Giganews, Newshosting, UsenetServer, etc. which I've used before. I never took note of the speeds but my current provider (Newshosting) seems to be hitting a barrier at 800kbs or so.

Anyone hitting 1.2Mbit on Roger's Extreme?

I'm on Shaw Extreme and I usually max out around 1.3MB/s


That happened to me also. Mind you I was able to download some things, and when I had requested support they were no help at all. They said because I was able to connect at one point, then it had to have been my fault I wasn't able to connect all the time.

Pretty stupid explanation if you ask me, considering I wasn't the only one having problems at the time.

Same excuse they gave me. I use to do their $3/3 day thing and download like crazy during that time. I'd use all the connections and the max speed I'd usually get would be around 700kb/s. During my 2nd + 3rd time with them I kept getting disconnected so I emailed them and they gave me some generic reply and a "thank you for your continued support as usenetserver improves to be the best" :lol:

[Mendes]

Anyone know when this expires? I just cancelled UNS but that wont finish until 9-23 :(

I may have to double dip for a bit

[Mendes]

Can any1 confirm 150days retention or is it only in select groups?

http://www.news.astraweb.com/tools/stats.html

Astraweb Statistics


Retention: 151+ Days across ALL groups
- Retention is being upgraded. Keep watching it rise!

[vindollar]

I use astraweb for their prepaid bandwidth service. Been using them for more than 2 years now, their service is pretty fast and reliable..

[houdini]

Ive been with usenetserver for YEARS and their service has gone to poop. Every weekend like clockwork they bottleneck.

Any long time users of Astraweb want to comment on service? and throughout?

I've been with Astraweb for 3 or 4 years and they've been great. I don't remember any downtime at all, some slow-downs maybe which were short lived and explained in detail.

I'm no power-user though so speed is fine for me, others may consider it a bit slow. FWIW, there is a "traceroute" link on the front page.

[mark_in_2k]

I've been using Astraweb for over 4 years, on their PAYG plans. It's been great for me, never any slow downs and I always max out at ~510 KB/s, which is my limit.

I also use Newzbin to get my .nzb files.

[chadw01]

Wow great deal.. bye bye NH.. hello Astroweb!

Thx OP

[Kero_1116]

For that extra $1 USD, I would rather have this than the one in October with Ngroups.

50 Day more retention
8 more connections

Going to cancel ngroups soon!

[Mendes]

Great Deal and thanks for the input all!

[Happy13178]

Thanks to everyone that just flooded my inbox for newzbin invites, and the couple people that demanded one or they'd call police and tell them I was pirating. I won't be giving any more out.

[Goober56]

Yah I am thinking of dumping ngroups as well. No complaints, but a couple more bucks for more retention is gold imo.

Haha, OMG Call the police? How childish can you be. Guy is offering you something and you piss all over him.

[Happy13178]

Yah I am thinking of dumping ngroups as well. No complaints, but a couple more bucks for more retention is gold imo.

Haha, OMG Call the police? How childish can you be. Guy is offering you something and you piss all over him.

Whatever, they just ruined it for everyone else. They know who they are, and they've all been added to my DNT list as well.

[Flix3r]

Thanks to everyone that just flooded my inbox for newzbin invites, and the couple people that demanded one or they'd call police and tell them I was pirating. I won't be giving any more out.

Ah damn, seems like I was too late. Thanks anyways man.

For those that was wondering about the speed, like I had mentioned, astraweb maxes out my extreme high speed videotron connection (the 10 mbit one).

[EGee6]

Whatever, they just ruined it for everyone else. They know who they are, and they've all been added to my DNT list as well.

give us their names so we can avoid them

[Goober56]

Signed up for the deal. I was going to go for the 110GB one, but I have high hopes that Cogeco will up their caps one day.
Speed is everything as advertised.

[firetrainer]

I have a subscription to Ngroups (October deal) and retention is over 100 days now.

[trashmouth12]

I've been with Astraweb for about 6 months. Its worth it to spend the 20$ a year to get GrabIT.

I left newsgroups for RSpremium though:twisted:

[chadw01]

I've been with Astraweb for about 6 months. Its worth it to spend the 20$ a year to get GrabIT.

I left newsgroups for RSpremium though:twisted:

why? just about everything on rs you can also get on usenet.. and then some.

[Punira]

Great deal, Signed up. I am now double dipping with UsenetServer since my UNS expires next month. I tested the download speed and it was more stable and faster than what i was getting with UNS.

[ihk]

great deal, op.

Thanks to everyone that just flooded my inbox for newzbin invites, and the couple people that demanded one or they'd call police and tell them I was pirating. I won't be giving any more out.did you reply with "arrrgh"? :lol:

used newzbin years ago. it was great. looks like it's better now with so many people want in. :)

[DaveTO]

usenetserver is absolutely HORRIBLE

Stay far away from that. I've used it in the past and got constant disconnections and errors while trying to log onto the server. It wasn't just me because a bunch of members on another forum reported the same thing.

I've been a usenetserver member for 2-3 years. They have had isolated problems, but I'm very happy with them. And they constantly improve the service (retention, more connections allowed, etc).

[Kris81]

anyoen signed up yet? what's the service like?

and nothing beats supersearch!

[Punisher77]

I just switched from Newshosting. Longer retention, more connections, encryption and 4$ cheaper a month.

I'm maxed on my 10Mbps Shaw connection.

[Jeff146]

UNS is not that good lots of dropped connections.

i was using www.hitnews.eu for the longest time my sub with them is running out. so this was perfect timing can't really quarrel with 150 days ret.

Are they any good? Was going to give them a shot.

[chadw01]

Here is their SSL server info:

secure.news.astraweb.com
port 443 or 563

[MaDgamEr]

Wow! Speeds are awesome... No problems maxing my 15 mbit service!

Once again, thanks OP!!!!

[Happy13178]

great deal, op.
did you reply with "arrrgh"? :lol:

used newzbin years ago. it was great. looks like it's better now with so many people want in. :)

They've been revamping it for a while....its up to 240 days retention, and the search options beat the crap out of the others.

And I replied with "Nope, sorry."....The OP still got his, but I don't deal with stupidity.

[Rockstead]

guys what about newzhits.eu, it is even cheaper, 8 connections which maxes out my connection at 525Kb/sec on DSL, and even allows you to share the account.

You can pay by the week, month, 6 months, etc and with paypal as well.


I was very happy with it when I tried it, if anyone is familiar withit, is Astraweb better?

[Jeff146]

I'm wondering about that also.

[905fcuk]

Uh.. this may sound extremely stupid but.. what is Usenet? Is it like an internet provider? =\ like Rogers or Bell?

[chadw01]

Uh.. this may sound extremely stupid but.. what is Usenet? Is it like an internet provider? =\ like Rogers or Bell?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet

[Flix3r]

They've been revamping it for a while....its up to 240 days retention, and the search options beat the crap out of the others.

And I replied with "Nope, sorry."....The OP still got his, but I don't deal with stupidity.

Thanks a lot! Just signed up!

[trashmouth12]

why? just about everything on rs you can also get on usenet.. and then some.

I found RS had more selection and retention since apparently nothing ever gets deleted for premium members. Things don't get uploaded fast but I found alot of older tvshows and movies on RS. Just personal preference. Both are great.

[zod]

What legislation?

That bill thats wants to fine $500 for each download infridgement without a top end limit on it.

[Menace]

Thanks OP.

I just signed up because it offers SSL (and cheaper than Newshosting). I will cancel my Newshosting account once my account is dued for renewal.

[ihk]

That bill thats wants to fine $500 for each download infridgement without a top end limit on it.not that i support the bill (http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=3570473&file=4). but it's suppose to be $500 max for all personal infringement filed under the same lawsuit (see section 30 (1.1)).

[Kasual]

Thanks OP! Signed up this morning! Wicked speeds (1.3MB/s on Shaw Extreme)

[kleptodathief]

OT: how fast is 1.06MB/s from a certain app :cheesygri

i recently upgraded to xtreme rogers

[Gophermofur]

That bill thats wants to fine $500 for each download infridgement without a top end limit on it.

Which is why I'll only use services that have SSL. Part of the reason i stayed away from astraweb for such a long time is because they didn't have SSL until recently.

I was reading around on some forums earlier this week (I can't remember which ones) and some people seemed to think their SSL service wasn't on par with other providers. I can only assume that's because it's fairly new and will (hopefully) get better in time. And by "on par", I mean their retention with SSL wasn't the claimed 150+. I seem to remember someone mentioning 90 days as the upper limit before downloads show up as incomplete.

Haven't personally tried it though, so take it all with a grain of salt.

[dtrader69]

usenetserver is absolutely HORRIBLE

Stay far away from that. I've used it in the past and got constant disconnections and errors while trying to log onto the server. It wasn't just me because a bunch of members on another forum reported the same thing.

it has its problems, but i cant complain too much as always, when download begins is fast and maxed...one big plus is they have there own search engine, and nzb creator which is super handy...it searches its own groups so you know if you can see it, you can download it...

[Gophermofur]

it has its problems, but i cant complain too much as always, when download begins is fast and maxed...one big plus is they have there own search engine, and nzb creator which is super handy...it searches its own groups so you know if you can see it, you can download it...

I suppose that would be handy if you are searching for obscure files that may not be on well known groups. I personally don't really see much benefit in all those integrated search engines. There are tons of NZB search engines out there. Many of which just index files uploaded to websites.

Maybe I'm overlooking the benefits of those integrated search engines?

[Defiant]

Great deal

A friend and I share our Astraweb account and havent had any issues (we are both on Rogers).

Speed is very good, retention is great, no complaints.

[Rockstead]

Someone needs to tell me what makes this better then HITNEWS.EU (sorry befiore I think i called it hitznews or something).

HITNEWS.EU is located overseas, you can pay with Paypal and is cheaper than Astraweb, has 8 connections which maxes out my DSL speed at 525Mb/sec, as well there is no IP restriction and accounts can be shared.

How is Astraweb better then that?

The only thing I can think of is that people either dont know about it or it is the 100 day retention, hey I'm all for switching to Astraweb if someone can convince me what makes it better.

[chadw01]

Someone needs to tell me what makes this better then HITNEWS.EU (sorry befiore I think i called it hitznews or something).

HITNEWS.EU is located overseas, you can pay with Paypal and is cheaper than Astraweb, has 8 connections which maxes out my DSL speed at 525Mb/sec, as well there is no IP restriction and accounts can be shared.

How is Astraweb better then that?

The only thing I can think of is that people either dont know about it or it is the 100 day retention, hey I'm all for switching to Astraweb if someone can convince me what makes it better.

150 day retention
20 connections
SSL
$12CDN/month

..does it for me (I don't share my subscription).

[johnyc]

seems pretty good except i'm already with giganews and that gives you free newsleecher use. I can't live without supersearch...

yeh newsleecher is the best. I'm with giganews diamond.. W/ astraweb i'd save about $16 a month if paying for newsleecher on a mon-to-mon basis. Less retention, not as good SSL, couple other minor features..
hmmm might give astraweb a test..

[xOFFSETx]

usenetserver is absolutely HORRIBLE

Stay far away from that. I've used it in the past and got constant disconnections and errors while trying to log onto the server. It wasn't just me because a bunch of members on another forum reported the same thing.

I've used them for years and never had a single problem. Lately I've been saving up my .nzbs and once a month will pay $3 for 3 days unlimited downloads and just leech the hell out of it until they cut me off. Works pretty well!

[brucedlx]

I'm with ngroups.net OKTOBERFEST deal, 9,99 a month

with this retention increase, I'll probably just buy a 25gb block and use astraweb as a fillserver, since they are too harsh on the IP part.

[Happy13178]

great deal, op.
did you reply with "arrrgh"? :lol:

used newzbin years ago. it was great. looks like it's better now with so many people want in. :)

Here's a good one:

Quote:
Acuratl: newzbin invitation please.

Happy13178: Nope, sorry.

Acuratl: why? did they run out or are you just being a jerk?



After I posted why I wasn't giving them out again. Awesome.

[blahblohblah]

:cheesygri
Nice, was looking to move off of newshosting... Cheers

What is wrong with NewsHosting?
I have been on it for two years and don't see anything wrong

[Sopranos]

What is wrong with NewsHosting?
I have been on it for two years and don't see anything wrong

For $16 plan no SSL, only 8 connections, less retention - around 80 days I think...

[xOFFSETx]

Well, decided for $12 CAD a month you can't really go wrong and I don't have to try and cram all my downloading into 3 days. I mostly use what.cd for my music needs and usenet for movies, so this should be quite handy. Too bad my connection sucks and I max out at 500k/s.

[slomo]

That bill thats wants to fine $500 for each download infridgement without a top end limit on it.

Even without SSL, it would be very hard to prove what you downloaded from a news server without access to your computer, or the ISP, or the server logs, don't you think? I think SSL is useful to protect the user ID and password for those who download using public networks like libraries or internet cafes. Without SSL, the userID and password would be transmitted in clear text.

[blahblohblah]

Potentially dumb question but why do I want SSL for newsgroups? If the RIAA got a search warrant for Astraweb and looked at the accounts and who logged in when then does it matter that the internet link had SSL?

[Sopranos]

Potentially dumb question but why do I want SSL for newsgroups? If the RIAA got a search warrant for Astraweb and looked at the accounts and who logged in when then does it matter that the internet link had SSL?

According to their ( Astraweb's ) FAQ page they do not keep any logs of that nature:



Are any logs kept?

No. No logs are kept except for crucial server operations logs. These are totally anonymous and do not log your username at all. They log the day-to-day status of our server and any errors that occur at the server level. Your anonymity is protected at all times.

[Gophermofur]

Potentially dumb question but why do I want SSL for newsgroups?


Not a dumb question. I always thought it made you a little safer in that your ISP can't just peak at what you are downloading. Though I just did a search on google, and an article there made a good point about how your requests need to be unencrypted at some point on the server's end. So if your ISP really wants to know what you are downloading, they could always get (or attempt to get) the logs from the newsgroup provider. A lot of the hosts claim they don't keep logs -- but I'm not sure how true that is.

Where it is beneficial is when ISP's start to perform deep packet inspection in an effort to throttle P2P applications. Without SSL they can look at your packet and see if it uses NNTP commands and throttle you accordingly. With SSL, they can't actually peek at your packets. They can still throttle specific ports, but that's a different fight in itself and has nothing to do with SSL specifically.

That's my understanding of SSL as it stands.

Edit: As Slowmo mentioned, it probably isn't easy for the ISP to prove you're downloading illegal material. I highly doubt any newsgroup host would gladly agree to hand over their logs (if they even keep them). It would sour their reputation and most likely cause subscribers to jump ship very quickly.

[slomo]

Potentially dumb question but why do I want SSL for newsgroups? If the RIAA got a search warrant for Astraweb and looked at the accounts and who logged in when then does it matter that the internet link had SSL?

The RIAA would need a reasonable case to obtain a search warrant for a person. If no log is kept, they can only go after you or the ISP. Would be pretty hard to obtain a warrant on your account from the ISP or your computer, unless you publicly wear a T-Shirt with 'Sue me RIAA, I downloaded 10 music CD's a day'. ;)

[Marlek]

Thanks OP... pretty much a no-brainer switch from Newshosting ($15 USD/month, unlimited, 80 days retention, 8 connections).

Can anyone tell me if there is a downside to using all 20 connections? Should I set my client to the max possible settings, or is it somewhat hardware specific or something?

[Menace]

You do it in the client program setting.


Should I set my client to the max possible settings, or is it somewhat hardware specific or something?

[Gophermofur]

Thanks OP... pretty much a no-brainer switch from Newshosting ($15 USD/month, unlimited, 80 days retention, 8 connections).

Can anyone tell me if there is a downside to using all 20 connections? Should I set my client to the max possible settings, or is it somewhat hardware specific or something?

I'd say experiment. I don't think theirs a "downside" per se, I just remember reading a guide that said "Just use as many connections as necessary to max out your bandwidth". When I was on Rogers, I used to use 12 connections which maxed me out to 800 kb/s. If I went any higher, I saw no benefit (and no decline).

[ridsama]

Hope this will last until September 5th :cry:

But otherwise good deal!

[Marlek]

I'd say experiment. I don't think theirs a "downside" per se, I just remember reading a guide that said "Just use as many connections as necessary to max out your bandwidth". When I was on Rogers, I used to use 12 connections which maxed me out to 800 kb/s. If I went any higher, I saw no benefit (and no decline).

Thanks for the comment. I was maxing out on 8 connections through Newshosting so I guess I'll play around a bit.

[surfmonster]

usenetserver is absolutely HORRIBLE

Stay far away from that. I've used it in the past and got constant disconnections and errors while trying to log onto the server. It wasn't just me because a bunch of members on another forum reported the same thing.
I disagree...I have been with them now for a few years and yes they have had the odd problem here and there, but they have been rock solid reliable for quite some time now. When they did have problems, they posted the issue on their website and were very prompt to fix it.


this seem better then newshosting. But I wonder with 1Mbits is that like 1000kb? because I got shaw extreme it said 10Mbps download but newsleecher can download max at 1.2Mb.

I download with my full 6M DSL connection and I am getting a consistent 620 Kbps


Someone needs to tell me what makes this better then HITNEWS.EU (sorry befiore I think i called it hitznews or something).

HITNEWS.EU is located overseas, you can pay with Paypal and is cheaper than Astraweb, has 8 connections which maxes out my DSL speed at 525Mb/sec, as well there is no IP restriction and accounts can be shared.

How is Astraweb better then that?

The only thing I can think of is that people either dont know about it or it is the 100 day retention, hey I'm all for switching to Astraweb if someone can convince me what makes it better.


Well for starters it costs €7,50 EUR per month and at the ROE of about 1.6 works out to $12.00 CAD, so it's the same and Astraweb seem to get better speeds and retention.

[Rockstead]

I disagree...I have been with them now for a few years and yes they have had the odd problem here and there, but they have been rock solid reliable for quite some time now. When they did have problems, they posted the issue on their website and were very prompt to fix it.



I download with my full 6M DSL connection and I am getting a consistent 620 Kbps




Well for starters it costs €7,50 EUR per month and at the ROE of about 1.6 works out to $12.00 CAD, so it's the same and Astraweb seem to get better speeds and retention.


OK cool, thanks I'll make the switch and give it a try.

[blahblohblah]

The RIAA would need a reasonable case to obtain a search warrant for a person. If no log is kept, they can only go after you or the ISP. Would be pretty hard to obtain a warrant on your account from the ISP or your computer, unless you publicly wear a T-Shirt with 'Sue me RIAA, I downloaded 10 music CD's a day'. ;)

That T-Shirt idea is really really cool.

Someone should do that ....

.... except for me I would prefer "I downloaded 250 gigs of movies last month"

[Rockstead]

What makes Newzbin so good and worth paying for? I'm still relatively new to newsgroups, so just trying to get a handle on the best way to search for stuff.

[Gophermofur]

Edit: Deleted post after I realized you said Newzbin not Newgroups. After I wrote up my big long usenet > Bit torrent post too...

[Gophermofur]

I find it odd that you can't actually get to this page (page posted by OP) from their main website. If it weren't for people successfully signing up, I'd guess the deal is expired and they just forgot to remove the page.

[brucedlx]

What makes Newzbin so good and worth paying for? I'm still relatively new to newsgroups, so just trying to get a handle on the best way to search for stuff.

makes it a lot easier to search and download files. a LOT easier.

[brucedlx]

The RIAA would need a reasonable case to obtain a search warrant for a person. If no log is kept, they can only go after you or the ISP. Would be pretty hard to obtain a warrant on your account from the ISP or your computer, unless you publicly wear a T-Shirt with 'Sue me RIAA, I downloaded 10 music CD's a day'. ;)

you guys realize RIAA is based in America? They won't do anything to Canadians.

[woodbeck]

Anyone know if you can use multiple IP's simultaneously?

I share a subscription on NewsDemon, and have been happy. Once you sign up, just go to cancel, and you can get 10 or 15% off, I can't remember, but it is for lifetime.

[Acuratl]

guys if anyone has a newzbin invite please send to me! thanks i got torrent invites for ya! sceneaccess!

[Sopranos]

the only negative thing about Astraweb is tho it appears that they are Dutch, their servers are in Santa Monica, CA

Server Type: Apache/1.3.37 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.8.28 OpenSSL/0.9.7a
IP Address: 216.151.153.102
IP Location - California - Santa Monica - Xeex
Response Code: 200
Domain Status: Registered And Active Website


They do say on their web site that they do not log any personal info (use names etc), but can that be trusted?......It would be IMO somewhat easy for RIAA to get the court order and get those logs...


on the other hand, newshosting is also in the states:

Server Type: Apache/1.3.37 (Unix) mod_auth_passthrough/1.8 mod_log_bytes/1.2 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635.SR1.2 mod_ssl/2.8.28 OpenSSL/0.9.7a PHP-CGI/0.1b
IP Address: 216.246.57.218
IP Location - Illinois - Chicago - Wingsix
Response Code: 200
Domain Status: Registered And Active Website

[ihk]

you guys realize RIAA is based in America? They won't do anything to Canadians.in canada, they're called cria (http://www.cria.ca/).

[WILDSTYL]

Great Deal. I dumped Usenetserver as they became unreliable after the increasing demand for SSL.

If you have an extra newzbin invite it would be greatly appreciated... will trade Demonoid invite.

[hub714]

You need invites for newzbin now? lol...lemme log into my account and see what's up.

edit: I have 5 invites it says. I've been there for so many years and I only have 5 invites? :(

PM me e-mails. You guys better not screw up =p. It says I'm partially responsible for you guys.

Edit2: Wildstyl, I'm on UNS and they're pretty reliable actually. SSL included as well.

[brucedlx]

to everybody:

even if you get invited to newzbin, it's NOT free. You still have to pay a weekly fee.

[Solidus Snake]

I just use www.*********.info and www.*********.com

[Eldorado]

guys if anyone has a newzbin invite please send to me! thanks i got torrent invites for ya! sceneaccess!

After you called the other guy offering them a jerk for not giving you one? shia... I'll get right on that!

[Sopranos]

to everybody:

even if you get invited to newzbin, it's NOT free. You still have to pay a weekly fee.


Yes, but it's very cheap, each week costs £0.3 sterling

[jeeva86]

I'm sharing usenetserver connections. PM me if you'd like a piece.

On the other hand, where do y'all go to search for content and make nzbs?

[hub714]

IF you top up at the right time, you can get 1/2 price deals. Those usually pop up around easter or christmas. Some worldwide holiday anyways. I topped up for a year at the time.

You can also share accounts for newzbin (though you're not supposed to.)
4 invites left.

[ihk]

You need invites for newzbin now? lol...lemme log into my account and see what's up. edit: I have 5 invites it says. I've been there for so many years and I only have 5 invites? :(
according to wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NewzBin), the invite only started on june 17th, this year.

to everybody:
even if you get invited to newzbin, it's NOT free. You still have to pay a weekly fee.not even the most basic or and browse? just curious. seems like my account doesn't work anymore.

[Solidus Snake]

I'm sharing usenetserver connections. PM me if you'd like a piece.

On the other hand, where do y'all go to search for content and make nzbs?



I just use www.*********.info and www.*********.com
>.>

[KelvinK]

nzbmatrix and merlin's portal is good too

edit - added links:
merlin's-portal (http://www.merlins-portal.net/Vbulletin/index.php)
nzbmatrix (http://nzbmatrix.com/)
nzbsrus (http://nzbsrus.com/) (i dont know if it's free though, a friend gave me this account)

[xOFFSETx]

nzbmatrix and merlin's portal is good too

Yeah, I use www.merlins-portal.net all the time. It doesn't catch everything but you can rely on what's there to be accurate and it's all sorted very nicely. I find that with a bit of *********.info thrown in works nicely.

[hub714]

you can browse, but you can't dl any nzb's....which is the main point of newzbin.

It says here...I've been with them for 4 years :) Though I'm sure someone here must have been there for longer.

BTW to those who use UNS for multiple people, are you on there at the same time as the other people? My friend and I share my account right now, but we're careful not to be online at the same time.

[hub714]

Yeah, I use www.merlins-portal.net all the time. It doesn't catch everything but you can rely on what's there to be accurate and it's all sorted very nicely. I find that with a bit of *********.info thrown in works nicely.

I've never used them, but with newzbin you can view raw files. (Maybe you can with merlins and ********* too. Not sure) That meaning you can look at every file that's up on the group even if the editors haven't gotten around to making a post.

If you have any questions you can pm me. I used to be an editor and I use newzbin every day (almost) so I know how to get around. But I can't say i use every feature there.

[Gophermofur]

I'm sharing usenetserver connections. PM me if you'd like a piece.

On the other hand, where do y'all go to search for content and make nzbs?

As mentioned before: *********.info and ********* are both good indexing sites. They are good if you know what you want and want to search within a specific retention time period. Doesn't really allow browsing of newly uploaded files.

Some other sites that I use:

http://www.tvnzb.com -- Great for getting TV shows.
http://www.nzbs.org -- simple indexing site. Simple design, very straight forward.
www.merlins-portal.net/ -- Nice search features. A little behind on newer stuff.
http://FilesharingTalk.com -- Nzb index sub-forum of the site. Are usually one of the first sites to get a file.
http://www.nzbsrus.com -- I only go here because I can request stuff that isn't currently available/within my retention (have to be VIP member though)

Edit: I like FilesharingTalk a fair bit mainly because of their categorizations. They have different categories for 720p TV, 1080p TV, 720p movies, Xvid movies, etc... It's worth taking the time to register.

[Triqueux]

Thanks for the links/reviews Gophermofur!

[hub714]

Out of invites.

[esq05]

Thanks for the links/reviews Gophermofur!

+1, thanks for the list. I use ********* and *********, but those others may come in handy. Now just need a site dedicated to music releases.

[Badman]

really good deal. Love newsgroups. Only thing is that i'm currently paying $4 a month for teksavy that's capped to 125kb/s. Might be slow but I don't mind the wait and its only $4. Plus sometimes the cap raises to 350kb/s but I think its during off peak hours but its not guaranteed.

[Defiant]

I also have been a longtime subscriber to Newzbin. It's cost is very minimal if you top up for one year during the Christmas 50% off sale.

[mclearn]

Switched from NH - thanks OP!

[chadw01]

NH must have been wondering wth has been going on today with all the cancellations from its Canadian customers.. :twisted:

[aku]

Thanks OP,
switched from NH

[blahs]

I just signed up as well, Couldn't resist the retention. On a side note, www.nzbmatrix.com is a great nzb indexing site and the biggest one if im not mistaken with over 110 000 users. Great community to boot.

[Ch28]

guys if anyone has a newzbin invite please send to me! thanks i got torrent invites for ya! sceneaccess!


Here's a good one:

Quote:
Acuratl: newzbin invitation please.

Happy13178: Nope, sorry.

Acuratl: why? did they run out or are you just being a jerk?

After I posted why I wasn't giving them out again. Awesome.

You called the guy a jerk because he was giving away something for FREE and you expect people to help you now?

Sure thing :lol:

[Gophermofur]

I just signed up as well, Couldn't resist the retention. On a side note, www.nzbmatrix.com is a great nzb indexing site and the biggest one if im not mistaken with over 110 000 users. Great community to boot.

Nice interface, but they have silly policies like "You have to be a VIP member to download NZB's older than 20 days". They have lots of other searching features that are limited to VIP members only, but can be commonly found on other indexing sites.

For VIP members it may be an awesome site, but for those who don't want to pay, it's pretty terrible.

Edit: I know limetime VIP membership is only $10, but forcing me to pay to use basic functionality seems like a poor business strategy.

[Longobongo]

is their site down?

[BEpsilon]

Anyone here currently using Astraweb? I'm wondering what kind of speeds people are getting.

I am on their pay-per-download plan, as I don't download that much. Speed is excellent (max out Shaw HS), as is reliability.


I've never used usenet before. Can it be used as a torrent replacement?

Not a replacement, as they are two different beasts. I would say they complement each other.

[blahs]

Nice interface, but they have silly policies like "You have to be a VIP member to download NZB's older than 20 days". They have lots of other searching features that are limited to VIP members only, but can be commonly found on other indexing sites.

For VIP members it may be an awesome site, but for those who don't want to pay, it's pretty terrible.

Edit: I know limetime VIP membership is only $10, but forcing me to pay to use basic functionality seems like a poor business strategy.

the user interface is far superior to any other indexing site and well worth it for $10. You can compare it to Merlins Portal which has lots of problems.

[slomo]

My unlimited DSL account move to the special pricing has just been approved. Saved me $4 a month. Thanks OP!

[JAC]

For Usenet searches I use

*********.com
www.*********.info

Hmm, astraweb is slow for me. 350kbps on port 443 and 500kbps on port 563. Anyone else have the same problem?

edit: hm, creeping up around 800kbps now...

edit2: ah, over 1MB/s now. Nice.

[mrspec3]

Time to move over from giganews :)

[mrhector]

you can browse, but you can't dl any nzb's....which is the main point of newzbin.


It says here...I've been with them for 4 years :) Though I'm sure someone here must have been there for longer.

BTW to those who use UNS for multiple people, are you on there at the same time as the other people? My friend and I share my account right now, but we're careful not to be online at the same time.

Oooo nice, dam usenetserver autorenewed and still have 2 more months, but I think I will still sign up with these guys.

Woah...was curious and looks like I signed up back in 2002 :o ... dam i feel old!

So I'll share my little setup I've tuned over the years.
Newzbin (http://newzbin.com) - for nzbs
Sabnzbd (http://www.sabnzbd.org/) - newsgroup client/web interface/auto download, par, unrar, and categorize
nzbdStatus (https://nzbdstatus.bountysource.com/) - firefox plugin for newzbin/sabnzbd (click que in sabnzbd from newzbin)
nzbTV (https://nzbdstatus.bountysource.com/) - Auto download for tv shows, queue up by season, works with newzbin

So with sabnzbd I make the web interface available from outside and I can queue up stuff from other computer or phone. It also sorts any program or shows by name and season. Tons of options I'm not even using. No more having to look for stuff or unraring, done all automatically.

[komal]

I'm surprised by people begging for newzbin access. It was open to everyone for years, but now that its been hidden for 2 months I guess its more cool to have an invite? I bet 90% of you folks wanting an invite won't even bother buying credit.

Anyways, just wanted to warn folks that the newzbin invites page does warn you that you are responsible for the invitees to a degree, and that if they get themselves banned newzbin may decide to ban you as well. Thats why they tell you to invite people you trust.

[inocent]

just switched over from NH .. been using it for an hour now .. I noticed that some SSL connections drop down to 2kb/s .. is this happening to anyone else? .. speed drops down quite a bit when this happens

[brunes]

Nice interface, but they have silly policies like "You have to be a VIP member to download NZB's older than 20 days". They have lots of other searching features that are limited to VIP members only, but can be commonly found on other indexing sites.

For VIP members it may be an awesome site, but for those who don't want to pay, it's pretty terrible.

Edit: I know limetime VIP membership is only $10, but forcing me to pay to use basic functionality seems like a poor business strategy.

$10 / Lifetime is a lot cheaper than newzbin.com... I will have to give this site a second look when my newzbin sub runs out in December.


I'm surprised by people begging for newzbin access. It was open to everyone for years, but now that its been hidden for 2 months I guess its more cool to have an invite? I bet 90% of you folks wanting an invite won't even bother buying credit.

Anyways, just wanted to warn folks that the newzbin invites page does warn you that you are responsible for the invitees to a degree, and that if they get themselves banned newzbin may decide to ban you as well. Thats why they tell you to invite people you trust.

Yep - I will outright refuse any invites unless I personally know the person.

[kleptodathief]

just curious...usenet/newsgroup....isn't there alot of spam/virii...i don't think i've used this rarely during my online career...can u get full movies here? i mean no the rar files but FULL 1 file movies :cheesygri and its at 1MB/sec speeds?

[iLLNESS]

most newsgroups will max out your connection
and yes theres full movies and stuff
grab a newzgroup account, download newsbin pro, and find some NZBs to load into newsbin to download.
also download quickpar.
after stuff is downloaded run the .par2 file in quickpar to see if its damaged and needs repair.. if it does find the par files in the nzb and download them if theyre not already and bam shell be fixed.

on a side note, ive been a member of digigroups and cant complain.. they dont auto renew your service thye just send an invoice.. but thing is, if you dont pay you still get service for a while (dono how long but i just noticed my service is expired but it still works for a month now)

so im making the switch to this offer. i seen it somewhere else before but didnt want it but im tinking the retention is better then digigroups and its a few bucks cheaper a month with more connections.
digigroups is $40/3month with 16 connections i think, but they only guarantee 30day retention (ive got around 100day retention with them before)

200 day retention would be killer!

[chadw01]

is their site down?

I was having problems connecting to astraweb last night - turns out the DNS servers I was using (Verizon's 4.2.2.2 and 4.2.2.1 servers) were not for some reason resolving astraweb..

I then switched over to the OpenDNS servers at 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.. bingo, they resolved the Astra domain no problem.

Wierd.. I guess I could have also tried my ISP's DNS servers, but I'm fine with OpenDNS.

HTH

[chadw01]

Oooo nice, dam usenetserver autorenewed and still have 2 more months, but I think I will still sign up with these guys.

Woah...was curious and looks like I signed up back in 2002 :o ... dam i feel old!

So I'll share my little setup I've tuned over the years.
Sabnzbd (http://www.sabnzbd.org/) - newsgroup client/web interface/auto download, par, unrar, and categorize


I was talking about sabnzbd with someone yesterday and I hadn't heard of it before - I've been using Newsleecher for quite some time (too long I guess, since the version I use doesn't even support SSL), so it's time to either upgrade or look at sabnzbd.. I'll check it out.

Thanks!

[Rockstead]

what is considered to be the best newsgroup client? I've been using alt.binz.

[Gophermofur]

the user interface is far superior to any other indexing site and well worth it for $10. You can compare it to Merlins Portal which has lots of problems.

I suppose that's a personal preference. I think the interface is nice, but I don't consider it far superior to many of the other sites out there these days. Then again, I don't mind spending an extra 2-3 minutes searching multiple sites for what I want.

But I will concede that $10 is not much to pay for convenience if you do in fact feel their interface outclasses the competition.

[Goober56]

grab a newzgroup account, download newsbin pro, and find some NZBs to load into newsbin to download.
also download quickpar.
after stuff is downloaded run the .par2 file in quickpar to see if its damaged and needs repair.. if it does find the par files in the nzb and download them if theyre not already and bam shell be fixed.


Or go get Newsleecher and use the built in Supersearch feature. DL what you want while it Verifies and extracts your DLs.

[Menace]

+1

There're lots kiddies or "jerk" on RDF.


Yep - I will outright refuse any invites unless I personally know the person.

[slomo]

just curious...usenet/newsgroup....isn't there alot of spam/virii...

True that. Just be careful what you download. If you download just dvd movies and mp3's your chance of getting virus from them are practically zero since they are not executed, just data for an application to use. As a side note, some AV are now reporting heuristics hits on years old cracks. I just am not sure now how valid these hits are.

[Pseudo Nim]

EDIT: Please note that due to people flooding my inbox with demands for the invites, one threatening to call the police on me for piracy if I didn't send him one, another calling me a jerk for not sending him one, I'm not giving out the invites. The OP got one, and that's it.

Bwahaha, that is hilarious. People are amazing :)

[Pseudo Nim]

$10 / Lifetime is a lot cheaper than newzbin.com... I will have to give this site a second look when my newzbin sub runs out in December.


I.e. right around the time the next Christmas sale @ 80% off will happen, at which point people will say "enh, another $5 to last me a year, shrug might as well" and back to square 1 we go :)

[Pseudo Nim]

Can anybody comment on this compared to Giganews? I've been with GN for something like 6 years, but this is literally half price... would definitely not hurt.

Opinions appreciated.

[MrDisco]

just curious...usenet/newsgroup....isn't there alot of spam/virii...i don't think i've used this rarely during my online career...can u get full movies here? i mean no the rar files but FULL 1 file movies :cheesygri and its at 1MB/sec speeds?

"online career"??? LOL.

Spam and viruses can be found anywhere online; use your common sense and install the appropriate protection applications. The good thing is that the spam are just posted messages you can ignore/delete and create filters for.
Email has spam but that doesn't mean you're not going to use email right?

No it's highly unlikely you will see a full 4.7+GB movie posted as a single file. It is more likely it will be posted as multiple split rar files with parity files for redundancy.

With a decent provider the download speed will be dependent on your network connection.

[Riflem@n]

Can anybody comment on this compared to Giganews? I've been with GN for something like 6 years, but this is literally half price... would definitely not hurt.

Opinions appreciated.

Giganews is probably the best, but expensive.

[Defiant]

Awesome post, thanks.



So I'll share my little setup I've tuned over the years.
Newzbin (http://newzbin.com) - for nzbs
Sabnzbd (http://www.sabnzbd.org/) - newsgroup client/web interface/auto download, par, unrar, and categorize
nzbdStatus (https://nzbdstatus.bountysource.com/) - firefox plugin for newzbin/sabnzbd (click que in sabnzbd from newzbin)
nzbTV (https://nzbdstatus.bountysource.com/) - Auto download for tv shows, queue up by season, works with newzbin

So with sabnzbd I make the web interface available from outside and I can queue up stuff from other computer or phone. It also sorts any program or shows by name and season. Tons of options I'm not even using. No more having to look for stuff or unraring, done all automatically.

[Gophermofur]

in 2002 :o ... dam i feel old!

So I'll share my little setup I've tuned over the years.
Newzbin (http://newzbin.com) - for nzbs
Sabnzbd (http://www.sabnzbd.org/) - newsgroup client/web interface/auto download, par, unrar, and categorize
nzbdStatus (https://nzbdstatus.bountysource.com/) - firefox plugin for newzbin/sabnzbd (click que in sabnzbd from newzbin)
nzbTV (https://nzbdstatus.bountysource.com/) - Auto download for tv shows, queue up by season, works with newzbin

Thanks. Sabnzbd looks awesome. I was using altbinz for the longest time, but I may just make the jump. Web interface + RSS Reading/automatic queueing are some of the features I found lacking in Alt.Binz (maybe they added it now, I have an old version).

Good thing too... I'm sitting here in training and was thinking of a design on how I could write myself a little application to parse RSS feeds to queue up shows automatically. Go ahead, call me a nerd ;)

[shadow_cruiser]

I signed up with another usenet service awhile ago that had 150 days retention. I noticed half of the stuff I wanted was between 150-200 days retention. Kinda felt like it was a waste because by the time I signed up for 200 days retention, everything that I wanted wasn't showing up anymore. Just a word of advice for those who want archive material.

[Happy13178]

I signed up with another usenet service awhile ago that had 150 days retention. I noticed half of the stuff I wanted was between 150-200 days retention. Kinda felt like it was a waste because by the time I signed up for 200 days retention, everything that I wanted wasn't showing up anymore. Just a word of advice for those who want archive material.

For archival, I believe the current champ is Giganews...they're up to 240 days retention, and its looking like next year they'll be up to a full 365 days. Anyone know of any others that have comparable retention/completion rates?

[foxmcloud]

wow! thank you very much
been using usenetserver just switched this thing is so much better

I also have 5 newzbin invites and I've been using this for years O_o

[foxmcloud]

wow I just got a shitload of requests for an invite to newzbin

btw I just tested the server and god it's fast
no more broken files

[rfdaddict23]

sweet, thanks OP! I just cancelled my trial of powerusenet and got astraweb instead. This is way better than powerusenet b/c it's $4 less/month as well as you get 25 days more retention and SSL as well. :cheesygri

[Albertan]

What kind of speeds are you guys seeing?

I have shaw's xtreme 10Mbit package and was able to do 1,500KBps off powerusenet - Just wondering if I can expect the same here?

[Ch28]

What kind of speeds are you guys seeing?

I have shaw's xtreme 10Mbit package and was able to do 1,500KBps off powerusenet - Just wondering if I can expect the same here?

Expect the same

I was usually averaging ~1200KB/s off Astraweb :cheesygri

[Vertigo]

For archival, I believe the current champ is Giganews...they're up to 240 days retention, and its looking like next year they'll be up to a full 365 days. Anyone know of any others that have comparable retention/completion rates?

I suppose that depends how you define "comparable," but Giganews really is in a league of its own - both for retention and reliability.

[Goober56]

I suppose that depends how you define "comparable," but Giganews really is in a league of its own - both for retention and reliability.

And price.

[chadw01]

I suppose that depends how you define "comparable," but Giganews really is in a league of its own - both for retention and reliability.


And price.

Unless it was a promo, I believe you also get a lifetime subscription to Newsleecher (with SuperSearch) if you sign up to Giganews.. it might not be worth it to some using Newsbin Pro, AltBinz or Sabnzb, but I also heard they were going to move their retention up to a full 365 days soon..

Value-wise this Astra deal is still better, but if you want and can afford comprehensive Usenet, Giga is the way to go.

[digdoug]

really good deal. Love newsgroups. Only thing is that i'm currently paying $4 a month for teksavy that's capped to 125kb/s. Might be slow but I don't mind the wait and its only $4. Plus sometimes the cap raises to 350kb/s but I think its during off peak hours but its not guaranteed.

how did you get teksavvy for $4 a month??


ALSO,
is anyone interested in sharing astraweb with me by monthly rotation?

I'd take one month, you take the next, then I take the one after...

basically, if you're capped, this is the way to do it, since you will only have to pay the max overage once every two months!

[superotaku78]

[QUOTE=foxmcloud;7289908]wow! thank you very much
been using usenetserver just switched this thing is so much better

Yeah...me too. With newsnetserver the SSL encryption was always down, but this seems to be maxing out my connection with a nice steady speed. Thank you OP!:cheesygri

[Slappy]

Well I just signed up and am currently updating 6 groups and the speed is all over the place. Max so far has been like 850KB/s and my max is 1000. Not using SSL. Would it make any difference?

Currently have an account with NH and checked my renewal date and it was today. So I'll keep both for a month and see what one works out better.


Thank OP.

[kcorscadden]

I am currently on the "Unlimited" package for $10 a month. Does anyone know the difference between that and this promo?

[Acuratl]

I am currently on the "Unlimited" package for $10 a month. Does anyone know the difference between that and this promo?

unlim speed more connections.

[kcorscadden]

unlim speed more connections.

So I wouldn't have a capped speed like I have now? I am currently at 130kbps. I am not sure what the retention date is for the Unlimited.

[brew99]

Made the switch from NH, and it seems to be keeping speed. Thanks OP!

[StoneColdWhat]

any idea when it will expire, my UNS is going to expire on Sept 10.

[budric]

Anyone else find secure.news.astraweb.com not working today? It's not resolving, not replying to ping...

Was working for about 2 days.

[Calmuser]

Anyone else find secure.news.astraweb.com not working today? It's not resolving, not replying to ping...

Was working for about 2 days.

its your dns servers not updating right. you can either use opendns or try

us.secure.news.astraweb.com

OR

eu.secure.news.astraweb.com

[budric]

Ok thanks, it was my dns, us.secure.news.astraweb.com works.

[chadw01]

I am currently on the "Unlimited" package for $10 a month. Does anyone know the difference between that and this promo?

Your "Unlimited" package is catered towards dial-up modem and ISDN users.. the speed limit is capped on that offering to 1 Mbit/s.

Not sure about retention times for the "Unlimited" vs the "Unlimited DSL", but your plan also supports SSL and up to 20 connections like the promo here.

[jagulrud]

Thanks, OP. Just switched over from usenetserver (which I haven't had any problems with for a LONG time, BTW). This deal was a few dollars cheaper than my usenetserver fees, and I was immediately able to download a 140 day-old file that was already gone off usenetserver.

[slomo]

I am currently on the "Unlimited" package for $10 a month. Does anyone know the difference between that and this promo?

Essentially, you get "Unlimited DSL" speed by paying an additional $1/mo instead of $5 or $3 extra per month. There is no retention level difference between "Unlimited" and "Unlimited DSL" account. It should be 151 days across all groups as their statistic page showed.

http://www.news.astraweb.com/tools/stats.html

For people with "Unlimited DSL" monthly account, it is a saving of $4/mo. For those signed up with $39 for 3 months (or $13/mo) plan, the savings would be $2 a month.

[Pensive]

I just thought I'd throw this one out there for moderate downloaders like myself. I'm with http://www.buzzardnews.com/ and I pay $6.95 (US) per month for 1.5 gigs per day. The good part is that the unused gigs rollover and accumulate each day, but they don't rollover monthly. Both the speed and stability have been great.

[StoneColdWhat]

Wouldn't mind a newzbin invite if anyone has an extra. Pm. TY.

[magical]

Can anybody comment on this compared to Giganews? I've been with GN for something like 6 years, but this is literally half price... would definitely not hurt.

Opinions appreciated.

Cheap alternative to giganews is powerusenet, its $5 cheaper, uses giganews servers and is the same overall experience.. well they share the same servers so how could it not be ;)

[Chubbychicken]

usenetserver is absolutely HORRIBLE

Stay far away from that. I've used it in the past and got constant disconnections and errors while trying to log onto the server. It wasn't just me because a bunch of members on another forum reported the same thing.

Have to disagree. I've been using them for a couple years now (along with about 4 of my friends) and I constantly get 1.1 to 1.17MBps downloads no drops.

[brucedlx]

Cheap alternative to giganews is powerusenet, its $5 cheaper, uses giganews servers and is the same overall experience.. well they share the same servers so how could it not be ;)


Giganews has a LOT more retention.

[superfigz]

True, but is it worth $25 USD a month for the unlimited service? I've been using Giganews for a while now but I might switch over since 150 day retention should be adequate.

[magical]

Have to disagree. I've been using them for a couple years now (along with about 4 of my friends) and I constantly get 1.1 to 1.17MBps downloads no drops.

I had nothing but problems with UNS ... they are cheap thats about it...

[magical]

Giganews has a LOT more retention.

Yeah, your right about that, but retention aside they are the same quality of service.

[brucedlx]

True, but is it worth $25 USD a month for the unlimited service? I've been using Giganews for a while now but I might switch over since 150 day retention should be adequate.

no, an extra 50 days is NOT worth 15$ extra/mth, especially since 90% of stuff you want is well within even 100 days retention. The only thing over 100 days are old movies (before 2005) that got randomly posted, even then, the dutch keep posting them in a.b.nl and a.b.x, I've never had too much trouble looking for anything.

[Nutchos]

Thanks Op just signed up for this. And I have absolutely no idea what to do with it now. I've heard a lot about this so decided to take the plunge.

Anyone got some extremely newb friendly guide for how to get started?

[Calmuser]

Thanks Op just signed up for this. And I have absolutely no idea what to do with it now. I've heard a lot about this so decided to take the plunge.

Anyone got some extremely newb friendly guide for how to get started?

Slyck's Guide to Newsgroups (very useful to newbies)
http://www.slyck.com/ng.php

[Triqueux]

This link covers the basics: http://mantup.com/

[Nutchos]

Trying to get a hang of this newsgroup stuff. Looks like newzbin is the best indexing place? If anyone has an invite please pm me.

Any other website that's on par with newzbin?

[pacman99]

Trying to get a hang of this newsgroup stuff. Looks like newzbin is the best indexing place? If anyone has an invite please pm me.

Any other website that's on par with newzbin?

nzbsrus (free)
********* (free, good search engine if you're looking for something)

[hohead]

Thanks OP

[zod]

did it automatically convert it to Canadian dollars for the rest of you? Charged me 12.08 Canadian.

Which makes me think the spread is quite large. Thats 9.8% premium. I think with a credit card, it'd of been 8 or 8.5%.

I guess there wasn't a way to have it bill in US dollars?

[HKPolice]

I chose to get billed in USD. There is a choice.

Where?

[brn80]

did it automatically convert it to Canadian dollars for the rest of you? Charged me 12.08 Canadian.

Which makes me think the spread is quite large. Thats 9.8% premium. I think with a credit card, it'd of been 8 or 8.5%.

I guess there wasn't a way to have it bill in US dollars?

I noticed the price varied. The first time I went to the check out page it quoted me $12.8x something, but wasn't ready to order that time. The next day it quoted me $12 CAD when I signed up. I'm not sure if the recurring charge after the first would be the same or vary depending on where they pull their conversion rates form. Need to find which of my CC's charge the lower exchange rate fee for USD, probably TD.

[brn80]

Where?

When you reach the checkout page, if you look at the top right hand side, if you click the appropriate country's flag, the currency will change.

On a side note, I am getting much better transfer rates than my older NNTP provider (Hitnews.eu @ around the same price): 9-13Mbps on SSL (was getting average of 5-9 on hitnews); I guess it's because hitnews' server farm is located in the EU vs. Astraweb having a US server farm.

[aku]

Ive never used newzbin or any of these websites, I just pay for NewsLeecher (newsleecher.com) ($30 a year) and it includes SuperSearch within the software.

Are newzbin and these other websites better?

[pswart]

I was wondering if someone could check to see if a file is still available in one of the groups so I can see the retention. Please PM if this is possible.

Thanks.

[Nutchos]

Ive never used newzbin or any of these websites, I just pay for NewsLeecher (newsleecher.com) ($30 a year) and it includes SuperSearch within the software.

Are newzbin and these other websites better?

I've never used newsleecher and I'm pretty new to this whole newsgroup scene but I'm definitely glad I signed up for newzbin. It made the whole learning process so much easier.

Basically it lets you download everything as if you were downloading a torrent.

[Gophermofur]

I've never used newsleecher and I'm pretty new to this whole newsgroup scene but I'm definitely glad I signed up for newzbin. It made the whole learning process so much easier.

Basically it lets you download everything as if you were downloading a torrent.

I assume you mean because it is all packaged in one neat little file? If so, there are lots of websites that offer these files. They are called Nzb files. In this thread people have been posting other sites they use to find NZB files.

Though I have never used Newzbin, I hear good things about them. Though I always thought their most significant advantage over their retention date for NZB files (Was 200, may be more now).

[chadw01]

Ive never used newzbin or any of these websites, I just pay for NewsLeecher (newsleecher.com) ($30 a year) and it includes SuperSearch within the software.

Are newzbin and these other websites better?

If you have SuperSearch, that's pretty much all you need.. although if you stopped paying yearly to Newsleecher (no more updates though), you would come out ahead with a subscription to Newzbin.. or just do what mostly everyone else does and hit up *********, nzbrus, merlin's, etc.. for your NZB free fix.

[Pavel]

Nice find OP. However, if you post in USENET, you're limited to xposting to a maximum of 2 groups.

[HKPolice]

Seems like we've overloaded astraweb already. I can't get more than 800kb/s now even with 20 connections. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Ch28]

Seems like we've overloaded astraweb already. I can't get more than 800kb/s now even with 20 connections. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Sucks for you

I was just using it the other day and getting well over 1.3mb/s with 20 connections lol

[Nutchos]

So I've downloaded a few things now and I'm getting about 1100-1300kbps. It spikes up to 3500kbps at startup but then tanks in a few seconds to 1100kbps.

Is this normal? Anyway to get it to go faster?

[JAC]

It's slower than Power Usenet, but for the cost savings, I'm prepared to live with it. I usually do my downloading at night, anyway.

[iLLNESS]

i dont see why you guys use 20 connections. if anything it will slow down your internet more.

you should max out with 4-6 connections.. maybe 8.. 20 is WAYYYY overkill

[Ch28]

i dont see why you guys use 20 connections. if anything it will slow down your internet more.

you should max out with 4-6 connections.. maybe 8.. 20 is WAYYYY overkill

I never noticed my internet slowing down unless I'm uploading at well over 100kb/s. I just assumed more connections = faster :lol:

[dscott01]

I just signed up. I'm maxing my connection at 630kbs with SSL which is the speed limit of the ADSL I have.

So far so good.

[Ch28]

Wait a few days, it may depend how much data you leeched.

Wait...so you're saying because your connection sucks that Astraweb (which has been around for a long time) is trying to rip you off? http://smiliesftw.com/x/bowrofl.gif (http://smiliesftw.com)

I've leeched close to 100g of data and my connection speed is still as fast as the first day I signed on

[michelkenny]

I only need 6 connections to max out my Shaw Extreme, 1100 kbps.

[Chigu]

What's everyone here using to download the files off of the newsgroup? I am using the free program 'Grabit' to download, and 'newzbin' to search.

Are there any better options?

[michelkenny]

What's everyone here using to download the files off of the newsgroup? I am using the free program 'Grabit' to download, and 'newzbin' to search.

Are there any better options?

Newzbin to search, Newsleecher to download.

[Pseudo Nim]

Finally, has anyone that switched from Giganews compared this provider with GN? Retention, speed and most importantly, completeness?

[rockleet]

Hey guys.. clarification plz.

if i wanna run an SSL connection i would use the secure server..
but say i dont care and I'm obviously in canada..
should i use the general or the US? I'm asking cause maybe someone knows or has tested this alraedy. if the General server is in say london or something.. wouldnt it be slower?


General Server:
news.astraweb.com

European Server:
europe.news.astraweb.com

US Server:
us.news.astraweb.com

Ports:
119, 23, 1818 or 8080

Secure Server:
secure.news.astraweb.com Ports 443 or 563

Maximum Connections:
20 connections

[rockleet]

dont forget www.*********.com

[Chipbug]

Hey guys.. clarification plz.

if i wanna run an SSL connection i would use the secure server..
but say i dont care and I'm obviously in canada..
should i use the general or the US? I'm asking cause maybe someone knows or has tested this alraedy. if the General server is in say london or something.. wouldnt it be slower?


General Server:
news.astraweb.com

European Server:
europe.news.astraweb.com

US Server:
us.news.astraweb.com

Ports:
119, 23, 1818 or 8080

Secure Server:
secure.news.astraweb.com Ports 443 or 563

Maximum Connections:
20 connections

The general and the US servers are both in the 216.151.153.* subnet. So they are most likely in the same location.

[Chigu]

Thanks for posting! Nice deal! (I dunno how I missed it earlier?)

I am now saving $6/month... plus better service (extra retention and connections are a bonus!)

Have been a longtime usenetserver user. Normal service was fast (maxed out w/ Rogers Extreme), but their SSL server was very slow, even at the best of times (max at 200 KB/sec).

Testing Astraweb SSL now; nice speed (over ~800 KB/sec) :)

What's the benefit of using the SSL server (secure server) instead of the general server??

[Nutchos]

What's everyone here using to download the files off of the newsgroup? I am using the free program 'Grabit' to download, and 'newzbin' to search.

Are there any better options?

I found SABnzbd+ to be a way better option to grabit. It pretty much does ALL the work for you (including extracting and all automatically), plus it's accessed right from your browser, and has a firefox addon for newzbin which lets you one click the download directly.


i dont see why you guys use 20 connections. if anything it will slow down your internet more.

you should max out with 4-6 connections.. maybe 8.. 20 is WAYYYY overkill

Thx, I put my connections down to 6 and it's still getting the same download speed.

[superfigz]

Finally, has anyone that switched from Giganews compared this provider with GN? Retention, speed and most importantly, completeness?

I switched from GN about a week ago and it's been fine. No issues with completeness, but I did come across one item that was ~180 days old and I couldn't get it. I ended up finding it elsewhere so it wasn't a huge concern (especially at this price). Speed is still the same ~900kb/s.

My GN account expires in about 1.5 weeks, at which point I will cancel the GN account.

[gmcq]

Hey guys.. clarification plz.

if i wanna run an SSL connection i would use the secure server..
but say i dont care and I'm obviously in canada..
should i use the general or the US? I'm asking cause maybe someone knows or has tested this alraedy. if the General server is in say london or something.. wouldnt it be slower?


General Server:
news.astraweb.com

European Server:
europe.news.astraweb.com

US Server:
us.news.astraweb.com

Ports:
119, 23, 1818 or 8080

Secure Server:
secure.news.astraweb.com Ports 443 or 563

Maximum Connections:
20 connections

I have tried all 4 and have found I max out out on all 4,I would try the us or general as it is closer,
'I am getting 1.2MBS with my shaw extreme ,thats pretty darn fast

[airjuice]

Thanks for the deal. I signed up last week and it's been great! Maximum speed!! My cable wire is hot to the touch! :cheesygri

[JAC]

The general and the US servers are both in the 216.151.153.* subnet. So they are most likely in the same location.

Ya, looks like they're both in Santa Monica, CA. Load balancing, maybe?

[boymtl21]

hey good or no good?? GIGANEWS http://www.giganews.com/

10 gb trial accounts

[setTopbox]

I find I start to get incomplete's beyond 120 days. >120 seems to be pushing it. I think they claim far more, but I think that's just the nature of a usenet provider. What are other's experiences with retention?

[rinottawa]

Signed up, thanks OP!

If anyone has an invite please pm me, thanks a lot!

[Ch28]

Just tried to get House on Giganews and every par2 file didn't download because they don't exist on their servers even though the report age is only ~50days old.

I tried the same download thru Astraweb and everything is on there.

Another reason why I chose Astraweb over Giganews. Good thing the 167+ day files I wanted were on Giganews or else I would have completely wasted my money lol

[TFArchive]

When issues like the occur it is likely giganews got a DMCA notice and was forced to take the post down. They didn't take the whole thing down just the first part of each file, it can be easily rebuilt with quickpar. That is the only post I've seen so far on giganews that is like that.

[TotalDistinction]

I just signed up for the $25/110GB plan. Was better value for me based on my usage of usenet.

No complaints on speed. I'm maxing my download speed using Rogers Extreme.

[TotalDistinction]

Nice interface, but they have silly policies like "You have to be a VIP member to download NZB's older than 20 days". They have lots of other searching features that are limited to VIP members only, but can be commonly found on other indexing sites.

For VIP members it may be an awesome site, but for those who don't want to pay, it's pretty terrible.

Edit: I know limetime VIP membership is only $10, but forcing me to pay to use basic functionality seems like a poor business strategy.

For anyone using NZBMatrix.com with VIP accesss, can you download full NZBs? I ask this because on their front page, this caught my attention:

"...As a VIP member you will receive many additional site features, including: 240+ Days Retention, 80,000+ NZBs indexed, search/browse filters, release watcher, saved searches, partial NZB downloading, Usenet completion, Arcade, Requests, NZB Queue, NO Ads! and much more! (see here for more info). Remember our VIP accounts NEVER EXPIRE, and are LIFETIME"

What's up with the partial NZB downloading?

Newzbin has been good to me over the years. I didn't even know they went on an invite only basis now.

[Bolo!]

What's everyone here using to download the files off of the newsgroup? I am using the free program 'Grabit' to download, and 'newzbin' to search.

Are there any better options?

grabit to DL, www.*********.info to find nzb

[qafyg]

I've just switched from Giganews. Thanks OP. Will enjoy my extra 14$ every month.

[StoneColdWhat]

trying to hold out until my UNS expire on the 10th.

[Ruciz]

to download, seriously, the best cross-platform program I have found is SABnzbd. Its slick as hell and very fast. Auto verify, repair & extract. Just download the NZb to your folder and it takes over from there. Web configuration setup with more options than anyone needs. Kills grabit and gives newsleecher a definite run for its money. This also works on unix and maxOSX easily.

TotalDistinction, as for the $25 plan, you would have to download less than 110gb over a span of 3 months for it really to be cheaper..

[CingKrab]

to download, seriously, the best cross-platform program I have found is SABnzbd. Its slick as hell and very fast. Auto verify, repair & extract. Just download the NZb to your folder and it takes over from there. Web configuration setup with more options than anyone needs. Kills grabit and gives newsleecher a definite run for its money. This also works on unix and maxOSX easily.

TotalDistinction, as for the $25 plan, you would have to download less than 110gb over a span of 3 months for it really to be cheaper..

+1 for sabnzbd. With nzbdstatus (Firefox plugin), you can see time remaining in the status bar. The real killer is the Newzbin integration; it's a one click download (click nzb in Newzbin -> auto fetch in sabnzbd).

[TotalDistinction]

to download, seriously, the best cross-platform program I have found is SABnzbd. Its slick as hell and very fast. Auto verify, repair & extract. Just download the NZb to your folder and it takes over from there. Web configuration setup with more options than anyone needs. Kills grabit and gives newsleecher a definite run for its money. This also works on unix and maxOSX easily.

TotalDistinction, as for the $25 plan, you would have to download less than 110gb over a span of 3 months for it really to be cheaper..

I actually think that would work for me. 30 GB/month is plenty enough for what I need it for.

I'll keep on eye on things just to make sure. :)

[Ch28]

When issues like the occur it is likely giganews got a DMCA notice and was forced to take the post down. They didn't take the whole thing down just the first part of each file, it can be easily rebuilt with quickpar. That is the only post I've seen so far on giganews that is like that.

It's weird because all the rars downloaded but the pars were missing. I went on Astraweb and everything was there

[superfigz]

to download, seriously, the best cross-platform program I have found is SABnzbd. Its slick as hell and very fast. Auto verify, repair & extract. Just download the NZb to your folder and it takes over from there. Web configuration setup with more options than anyone needs. Kills grabit and gives newsleecher a definite run for its money. This also works on unix and maxOSX easily.

TotalDistinction, as for the $25 plan, you would have to download less than 110gb over a span of 3 months for it really to be cheaper..

Better than news rover? I have been using rover for a while and i just get the popup for an nzb and click go and it seems to work great, but if you guys say its better, ill try it out (I also tried newsleecher and i didnt really care for it)

and how does non nzb stuff like random search queries work? (looking for a specific file/group of files that you dont have an NZB for)

[Albertan]

+1 for sabnzbd. With nzbdstatus (Firefox plugin), you can see time remaining in the status bar. The real killer is the Newzbin integration; it's a one click download (click nzb in Newzbin -> auto fetch in sabnzbd).

How do you make sabnzbd auto fetch it? I jsut have it watching a designated nzb file folder, so i have to save the nzb there...

[comet]

thanks op.

[Mauk]

switched over from powerusernet to astra.. better speeds better completion so far.. thanks!

[brownstein]

For anyone using NZBMatrix.com with VIP accesss, can you download full NZBs? I ask this because on their front page, this caught my attention:

"...As a VIP member you will receive many additional site features, including: 240+ Days Retention, 80,000+ NZBs indexed, search/browse filters, release watcher, saved searches, partial NZB downloading, Usenet completion, Arcade, Requests, NZB Queue, NO Ads! and much more! (see here for more info). Remember our VIP accounts NEVER EXPIRE, and are LIFETIME"

What's up with the partial NZB downloading?

Newzbin has been good to me over the years. I didn't even know they went on an invite only basis now.

I believe that the partial downloading of nzbs means that you go into the nzb itself and select/deselect individual files within it (ie: if you only need say 4 more particular rar files, you can download an nzb containing only those files rather than having to download everything) there are other ways around this anyways depending on which usenet program you are using.

[Pavel]

Are there any sites that actually list new binaries or binaries in some useful manner, say, tv shows, movies or apps that you can download via usenet as opposed to searching for something specific?

Edit: NZBs(dot)ORG seems to be the only one that offers indexing

[djrobinn]

I've never used usenet before. Can it be used as a torrent replacement?

^^bump^^

[Nutchos]

I find I start to get incomplete's beyond 120 days. >120 seems to be pushing it. I think they claim far more, but I think that's just the nature of a usenet provider. What are other's experiences with retention?

This is what I'm noticing too, I've tried downloading a few things in the 130's and they tend to fail at some point.

However, most everything else downloads fine.

[michelkenny]

This is what I'm noticing too, I've tried downloading a few things in the 130's and they tend to fail at some point.

However, most everything else downloads fine.

It depends on what. I've done some things 140 days ago and it worked fine.

[Gophermofur]

Are there any sites that actually list new binaries or binaries in some useful manner, say, tv shows, movies or apps that you can download via usenet as opposed to searching for something specific?

Edit: NZBs(dot)ORG seems to be the only one that offers indexing

Nzbs.org is probably the cleanest and simplest one of them all for what you want.

http://www.nzbsrus.com does the same thing, but their interface is bulky.
http://www.tvnzb.com is good for TV shows only.
Merlins Portal also has indexing, but seems to index files a bit slower than the other major sites.

There are a few more, but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

[slomo]

Nzbs.org is probably the cleanest and simplest one of them all for what you want.

IMO, nzbmatrix.com interface is better. Free nzb's d/l for up to 20 days old. I think pretty much most of what's available in the world of binaries have been covered between that and *********.info.

[slomo]

and how does non nzb stuff like random search queries work? (looking for a specific file/group of files that you dont have an NZB for)

You mean downloading the headers? I found it very slow, AFAIK, headers download can only use one download channel per group. At least, that's how newsbin does it.

[chadw01]

You mean downloading the headers? I found it very slow, AFAIK, headers download can only use one download channel per group. At least, that's how newsbin does it.

Same with Newsleecher - one thread/connection for grabbing headers... slowwwwwwwww... which I suppose is why NZBs/indexes were created.

[wonderboy]

stupid question... even when you download from usenet, it still counts towards your ISPs bandwithd limit right?

[chadw01]

stupid question... even when you download from usenet, it still counts towards your ISPs bandwithd limit right?

Everything you download goes towards your cap (if you have one).

[blahblohblah]

Newsgroups are easier on your bitcap than are torrents.

With newsgroups you just download

With torrents you download and uploaded - so you eat up your bitcap faster

[Hangman]

stupid question... even when you download from usenet, it still counts towards your ISPs bandwithd limit right?


Everything you download goes towards your cap (if you have one).


So don't download the headers just search them with Grabit.

http://www.shemes.com/

[Pavel]

Nzbs.org is probably the cleanest and simplest one of them all for what you want.

http://www.nzbsrus.com does the same thing, but their interface is bulky.
http://www.tvnzb.com is good for TV shows only.
Merlins Portal also has indexing, but seems to index files a bit slower than the other major sites.

There are a few more, but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

Thanks. I am finding astranews so so right now. Speeds are good but they have more incompletes than they should have. I checked with ********* and according to their site, the files in question should be 100% complete so that means it's a news server issue. If this continues, I will drop it (astranews) next month.

So don't download the headers just search them with Grabit.

http://www.shemes.com/
The problem with that is that you may not know what you want to download and are just browsing to see what interests you. So you do need to download the headers or browse the group.

[Ch28]

^^bump^^

Yes

[CingKrab]

How do you make sabnzbd auto fetch it? I jsut have it watching a designated nzb file folder, so i have to save the nzb there...

Download nzbdStatus (https://nzbdstatus.bountysource.com/) and set your Newzbin username/password in sabnzbdplus so it can go fetch the necessary Newzbin articles. You'll see the next time that you visit Newzbin that the nzb icons are orange instead of green.

[SAN66]

Hi,

I'm new to usenet and am amazed so far at the awesome speeds I get over my horribly throttled torrents through teksavvy (via the $#@^! Bell). I signed up for the $25 110GB plan with astraweb to try it out and because I doubt I'll be downloading enough to warrant the monthly plan.

I want to keep what I'm doing away from bells prying eyes so I've been trying to enable ssl encryption, but whenever I do I get a warning on each of my 20 connections and it doesn't download.

Is there something I'm missing to enable ssl encryption with Astraweb? They say they do support it. I'm using SABnzbd+.

Any help would be great, thanks.

[michelkenny]

Hi,

I'm new to usenet and am amazed so far at the awesome speeds I get over my horribly throttled torrents through teksavvy (via the $#@^! Bell). I signed up for the $25 110GB plan with astraweb to try it out and because I doubt I'll be downloading enough to warrant the monthly plan.

I want to keep what I'm doing away from bells prying eyes so I've been trying to enable ssl encryption, but whenever I do I get a warning on each of my 20 connections and it doesn't download.

Is there something I'm missing to enable ssl encryption with Astraweb? They say they do support it. I'm using SABnzbd+.

Any help would be great, thanks.

Use secure.news.astraweb.com as your host.

[SAN66]

Use secure.news.astraweb.com as your host.

Thanks, yeah I search the thread after posting and saw that it was posted before. I should really search before posting. And I have to use ports 443 or 563 apparently.

[helba]

any ref feral bonus?

[Shark-D]

Has anyone else noticed theres a PayPal button on there now? I guess they added PayPal as a payment option :D

I signed up and the service is great. I max out all the time, completion and retention is great.

[1LuckyGuy]

Is SSL any slower than unencrypted access?

[rinottawa]

I have ordered this deal for more than 2o days, but I still don't know what I can do with it. What does it can be used for?

[Albertan]

I have ordered this deal for more than 2o days, but I still don't know what I can do with it. What does it can be used for?

It can be used to download "Bernie Mac teaches English"

[superotaku78]

Is SSL any slower than unencrypted access?

Nope...not that I've noticed. I'm still maxing out my connection at over a meg per second. The SSL encryption with Usenetserver, which I had before, never worked properly and I ended up turning it off a lot of the time. These guys seem to have their act together.

[superotaku78]

I have ordered this deal for more than 2o days, but I still don't know what I can do with it. What does it can be used for?

You need to get a news reader program to download the .nzb files. I use *********er, but there are many out there. You can find files on various NZB search sites like:

*********: https://www.*********.com/
*********: http://www.*********.info/
Merlin's Portal: http://www.merlins-portal.net/Vbulletin/index.php

Download the group of files you want as an nzb file and open it with your news reader program. You'll have to setup your username and password plus the astraweb address in the news reader program. Check out the FAQ section on the Astraweb homepage: http://www.news.astraweb.com/faq/

Remember...google and FAQ pages are your friends. The whole usenet thing seems a little intimidating at first, but it's actually really easy to use once you've got everything up and running. Just do your research.

[Gophermofur]

I have ordered this deal for more than 2o days, but I still don't know what I can do with it. What does it can be used for?

I find it kind of funny that you would buy something when you don't have any idea why it's used. Either way, as the poster above mentioned, use google to search. You'll find tons of articles explaining everything you need to know about usenet. Some search terms you might want to start with are: newsgroups, usenet, NZB.

For the benefit of the lazy people who don't want to go ALL the way up to the address bar and search google:

What is it used for? It is used to download files. Similar to Bit torrent in what type of material you can download.
Why do people use it? Fairly simple to use, offers a bit more privacy than bit torrent (not peer to peer, SSL encryption) , pretty quick speeds.
How does it work? People upload files to a newsgroup. Your provider will store this data on their servers. You can then download files off your providers servers. (Provider in this example is a company like Astraweb). As an alternate example, Bit Torrent captures data by pulling pieces/fragments of files from many different users and puts them together on your computer to form a whole file.
Downsides? It costs money, unlike Bit Torrent.

Hope that helps.

[djactivator]

OMG! thats a very nice deal! I pay about 14.95$/month right now for 70 day retention and 8 connections! wh0a! I will jump on this and hopefully max out my rogers UP TO 10MBIT Extreme service as well :)
Thanks for the great post!

[qubikal]

I have ordered this deal for more than 2o days, but I still don't know what I can do with it. What does it can be used for?

LOL!

Do you act on impulse on random deals? :confused: :confused:

sorry to add nothing here... see above post for your answers..

[wiebecj]

LOL!

Do you act on impulse on random deals? :confused: :confused:

sorry to add nothing here... see above post for your answers..

I do all the time.....

OH! My 1000th post is admitting I am a complete deal addict... how fitting!

[Gophermofur]

I do all the time.....

OH! My 1000th post is admitting I am a complete deal addict... how fitting!

See, I'm not quite sure what's worse: missing out on awesome deals because you take too long to decide (this is what I do...) or randomly spending money on hot deals even when you have no need/use for the product.

One makes me sad, the other makes me poor... hmm.

[nathannathannathan2]

So, after catching the xbox 360 pro deal, moding it, and downloading games from shaw's newsgroup / usenet servers, I have to ask the question: have any of you even tried to use shaw's servers before buying a subscription? I assumed that I would have to, when I first read this thread, but now after downloading and playing 8 games from shaw's servers, Im wondering why I should bother buying a subscription? I get 600kb/s, about 120 day retention, and access to everything Ive tried thus far, and all for free! :cheesygri

shaw will be less peaved when moving all of this stuff directly from them, and its not like they are going to do anything about tv shows / games...so, whats up?

[TypeVR6]

So, after catching the xbox 360 pro deal, moding it, and downloading games from shaw's newsgroup / usenet servers, I have to ask the question: have any of you even tried to use shaw's servers before buying a subscription? I assumed that I would have to, when I first read this thread, but now after downloading and playing 8 games from shaw's servers, Im wondering why I should bother buying a subscription? I get 600kb/s, about 120 day retention, and access to everything Ive tried thus far, and all for free! :cheesygri

shaw will be less peaved when moving all of this stuff directly from them, and its not like they are going to do anything about tv shows / games...so, whats up?

Lol - Shaw doesnt have their own Usenet, they're probably re selling off of Giganews.

[nathannathannathan2]

regardless, whats the point in buying this, if shaw gives it out for free???
shawnews.ed.shawcable.net is the domain for their servers...

[xOFFSETx]

regardless, whats the point in buying this, if shaw gives it out for free???
shawnews.ed.shawcable.net is the domain for their servers...

If you have free usenet service included from Shaw with your internet package, then you're all set. Many moons ago almost every ISP had usenet included for free, but that seems to be ancient history, so now consumers have to pay for it from a third party. Good on Shaw for sticking with it.

[luke]

If you have free usenet service included from Shaw with your internet package, then you're all set. Many moons ago almost every ISP had usenet included for free, but that seems to be ancient history, so now consumers have to pay for it from a third party. Good on Shaw for sticking with it.

Benefits of commerical is far greater retention and completion...

shaw normally has about 2 days retention on huge newsgroups... and like 40% completion on those 2 days.. hardly useable..
good for text though

[queball]

Benefits of commerical is far greater retention and completion...

shaw normally has about 2 days retention on huge newsgroups... and like 40% completion on those 2 days.. hardly useable..
good for text though

Shaw switched to an outsourced usenet host about a week back. I'm not sure of the date but it was around September 6-8. So it's not the 2 day bad completion service anymore.

In fact here is a page that shows the current retention times for a selection of newsgroups:
http://support.highwinds-media.com/retention.php

Unfortunately this means that they are now paying another company per GB of usenet data their customer use. That usage based charge will trickle down to customers somehow.

>tracert shawnews.ed.shawcable.net

Tracing route to newsfarm.iad.highwinds-media.com [69.16.185.250]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms firewall
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 8 ms 6 ms 8 ms rc1ar-ge6-0-0-5.ed.shawcable.net [64.59.189.66]
4 28 ms 25 ms 23 ms rc1sc-pos4-0.wp.shawcable.net [66.163.76.122]
5 50 ms 49 ms 50 ms rc1sh-pos15-0.mt.shawcable.net [66.163.76.221]
6 60 ms 61 ms 61 ms rc1hu-pos1-0.ny.shawcable.net [66.163.76.14]
7 62 ms 61 ms 60 ms rd1ny-ge5-0-0.ny.shawcable.net [66.163.74.21]
8 62 ms 60 ms 61 ms paix-ny.3-2.r1.ny.hwng.net [198.32.118.76]
9 64 ms 74 ms 71 ms 4-1.r1.dc.hwng.net [69.16.190.18]
10 64 ms 63 ms 63 ms ve1004.ar1.dc1.hwng.net [69.16.190.122]
11 65 ms 65 ms 63 ms 69.16.186.118
12 65 ms 64 ms 63 ms 69.16.185.250

Trace complete.

[queball]

Lol - Shaw doesnt have their own Usenet, they're probably re selling off of Giganews.

Highwinds is their new outsourcing partner for the news.shawcable.net server.

Though Shaw does have a direct link to the datacenter where Giganews is located so you can easily max out your connection speed on the Giganews non-throttled service. But you can do this with most of the big premium newsgroup hosts if you use a few simultaneous connections (No more than about 20 at the same time to the same server or you will trigger some of the Shaw rate limiting gear)

Reverse traceroute from Giganews to Shaw: You see that shaw is the very next hop after their server.

news.giganews.com
1 216.196.98.6 (216.196.98.6) 0 ms 0 ms 0 ms
2 shaw.giganews.com (216.196.96.86) 0 ms 0 ms 0 ms
3 rc2ch-pos3-0.il.shawcable.net (66.163.77.145) 21 ms 17 ms 17 ms
4 rc2nr-pos3-0-0.wp.shawcable.net (66.163.76.25) 36 ms 36 ms 36 ms
5 rc1sc-ge15-0-0.wp.shawcable.net (66.163.73.186) 36 ms 36 ms 36 ms

[Acuratl]

Highwinds is their new outsourcing partner for the news.shawcable.net server.

Though Shaw does have a direct link to the datacenter where Giganews is located so you can easily max out your connection speed on the Giganews non-throttled service. But you can do this with most of the big premium newsgroup hosts if you use a few simultaneous connections (No more than about 20 at the same time to the same server or you will trigger some of the Shaw rate limiting gear)

Reverse traceroute from Giganews to Shaw: You see that shaw is the very next hop after their server.

news.giganews.com
1 216.196.98.6 (216.196.98.6) 0 ms 0 ms 0 ms
2 shaw.giganews.com (216.196.96.86) 0 ms 0 ms 0 ms
3 rc2ch-pos3-0.il.shawcable.net (66.163.77.145) 21 ms 17 ms 17 ms
4 rc2nr-pos3-0-0.wp.shawcable.net (66.163.76.25) 36 ms 36 ms 36 ms
5 rc1sc-ge15-0-0.wp.shawcable.net (66.163.73.186) 36 ms 36 ms 36 ms

thanks cancelled astraweb sub i LOVE shaw

[[H]ackerK]

Wow. Long thread to read... This seems to be a good deal from what I have read so far, maybe is time to stock up some storage space ;)

Yea, back in the good old days, before Rogers swap with Shaw, it is very nice. No caps on speed and d/l from newsgroup was super. First blow for me to drop Rogers is when they dropped newsgroup BSing people were accessing child pr0n, second blow was the blocking port 25, final blow was caping on download limit.

Now I am happy w/ Acanac :) Not to worry on d/l anymore.

[chadw01]

Haha Kleverig is a pr0n site, and we're all subscribing to their discounted plan :)

I'm sure you'll all show your appreciation by perusing their site eventually, eh?

[Frankie3s]

I sent an email to NewsHosting hoping that they will match Astraweb's offer. No reply at all after 1 week. My contract expires in a couple of months and then it will be off to Astraweb unless NH matches it.

[scouzer]

I don't think I would want to download backup copies of my games from a non-SSL connection from my own ISP...

[mrnice]

I was with giganews for 4 years and switched for this deal. The $15 per month in savings and a secure connection sounded great. Last night I switched back to giganews after 2 weeks.

astraweb was fine for new downloads. When accessing stuff in the 50-75 day range I found a lot of files marked as complete but the downloads would stop short or would not start at all saying the file could not be found. I attempted the same files from giganews last night and had no problems.

In the end I decided that true completion trumps the dollar savings. Also for what its worth giganews is faster. Astraweb is no slouch, I was pulling 800-900k/sec but giganews is well over 1mb/sec consistently. In Toronto using Rogers Extreme.

[bug]

I'm definitely switching to Astraweb after my current Usenetserver subscription runs out.

[ttt]

done. canceled my nh subscription :cheesygri

[chadw01]

I was with giganews for 4 years and switched for this deal. The $15 per month in savings and a secure connection sounded great. Last night I switched back to giganews after 2 weeks.

astraweb was fine for new downloads. When accessing stuff in the 50-75 day range I found a lot of files marked as complete but the downloads would stop short or would not start at all saying the file could not be found. I attempted the same files from giganews last night and had no problems.

In the end I decided that true completion trumps the dollar savings. Also for what its worth giganews is faster. Astraweb is no slouch, I was pulling 800-900k/sec but giganews is well over 1mb/sec consistently. In Toronto using Rogers Extreme.

Interesting hearing about your problems with retention beyond 50.. not having that issue myself, and I've been downloading stuff beyond the 100 day retention range without any problems.

Like you, I'm getting 800-900k also.. for almost a third of the cost of Giga, I am a happy camper.

[michelkenny]

Interesting hearing about your problems with retention beyond 50.. not having that issue myself, and I've been downloading stuff beyond the 100 day retention range without any problems.

Like you, I'm getting 800-900k also.. for almost a third of the cost of Giga, I am a happy camper.

I can max out my 1.2 mbps Shaw connection with Astraweb. Also have been able to download to 140 days no problems.

[ReBeL]

Thnx Flix3r !!!.....


Wish I'd seen this deal sooner. Newshosting billed me for this coming
month just a few days ago. Ughhh... !!!!


----------------------------------------------------------------------

[mrnice]

Interesting hearing about your problems with retention beyond 50.. not having that issue myself, and I've been downloading stuff beyond the 100 day retention range without any problems.

Like you, I'm getting 800-900k also.. for almost a third of the cost of Giga, I am a happy camper.

I should clarify... Is it not with all downloads outside of 50 days. Just some. The results are spotty but I would say that 85% have been completed just fine. It is the 15% which drove me crazy, I am trying to complete a bunch of TV shows and missing episodes suck.

[Pavel]

I'm having completion issues with files less than 4 (FOUR) days old. I even have incompletes or "message not on server" on text only groups greater than 30 days. That's really freaken pathetic. I have sent astranews a ticket. Depending on how the respond, it's very likely I'm ditching astranews. Like they say, you DO get what you PAY for.

[chadw01]

I'm having completion issues with files less than 4 (FOUR) days old. I even have incompletes or "message not on server" on text only groups greater than 30 days. That's really freaken pathetic. I have sent astranews a ticket. Depending on how the respond, it's very likely I'm ditching astranews. Like they say, you DO get what you PAY for.

What group(s) were you grabbing from? If you don't mind sharing the files you were trying to download, perhaps we can try it from our sides to see if we have the same issue..

[djactivator]

I cant wait for my newshosting account to expire so i can jump on this deal, I used to get nice 1.2mb/sec download speeds from them but lately, i get about 500-600kb/sec on average. If i reset my cable modem (I'm using rogers extreme) it goes up to 1100-1200 for a few minutes and drops right back down to 500-600

[Gophermofur]

I cant wait for my newshosting account to expire so i can jump on this deal, I used to get nice 1.2mb/sec download speeds from them but lately, i get about 500-600kb/sec on average. If i reset my cable modem (I'm using rogers extreme) it goes up to 1100-1200 for a few minutes and drops right back down to 500-600

Have you eliminated the modem as a possible culprit? Could be the modem rather than the newsgroup service that's the problem.

A good test would be to buy a 2-day/3-day subscription to a different usenet provider. I think astraweb does, or used to, offer 3-days unlimited downloading for $3. That way you figure out if your host is the problem before switching over unnecessarily.

[Gotcha]

Just so that i understand this deal and its worth correctly...

its to allow you to download all the prons and warez without the need to use torrent right?

I mean for someone on cable who is paying over $50 , why would i pay more to get access to this service ... trying to convince myself here...

[chadw01]

Just so that i understand this deal and its worth correctly...

its to allow you to download all the prons and warez without the need to use torrent right?

I mean for someone on cable who is paying over $50 , why would i pay more to get access to this service ... trying to convince myself here...

I'm sure the majority of people subscribe to Usenet for the religious discussion-based newsgroups and to get the latest Martha Stewart recipes..

[Frankie3s]

I just received an email from NewsHosting saying that they won't be matching Astraweb's offer. It took me 3 emails to them before I got a response. I've been a long time NH client and would've appreciated them to perhaps try to match the details of this offer even though they can't compete on price.

From the feedback we've read so far Astraweb has been quite good.

[darkNRG]

its to allow you to download all the prons and warez without the need to use torrent right?

um, what other reason do you need!!?? pronz at max bandwidth! woohoo :evil:

[Pavel]

If you have free usenet service included from Shaw with your internet package, then you're all set. Many moons ago almost every ISP had usenet included for free, but that seems to be ancient history, so now consumers have to pay for it from a third party. Good on Shaw for sticking with it.

For the last 3 or more months, Shaw's been really bad with completion. That's why I switched. It really depends on what groups you visit.

[Acuratl]

For the last 3 or more months, Shaw's been really bad with completion. That's why I switched. It really depends on what groups you visit.

agreed for the most part i can live getting stuff thats brand new..

[bellamr]

I would like to express my thanks to Flix3r !!! I canceled my Easynews account and am now using Astraweb and getting consistant 1060KByte+ downloads using secure.news.astraweb.com on port 443 with Grabit.

Good find Flix3r!!!

[lurker07]

I think I am going to switch from ngroups to this I just have one question

does Kleverig.nl get mentioned on your bill? I am going to pay by credit card and really don't wanna some pr0n site showing up lol...

[zod]

I think I am going to switch from ngroups to this I just have one question

does Kleverig.nl get mentioned on your bill? I am going to pay by credit card and really don't wanna some pr0n site showing up lol...

nope

2CO.COM.ASTRAWEB followed by some number, which i didn't could be tracked to me, so I i excluded the number.

[lurker07]

alright thanks

[stockbones]

what websites do you use to search ?
i use newzbin.com but find a lot of items with dutch subtitles.

[LordAnubis]

what websites do you use to search ?
i use newzbin.com but find a lot of items with dutch subtitles.

here is a small list:
http://www.*********.info/
http://nzbmatrix.com/
http://www.merlins-portal.net/Vbulletin/index.php
http://nzbsrus.com/
http://nntpsearch.nl/
http://gonzb.com/
http://alt.binaries.nl/
http://www.nzbindex.nl/
http://www.binindex.net/
http://www.tvnzb.com/
http://findnzb.com/

[Happy13178]

what websites do you use to search ?
i use newzbin.com but find a lot of items with dutch subtitles.

That's not necessarily going to be different with other index engines. The index sites don't choose what does and doesn't get posted on Usenet, and a lot of material gets posted from europe.

[ninja6o4]

Here's a speed test. I'm on Shaw Extreme (10 Mbps max). I am an ex Usenetserver.com user, who was giving me terrible speeds during peak times, and barely any SSL access cuz it was always full.

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/2779/zoomqb3.jpg

[dreamaz]

I would like to express my thanks to Flix3r !!! I canceled my Easynews account and am now using Astraweb and getting consistant 1060KBit + downloads using secure.news.astraweb.com on port 443 with Grabit.

Good find Flix3r!!!

I can't seem to establish a connection to secure.news.astraweb.com over port 443 in newsleecher..

i can ping that IP no problem tho..

[alkaholikc]

I just signed up to Astraweb. I'm using currently using SSL Port 443. Maxed speeds using 10 connections. Will soon try using my friends college connection for max speed (; I will miss my UNS days but my original group split up. Thanks OP!

[michelkenny]

I can't seem to establish a connection to secure.news.astraweb.com over port 443 in newsleecher..

i can ping that IP no problem tho..

Try using port 563.

[Avatar]

I saw $15/m for unlimited DL/Speed. Guess the promotion is over now. Have to stick with NH as the annual unlimited plan is cheaper.
http://www.news.astraweb.com/unlimitedplans.html

[vninja]

no...still shows up as $11.

just have to use this link:
http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html

[DjSingh]

Signed Up...
Thanks OP

[Acuratl]

Guys i tried astraweb loved it, went back to shaw since i thought they were with giganews, but they're still crappy went back to astraweb

[xxgg]

Yeah me too.

I can not get a connection with SSL secure server. Tried both 443 & 563 port.

[Nutchos]

Yeah me too.

I can not get a connection with SSL secure server. Tried both 443 & 563 port.

Hmm, mine's working fine (isp: shaw). Have you setup port forwarding if you're using a router?

[TypeVR6]

Yeah me too.

I can not get a connection with SSL secure server. Tried both 443 & 563 port.

Are you guys connecting to the SSL server using those ports or the regular server?

[xxgg]

Are you guys connecting to the SSL server using those ports or the regular server?


of course i am using secure. server with 443/563

used with GrabIt

[coreanbbq]

is it worth getting this on a 5Mbit DSL connection? anyone out there signing up regardless of having DSL? (specifically teksavvy?)

[TypeVR6]

of course i am using secure. server with 443/563

used with GrabIt

Try contacting their support? I'm having no issues - other than having to make use of 20 connections to top my 10mbps...

[junot111]

my message to those of you who are paying money for this..


buy a rapidshare account.

[equalizr]

do they monitor what you download using astraweb cause they sure do using rapidshare :( Oh well, at least my $10 got some good use :twisted:

[Battscrew]

of course i am using secure. server with 443/563

used with GrabIt

U have to have the latest grabit for ssl - I use SABnzbd

[Narutard]

just signed up, thanks op

[inferno_gn]

Hi there,

I'm gonna sign up to it, though, what software to I use to download and get files or whatnot using the newsgroup? :)

Ju Leon...

[zod]

is it worth getting this on a 5Mbit DSL connection? anyone out there signing up regardless of having DSL? (specifically teksavvy?)

Definately worth it. I'm on a 6mbps DSL package from Telus. Takes about a half hour per gig (roughly). So a newsgroups, thats a hypothetical 48 gigs a day, lots of stuff you could download.

[Vertigo]

my message to those of you who are paying money for this..


buy a rapidshare account.

Why?

[Acuratl]

Why?

exactly..makes no sense...crapidshare costs more money than this.

[inferno_gn]

Hi there,

Any good software to use these services?

Ju Leon...

[Emancipated]

Hi there,

Any good software to use these services?

Ju Leon...

Hi there,

What platform? I'm using Unison on OSX.

Ju Leon... er, Emanicpated...

[inferno_gn]

Hi there,

Windows XP. :) Need software for, well, all those files and stuff. :) I like open-sources ones. :)

Ju Leon...

[Acuratl]

Hi there,

Windows XP. :) Need software for, well, all those files and stuff. :) I like open-sources ones. :)

Ju Leon...


You'll thank me i use ALT BINZ for windows greatest software ever! completely free

-FREE
-Has scheduling so you can get it to download automatically say 12AM-7AM so it wont slow your network down
-AUTO par repair
-AUTO unrar this is a set it and forget it feature
-Run in background,!!!!

for OSX i use unison too..

[MafiaHitman]

my message to those of you who are paying money for this..


buy a rapidshare account.

Dumbest Post Ever.

[JAC]

my message to those of you who are paying money for this..
buy a rapidshare account.

Welcome to the internets, noob.

[jory29]

OP, looks like it's 160 days retention now. :)

"160+ Days across ALL groups
- Retention is being upgraded. Keep watching it rise!"

[SAN66]

Hi there,

Windows XP. :) Need software for, well, all those files and stuff. :) I like open-sources ones. :)

Ju Leon...

I'm using SABNZBD+ on OSX, but its platform independent and open source, has a web UI so if you have a server you can even just run it on that. Works great!

[inferno_gn]

Hi there,

Yeah, some newsgroups I found that I have to paid. Mostly, I just want to download files with easy to use interfece, since newsgroup got tons of messages.

Ju Leon...

[morris_the_cat]

I've been using astraweb for about a year on this same plan. I am quite happy with it. It throttles you back to about 150kb/s, but that is ok. Just leave it on overnight.


Astraweb currently has a special plan for usenet usage. I signed up to it yesterday and it maxes out my connection of 10mbit. I dont know about how it handles faster connections.

This is what it offers:



http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html

Credit goes to jbloggs @ fatwallet

Btw, if anyone has an invite to newzbin I would be glad to take it :D

[George W. Bush]

Hold the horses people!

Newsgroups? Huh?

Ok - I am curious - are people using newsgroups (vs. bittorrents) for downloads thesedays? Bittorrents are free, no?

I have done a bit of reading, but still not sure why people would pick newsgroups over bittorrents for downloads - they cost money, no?

I am very confused here... you pay them extra $$$ on top of the ISP?

[kktz]

I can give you two reasons.

1. Connections will be consistent and you can download as fast as your internet connection allows.

2. A lot of ISP's are now throttling BT traffic, which will make using torrents almost useless.

[George W. Bush]

Hmmm - true... but is Rogers for example, not blocking newsgroups? I was under the impression that this would not work with Rogers users? No?

The SSL, is that you have to set with the program you use? ie. Alt BinZ as a program to download/upload, etc.

Any providers other than Rogers, with unlimited bandwidth? I am with Rogers Cable, tried Acanac DSL but was too far away from them, and had to go back to Rogers. Bell is crap as well, eh? I live in Kitchener, Ontario.

[George W. Bush]

EDIT 2: Just a note to people, if you are like me and on Rogers Express with the 60 GB cap, it is worth considering instead going with the $25 / 110 GB plan. Considering you can't download more than around 50 GB / month without blowing your Rogers cap anyway, this plan works out to be a cheaper option - and you are allowed 50 connections instead of only 20.

Not sure what you mean by that...

Are you saying that on the same cable line, the bandwidth coming in or going out from the usergroups is separate (calculated as separate) from that of Rogers?

My impression was that you have a limit of 60GB/month for Rogers Express, and pay extra $ for anything over... with usergroups, you will go over this limit, no?

[Flix3r]

OP, looks like it's 160 days retention now. :)

"160+ Days across ALL groups
- Retention is being upgraded. Keep watching it rise!"

I'll update title. Thanks!

[Gophermofur]

Not sure what you mean by that...

Are you saying that on the same cable line, the bandwidth coming in or going out from the usergroups is separate (calculated as separate) from that of Rogers?

My impression was that you have a limit of 60GB/month for Rogers Express, and pay extra $ for anything over... with usergroups, you will go over this limit, no?

1. I'm not sure exactly what the poster above was getting at because I too was under the impression that Rogers has one cap that counts both upload and download. It doesn't differentiate between either. Though someone with Rogers can correct me if I'm wrong.

2. The cap on Rogers counts all internet traffic to and from your computer. Usenet is simply a different way of getting information off the internet, so anything you download off usenet will still count towards your Rogers cap.

3. What the poster above you was trying to say is that there may not really be a point getting an unlimited usenet account if you are still capped by Rogers. It may make more sense to get a block account that isn't limited by time. It all depends on how much you download and what you're willing to pay.

4. There are unlimited services out there. Teksavvy for one charges $40/unlimited bandwith or $30 for 200GB (per month for both). I only get about 250 - 300 kb/s with Teksavvy, but I'm fine with that.

5. 20 connections vs 50 connections really isn't that important (at least from what I've observed). While on Rogers, I used to be able to max out my express line at 800kb/s while using 10 connections. It may be useful if you are sharing an account, but most usenet services (at least Astraweb does)block simultaneous connections from multiple IP's, which makes it hard to share.

[Gophermofur]

I can give you two reasons.

1. Connections will be consistent and you can download as fast as your internet connection allows.

2. A lot of ISP's are now throttling BT traffic, which will make using torrents almost useless.

And to append to the list...

3. Usenet requires no uploading.

4. Usenet has SSL connections.

5. Dependant on a server as opposed to other people.

6. No uploading means you save precious bandwidth, especially if you use private trackers where the download:upload ratio is 1:1 (e.g: download a 2 gb file requires 2gb worth of upload).

7. Doesn't take long for downloads to hit full speed. Whereas with BitTorrent it needs to find peers, scrape, etc and if there are enough seeders and whatnot, you'll get some solid speeds.

[George W. Bush]

Hmmm...

I am wondering now whether staying with Rogers at $40 for Express + $25 max over the 60GB/month limit

vs.

$40 for ADSL with Teksavvy, but would need to pay for dry-loop as well for the VOIP telephone...

Does $65/month for Rogers Express seem much? I also pay $20 for the VOIP with Acanac.

[inferno_gn]

Hi there,

Anyone else can suggest softwares to use with this newsgroup service? :)

Ju Leon...

[S150PM]

Hmmm...

I am wondering now whether staying with Rogers at $40 for Express + $25 max over the 60GB/month limit

vs.

$40 for ADSL with Teksavvy, but would need to pay for dry-loop as well for the VOIP telephone...

Does $65/month for Rogers Express seem much? I also pay $20 for the VOIP with Acanac.
Have you ever try to get DSL at your location?

If not then it is better get Acanac DSL 1 year promotion $18.95 + $8 Dryloop = $27.95 (tax included)

http://acanac.ca/DSL.html

At least with Acanac, they have 30 days money back warranty for you to try DSL for free...

Teksavvy doesn't have that, if DSL not work you have very slow speed at your location, you might have to pay for TekSavvy, first month fee $40 + dryloop fee + modem fee + tax...

For DSL, you might have the same speed whatever DSL provider you go with... It depends on how far your house to the Bell Central Office or Remote Office.

For VOIP, better take the Acanac softphone $10/month and buy the adapter elsewhere like eBay and save $10/month

http://shop.ebay.ca/items/__PAP2_W0QQ_nkwZPAP2QQQ5ftrkparmsZ72Q253A348Q257C3 9Q253A1Q257C66Q253A2Q257C65Q253A12QQ_sopZ1QQ_trksi dZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14?_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

[1LuckyGuy]

Hi there,

Anyone else can suggest softwares to use with this newsgroup service? :)

Ju Leon...

Based on recommendations in this thread, I tried sabnzbd, and it is absolutely amazing. Really easy to use, great features and lightweight too.

[drdrma]

Have you ever try to get DSL at your location?

If not then it is better get Acanac DSL 1 year promotion $18.95 + $8 Dryloop = $27.95 (tax included)

http://acanac.ca/DSL.html

At least with Acanac, they have 30 days money back warranty for you to try DSL for free...

Teksavvy doesn't have that, if DSL not work you have very slow speed at your location, you might have to pay for TekSavvy, first month fee $40 + dryloop fee + modem fee + tax...

For DSL, you might have the same speed whatever DSL provider you go with... It depends on how far your house to the Bell Central Office or Remote Office.

For VOIP, better take the Acanac softphone $10/month and buy the adapter elsewhere like eBay and save $10/month

http://shop.ebay.ca/items/__PAP2_W0QQ_nkwZPAP2QQQ5ftrkparmsZ72Q253A348Q257C3 9Q253A1Q257C66Q253A2Q257C65Q253A12QQ_sopZ1QQ_trksi dZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14?_trksid=p3286.c0.m14


All that you say is true, but after setting up dryloop with both Acanac and Teksavvy, I gladly pay more to be with Teksavvy. Service with Acanac was impossible. Teksavvy answers the phone and the fist line staff is knowledgeable.

[LuckyLuc]

Hi there,

Anyone else can suggest softwares to use with this newsgroup service? :)

Ju Leon...

There is alot of sofware out there but one that I use, which is freeware is altbinz (http://www.altbinz.net/). Well, it is free to version 0.25 but if you look around news group, you can find the upgrades to version 0.28.2 One issue that they fixed in 0.28.2 is the *********.org search engine.

[Battscrew]

Based on recommendations in this thread, I tried sabnzbd, and it is absolutely amazing. Really easy to use, great features and lightweight too.

+1

[Battscrew]

I've been using astraweb for about a year on this same plan. I am quite happy with it. It throttles you back to about 150kb/s, but that is ok. Just leave it on overnight.

I just got the same astraweb plan and I get 642 KB/s - which is the top speed for my isp plan

[skinnydoggy]

Just signed up!! WICKED deal!

[jory29]

I'll update title. Thanks!

:) Thank YOU! Great thread!!

[0N1SAC]

is there any cancellation fee or anything?

[Derringdo]

Wait, is it up to 160 days retention now? It was 150 at the beginning of the offer right? Where can I check?

Edit: nevermind. Didn't see it posted elsewhere in the thread. Cool!

[BaadDawg]

I have been using usenet-news.net for a few years now. I buy the 100gig block as opposed to a monthly plan.

Next time I have to re-up I will switch to astraweb which offers a similar block plan at about the same price, however astra has 160 day binary retention as opposed to usenet-news offering 100 day retention. 160 days is a BIG plus.]

I use ********* for nzb searching, works well. I also use grabit as my nzb client.

[da_hool]

I made the switch to Astraweb after being a long time subscriber to Usenetserver. So far it feels a bit faster and more stable. Thanks OP! Saves me a $4 USD a month!

[sidshock]

I just got the same astraweb plan and I get 642 KB/s - which is the top speed for my isp plan


I've been using astraweb for about a year on this same plan. I am quite happy with it. It throttles you back to about 150kb/s, but that is ok. Just leave it on overnight.

either you max out at 150Kb/s OR ...
you are downloading with only one connection... set it to 5 or so, and you will download a lot faster...

[iLLNESS]

ive had some issues with astraweb.. i STILL have been unable to make a full switch from my old provider as astraweb randomly denies me access to the service complaining about login issues.

ive emailed them before and they were unable to find the problem let alone a solution.

just a heads up to anyone thinking about making a full switch, astrawebs support isnt the greatest and the service isnt alwasy dependable.

[SAN66]

I'm having this problem with SABNZBD on OSX, the process loads up fine, but in any browser but safari it says localhost:8080 not found and I can't figure out why?

Anyone else have this problem? Or know how to solve it?

[EEE2]

They are excellent this is my second month with them.
Thanks

[Pseudo Nim]

I switched from Giganews, and the speed is excellent - been working out great for me. However, if you plan on accessing it from Asia, forget it - with Giganews, I would get something like 16 - 25 Mbits/sec from Japan, but with Astraweb, barely 1 Mbit/sec (the Europe server was even worse). Inconsequential for 99.999% of the population I guess :)

[Dealz-4-U]

this is awesome because even though at home we have a 60gb cap, using our schools (which I get 30mbit speeds), its awesome. :lol:

[tienm23]

Sweet deal, switched from Powerusenet ...3 bucks cheaper and includes SSL and longer retention.

[CingKrab]

I'm having this problem with SABNZBD on OSX, the process loads up fine, but in any browser but safari it says localhost:8080 not found and I can't figure out why?

Anyone else have this problem? Or know how to solve it?

That's because it should be http://localhost:8080/sabnzbd/ by default. It is on the Windows version, anyway.

[Frankie3s]

Hi there,

Anyone else can suggest softwares to use with this newsgroup service? :)

Ju Leon...

Newsbin and Newsleecher seem to be standards. You could also try Forte Newsreader.

[Frankie3s]

When signing up for Astraweb and selecting Canada as your payment option, is $13.65 the only charge that will hit your credit card monthly or are there other charges like currency conversion, etc, added?

[zod]

When signing up for Astraweb and selecting Canada as your payment option, is $13.65 the only charge that will hit your credit card monthly or are there other charges like currency conversion, etc, added?

The deal at the beginnning of the thread is for 11 dollars US / month. I think when I went through the options, it converts it to Canadian before every charge (probably should of set it up so my credit card company handles the FX, but I dropped the ball on that), so my rate floats every month, depending on what FX rate the assign to it.

[r5tse2]

i am new to this.
can someone help send me an NewzBin invite?

I appriciate your help , Thank you.

my mail is sinteddy@hotmail.com

[Frankie3s]

i am new to this.
can someone help send me an NewzBin invite?

I appriciate your help , Thank you.

my mail is sinteddy@hotmail.com

You don't need an invite. Newsbin is a piece of software that you can use to download from newsgroups from. You paid for a subscription to access newsgroups and now you only need a piece of software to use it with.

I bought a license for Newsbin and all upgrades are free (you never have to pay again). It takes a little while to get used to but it is one of the best in my opinion. Yes, I'm aware of Newsleecher.

You can download and use the software on a 10 day trial,
http://www.newsbin.com/

[Calmuser]

You don't need an invite. Newsbin is a piece of software that you can use to download from newsgroups from. You paid for a subscription to access newsgroups and now you only need a piece of software to use it with.

I bought a license for Newsbin and all upgrades are free (you never have to pay again). It takes a little while to get used to but it is one of the best in my opinion. Yes, I'm aware of Newsleecher.

You can download and use the software on a 10 day trial,
http://www.newsbin.com/

actually those are 2 diff items. Newzbin is a website which needs an invite.

and newsbin is a software prog, like you said.

[k4kman]

I'm looking for a very fast serive on rogers. I use usenetserver and use to get 10Mb easy and pinned wihtout a probelm this was back about 8months ago resently I get like 1-2 and it's up and down never dropping my connection but not steady and not fast like it used to be.
Now I don't know if the probelm is Rogers and the facy stuff they have on the network and or usenetserver.

Please let me know if you guys have a really fast connection and what service you are using

[k4kman]

I'm looking for a very fast serive on rogers. I use usenetserver and use to get 10Mb easy and pinned wihtout a probelm this was back about 8months ago resently I get like 1-2 and it's up and down never dropping my connection but not steady and not fast like it used to be.
Now I don't know if the probelm is Rogers and the facy stuff they have on the network and or usenetserver.

Please let me know if you guys have a really fast connection and what service you are using

[Pavel]

I'm getting really lousy speeds for the last while. I'm cancelling my subscriptions as I am not finding anything that I can download that I can't via P2P. Besides, there's less chance of getting hit with a virus via P2P as there are comments posted about the torrents.

[Teo14]

Just signed up for the 110GB for $25 deal. If anyone has a spare newzbin invite that would be appreciated, i'm afraid i don't have much to trade other than a demonoid invite.

[Frankie3s]

actually those are 2 diff items. Newzbin is a website which needs an invite.

and newsbin is a software prog, like you said.

You're right! Thanks for the clarification, I totally forgot about Newzbin.

[Canadianpsycho]

Can anyone point me to a good tutorial on how to use Newsgoups/Usenet? Like searching and such?

[Battscrew]

try here

nzbmatrix dot com

[underpants]

Can anyone point me to a good tutorial on how to use Newsgoups/Usenet? Like searching and such?

Here's a very quick overview:

http://www.slyck.com/Newsgroups_Guide


Have a look here for a more detailed explanation:

http://www.newsgroupservers.net/

The quickest way to find what you are looking for is to use a NZB indexing site.

Here are a couple useful ones:

http://www.*********.info/

http://www.nzbindex.nl/

I hope this helps.

[Canadianpsycho]

Thanks for the tips. I think I'm going to try it out this weekend.

If anyone can send me a Newzbin invite I'd really appreciate it. GOT ONE THANKS

[gordholio]

Is Usenet better than bit torrents? I wouldn't mind trying it for a month, but I have no credit card (could use my neighbour's), but I'm concerned that they would rebill me even if I cancelled.
Is Usenet better than bit torrents?

[Canadianpsycho]

OK, so I'm up and running and testing this out using SABnzbnd+

Just one question regarding ports. Should I need to forward any on my router? Does it make a difference if I use 119, 23, 1818 or 8080 as my port? I'm hitting 382 kB/s on port 119, my cap is 500 kB/s

[g0lden0rchard]

usenet is faster than torrents but a bit more complicated to use.

can anyone send me a newzbin invite?

[SAN66]

Is Usenet better than bit torrents? I wouldn't mind trying it for a month, but I have no credit card (could use my neighbour's), but I'm concerned that they would rebill me even if I cancelled.
Is Usenet better than bit torrents?

If you just want to try it out you can go for the 110gb for $25 deal. Personally, with the amount I download, this is the better option for me. If you don't have a credit card you can pay with paypal and pay that off however you do when paying off paypal without a credit card.

[Happy13178]

Is Usenet better than bit torrents? I wouldn't mind trying it for a month, but I have no credit card (could use my neighbour's), but I'm concerned that they would rebill me even if I cancelled.
Is Usenet better than bit torrents?

Depends. I find torrents have a few more obscure things that can be harder to find on usenet, but usenet opens far fewer connections and isn't dependent on seeders for content.

[hazman]

I put this together a few years ago for some friends to better understand how to use Newsgroups/Usenet.
http://www.instructionhub.com/guides/newsgroups/

Also, if anyone has an extra invite to Newzbin, I would really appreciate it.

C

[ovexi]

I put this together a few years ago for some friends to better understand how to use Newsgroups/Usenet.
http://www.instructionhub.com/guides/newsgroups/

C
great information. thank you!

[nfuz]

Worthless deal, only 1 connection per household.

Ie: you can't share your account with buddies.
Me and my friends use newshosting, and we take turns paying the monthly bills, and we can all use it simultaneously (no IP restrictions)

So essentially, I pay like $45/year (3 months out of the year), while getting to use it 24/7 just like them...

[van]

usenet is faster than torrents but a bit more complicated to use.

Usenet is old-school.

Torrent speeds depend on what torrent site you are on, how well it is seeded, and what your ISP download cap is. On pretty much every torrent on TL, I get 1.2MB/s download speeds. This includes old torrents from 2 years ago, and I don't have to pay a dime for service.

[StoneColdWhat]

Usenet blows torrents outta the water.

[ScooterBoy]

Usenet blows torrents outta the water.

+1!

I would also appreciate an invite to Newzbin if someone has an extra...

[Longobongo]

Worthless deal, only 1 connection per household.

Ie: you can't share your account with buddies.
Me and my friends use newshosting, and we take turns paying the monthly bills, and we can all use it simultaneously (no IP restrictions)

So essentially, I pay like $45/year (3 months out of the year), while getting to use it 24/7 just like them...

you can't share the account? i was hoping to do the same thing with a friend of mine, i use the account on one day and he on another day

[jaszy]

Usenet is old-school.

Torrent speeds depend on what torrent site you are on, how well it is seeded, and what your ISP download cap is. On pretty much every torrent on TL, I get 1.2MB/s download speeds. This includes old torrents from 2 years ago, and I don't have to pay a dime for service.

+1 It really depends whether you're on a public or private tracker. Public trackers tend to be clogged and some have little to no peers. Private trackers are usually invite-only and hard to get in, but the speeds are excellent!

On the other hand, you can max out your connection using Usenet most, if not all the time but you are paying for it.

[nfuz]

you can't share the account? i was hoping to do the same thing with a friend of mine, i use the account on one day and he on another day

I'm sure you can do that, but the scenario I showed, had a lot of us (4-5) SIMULTANEOUSLY using the connection from their respective houses...

[Canadianpsycho]

OK, so I'm up and running and testing this out using SABnzbnd+

Just one question regarding ports. Should I need to forward any on my router? Does it make a difference if I use 119, 23, 1818 or 8080 as my port? I'm hitting 382 kB/s on port 119, my cap is 500 kB/s

Figured it out, I increased the number of connections.

[TurboRegal]

Thanks OP, I just ordered this to try it out for a month, since Cogeco's news server was being stupid and having 1 day retention times, and I don't really want to go over the b/w cap...

[Intenze]

Signed up. Been using it for 2 weeks now. Awesome speeds.
I only use 3 connections though.
If anyone has an extra Newzbin invite, I'd love to have one.
Thanks,

[TurboRegal]

+1 on a Newzbin invite, looks like it would be of great help with this crazy sabnzbd program!

Thanks!

[Terrific_Deals2k8]

Hey guys, I just use Alt.Binz and NZBMatrix or Newsleech for free.
I get about 350-400KB/s and have 20 days retention. Not the best for old stuff, but definitely good for newer/recent material.

FYI, I also have 3 connections open but can't seem to break 400KB/s... but meh, still better than P2P/torrents :D

NVM, I just hit 535KB/s on a d/l and holding steady now at 460KB/s (i guess it's just the different servers and bandwidth...)

[AC_Slater]

Thanks op,

I too would love a newzbin invite if someone is offering?

Thanks

[Tolo]

I've been using Astraweb's pay-as-you-go for years! Highly recommend them for NNTP.

I too would love a newzbin invite if available.

[TurboRegal]

Well, for anyone who doesn't have NewzBin:
Download the firefox nzbdstatus plugin:
https://nzbdstatus.bountysource.com/

Configure it to auto add any nzb's you download

Use your favorite site, I use *********.info since it's nice and lightweight with no ads, etc.

[bluetea]

can i get a newzbin invite? thanks guys =D

[mark001]

+1 on a Newzbin invite if anybody has one to spare ;)

[vninja]

thanks to the OP for this deal. I have been enjoying fast and reliable downloads and now on my second month.
I am new to newsgroup binaries, and signed up for nzbmatrix.com for nzb's.
It seems ok, but like many others in this forum I would like to try newzbin. Any redflagers able to share their invites with the community?

[xscorpio]

why do you guys need newzbin invite cant you guys just sing up for it?

[scouzer]

why do you guys need newzbin invite cant you guys just sing up for it?

nope. need an invite. wish i had one!

[isleepinadrawer]

+1 on the newzbin invite

[Arzadon03]

Looked through couple of pages and couldn't find the answer..

how does the download speed on astraweb servers compare to the ngroup servers?

[entity]

dammn this newsgroups business..

it made me a download-a-holic
just bought a new 640GB HD a few weeks ago and it is already full..

astraweb has been great so far. combined with no caps on acanac internet connection, and alt.bin.games.xbox360 I'm loving it!

[entity]

Looked through couple of pages and couldn't find the answer..

how does the download speed on astraweb servers compare to the ngroup servers?

hmm, well, i have a 5mbit connection (4300kbps) and it maxes it out in 2 connections.. since the limit is 20 connections for astraweb, i think speed should not be an issue

[PhillyInVancouver]

Great job on finding this deal PM.
I use to use newsgroups long time ago before torrents were big and the service was part of your internet package.
I can remember downloading tonnes of stuff ... but I dont think I max out my hard drive at that time...
now with torrent i filled up 2 TB ...
with newsgroups ... i going to need 1 TB more ... crap

+1 if someone can spare me a Newzbin invite

Thanks in advance

[evilserge]

if anyone has a newzbin invite, give me a shout!
thanks

[g0lden0rchard]

I have been using astraweb now for a few weeks and I must say that the completion rate is better on newshosting.

Last night for example I was downloading two 007 movies from the alt.binaries.hdtv.x264 and it crapped out in a major way.

On astraweb there are also many incompletes and so I use a buddy's newshosting account to get what I miss on astraweb

Here is a sample of the error I got last night

Subject: [6403]-[#a.b.hdtv.x264@EFNet]-[For.Your.Eyes.Only.1981.1080p.BluRay.DTS.x264-iLL]-[006/100] "For Your Eyes Only 1981 1080p BluRay DTS x264-iLL.part004.rar" yEnc (*/391)
From: postin@things.org (poster)
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:42:45 -0500
Lines: 1191766

[Sorry. This message is no longer available.]

[sidshock]

I have been using astraweb now for a few weeks and I must say that the completion rate is better on newshosting.

Last night for example I was downloading two 007 movies from the alt.binaries.hdtv.x264 and it crapped out in a major way.

On astraweb there are also many incompletes and so I use a buddy's newshosting account to get what I miss on astraweb

Here is a sample of the error I got last night

Subject: [6403]-[#a.b.hdtv.x264@EFNet]-[For.Your.Eyes.Only.1981.1080p.BluRay.DTS.x264-iLL]-[006/100] "For Your Eyes Only 1981 1080p BluRay DTS x264-iLL.part004.rar" yEnc (*/391)
From: postin@things.org (poster)
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:42:45 -0500
Lines: 1191766

[Sorry. This message is no longer available.]

are you sure it wasn't a problem with the original upload??
or maybe an isolated incident??
I came from newshosting, and I must say, Astra is much better for me...
everytime I came close to newshostings' completion... something that was say 98 or 99 days old, I would need all the pars, and sometimes it wasn't good enough. And this occured often, whereas Astra, I would get some stuff that is 150+ days with NO issues, or just need one par to fill it.
Don't judge it on one download, test it out with some other stuff.

[Azxster]

Could I get a newzbin invite... I have nothing to trade except for a demonoid invite.

[chestyleroux]

You can use a free usenet search engine like ********* to generate NZB files.

From what I've read, the only difference between newzbin & ********* is the "watchdog" feature, but I've never used newzbin before, so there could be more.

I've found ********* to be a pretty good/cheap alternative so far.

[chadw01]

You can use a free usenet search engine like ********* to generate NZB files.

From what I've read, the only difference between newzbin & ********* is the "watchdog" feature, but I've never used newzbin before, so there could be more.

I've found ********* to be a pretty good/cheap alternative so far.

+1

http://*********.com/

[Unibomber]

http://www.*********.info is good also

i gave up http://www.megabitz.net of 2 years for astraweb and so far so good

[TheRequiem]

Cancelled my GN account yesterday after signing up for Astra and testing it.

With the recent downturn in the dollar exchange, GN was costing $32/mo, and Astra is now only $14. I was sad to lose the GN retention, but it wasn't enough to justify the huge price premium anymore.

[Azxster]

Does anyone else have trouble connecting with SSL?

[SAN66]

Does anyone else have trouble connecting with SSL?

Had when I first set it up. Be sure you setup your client to use the proper ports, 443 is a good one. Oh and use secure.news.astraweb.com.

[akbar_k]

Anyone try subscribing to this with a Vanilla Mastercard or any other prepaid Visa/Mastercard?

Thanks

[Frankie3s]

Just switched back to Newshosting for another year and will try again with Astraweb later. I liked the fact that they (Astraweb) supported compressed headers and that Newsbin handled this fine but I found they didn't have a lot of the newsgroups that I use.

I know I could make a request to have these groups added. Hopefully, they will manually update their newsgroups on their own. Very professional though. They canceled my account and issued me a refund promptly (you must cancel within 24 hours).

I would still recommend Astraweb to anyone considering them as a Usenet provider.

[buzz_kill]

Has anyone had trouble connecting to the secure server?

[Keops]

No not at all.

Keops2008

[adblink182]

Has anyone had trouble connecting to the secure server?

not in the least. use it every day :)

its changed my life :D lol

[Curatio]

If anyone needs a Newzbin invitation, I have one available. I am looking to trade for a Demonoid invitation only.

Please PM me if interested. Thanks.


Update: Already traded. Thanks.

[bestknightmare]

what exactly is this? I am reading their site and still dont know what is the service they are trying to sell lol

[mark_in_2k]

what exactly is this? I am reading their site and still dont know what is the service they are trying to sell lolIf you don't know, you probably don't need it... and if you do get it, you'll be hooked!!

It's a way of acquiring all manner of things. Best thing is to Google "what are newsgroups".

[xg3]

best 11 bucks i ever spend.

[kingfencer]

are we allowed to share the 20 connections with our friends? anyone with unlimited want to share with me? of course i will split the cost as long as its not against terms of service.

[sz1999]

My two cent observation: completion rate on Aastraweb is much worse than powerusenet, before I rarely need par file, now it consistantly bug me to repair, considering to switch back.

[Decile]

are we allowed to share the 20 connections with our friends? anyone with unlimited want to share with me? of course i will split the cost as long as its not against terms of service.

Nope, that's 20 simultaneous connections "threads" that they're talking about. Sharing your account with another ip address is likely to get your account cancelled I'm afraid >:(

[HKPolice]

I have a newzbin invite for trade as well, looking for demonoid or any other good private sites.

[brucedlx]

ngroups.net now also has 160 days retention for 11.99/mth

I'm still on there 9.99/mth plan from years ago when they had oktoberfest lol

[hub714]

My two cent observation: completion rate on Aastraweb is much worse than powerusenet, before I rarely need par file, now it consistantly bug me to repair, considering to switch back.

You can have your 2 cents back. I haven't needed to use many par files. No more than I used to while using newshosting, giganews, or UNS. I switched from my UNS account and this has been great =) Thanks OP!

[Mendes]

I've got some newzbin invites.

If you have more then say 250 posts and need one, PM me.

edit: Thanks to samson "I was able to signup on that site without an invite. maybe they have opened it up? " Give it a shot

[joekdo]

Thanks to the OP from months ago lol. Seriously these newsgroups have made all the difference for me, so very, very fast!

Also FYI:

While these aren`t as good as newzbin, they are completely free and don`t require invites:

- *********.info is one of the best that I know

[mlc2000]

Merlins Portal is an excellent resource for NZB as well.

[TheRequiem]

Newzbin has been hurting this week due to the legal action against them.
Many reports (mostly TV) are being pulled from search results to comply with take-down notices while the lawyers do their thing.

You'll find that some TV shows that should have hundreds of results will have none or just a couple very recent ones.

The reports can still be viewed if you search for the files in raw usenet index, then click the report link, but it's a bit of a pain in the ass.

[Carbo]

How does this compare with Powerusenet currently?

Worth the $4/mo savings?

[TheRequiem]

How does this compare with Powerusenet currently?

Worth the $4/mo savings?

I was with Giganews for a long time. The only shortcoming of Astraweb is the retention. There have been no other completion, connection or speed issues.
And on retention, AW beats power, so I would say yes, you should switch.
Plus AW includes SSL for free. GN and PU both charge an extra 5/mo for it.

[kingfencer]

newzbin and merlins portal, any other good sites to find nzbs?

[JAC]

newzbin and merlins portal, any other good sites to find nzbs?

http://nzbmatrix.com/

[Frankie3s]

http://nzbmatrix.com/

Thank you, very useful!

[vomer]

Hey guys,

I am new to this whole usenet thing but I have heard that there are a lot of good files and downloads available on it.

I have 2 questions:

1) Can someone explain in a simple way how this usenet works, what retention is all about etc.

2) What is the best place for starters? Seems like astraweb's deal is nice? I was looking at this link someone provided here: nzbmatrix.com, is that a usenet site that lets you download stuff? What "software" is used to download these files?

Thanks.

[Terrific_Deals2k8]

download this program called Alt.binz (it's like your bitcomet or bittorrent application), then use sites such as nzbmatrix.com (similar to isohunt for torrenting) etc... to find the files you want to download.

You can do all of this for free. The catch is, you only can download files that are Up To 20 days old. So it's excellent for new material, but if you want to also d/l old files then you need to pay a membership fee on NZBMatrix or most of the other usenet websites. Cheers and have fun!

[vomer]

download this program called Alt.binz (it's like your bitcomet or bittorrent application), then use sites such as nzbmatrix.com (similar to isohunt for torrenting) etc... to find the files you want to download.

You can do all of this for free. The catch is, you only can download files that are Up To 20 days old. So it's excellent for new material, but if you want to also d/l old files then you need to pay a membership fee on NZBMatrix or most of the other usenet websites. Cheers and have fun!

ok i get it now. 1 more question :

When you mean "get it for free" I still need like a paid account from astraweb right?

[Battscrew]

ok i get it now. 1 more question :

When you mean "get it for free" I still need like a paid account from astraweb right?

Chances are yes, unless your ISP has any decent retention rates

[vomer]

Chances are yes, unless your ISP has any decent retention rates
one more question:

if we need to pay for astraweb... they give us 160 day retention. Why do we need to pay site like nzbmatrix for retention again? Please explain

[cmackie]

Slyck.com (http://www.slyck.com/Newsgroups_Guide) has a good introduction guide to using newsgroups. I'm just starting to play around with it today.

[da_hool]

one more question:

if we need to pay for astraweb... they give us 160 day retention. Why do we need to pay site like nzbmatrix for retention again? Please explain

Nzbmatrix is a newsgroup indexing service that simplifies the download/searching of postings on newsgroups. You download 1 file (that has an .nzb extension) and let your newsgroup client do the rest of the work. The free Nzbmatrix account lets you download .nzb's up to 20 days old.

With that being said, you still need a newsgroup server such as Astraweb to actually download the postings.

[Battscrew]

one more question:

if we need to pay for astraweb... they give us 160 day retention. Why do we need to pay site like nzbmatrix for retention again? Please explain

it groups nzbs together by type makes it easier to search for the different format types - or for free you can try *********.nfo

[vomer]

it groups nzbs together by type makes it easier to search for the different format types - or for free you can try *********.nfo

ahh I see. ********* is not as accurate as nzb though. Interesting none the less. Any cheap and good indexing engines you recommend (i prefer paypal accepting)?

[Kuurgen]

Thanks OP, just left Newshosting, which I feel guilty about, because the service has been top notch there.

But the 150 days of retention, plus the lower fee did it for me.

On another note, I've never ever had to pay for an nzb membership, there are tons of free nzb sites out there, my current favorite being nzbs.org

[magical]

After using the service for a few months, I'm goin back to powerusenet, as I'd rather spend a little more and have no problems. Some completion issues, and header issues, plus some bandwidth issues... would rather switch back and have zero problems.

[Digital_Domain]

http://nzbmatrix.com/
I hate that site.

Here's my list:
General browsing - https://www.*********.com/
*to browse posts requires you to signup but it's well worth it, been having server issues lately, WARNING: Has NSFW section
Searching - https://www.*********.info/
TV episodes (1st choice) - https://tvbinz.net/collections.php
TV episodes (2nd choice) - http://www.tvnzb.com/

Keep sharing your NZB sites people.

Some completion issues, and header issues, plus some bandwidth issues... would rather switch back and have zero problems.
I'm sorry to hear that. Haven't had any completion issues that pars couldn't fix and I don't deal with headers so I can't comment on that. I'm curious about your bandwidth issues though. I've pulled 5.1MB/s easily so that's why I ask (I found at home Rogers had over loaded my node and that's why I was getting below par speeds).

[rEDSpider]

after being a giganews user for the last 3 years I switched to this offer about 3 weeks ago. While its not giganews, it is still very good. At first it was hard to get used to the 160 day retention but at half the price and SSL included I am more than happy.

I'm capped at 600KB/s, what kinda speeds are you guys getting?

[Flix3r]

after being a giganews user for the last 3 years I switched to this offer about 3 weeks ago. While its not giganews, it is still very good. At first it was hard to get used to the 160 day retention but at half the price and SSL included I am more than happy.

I'm capped at 600KB/s, what kinda speeds are you guys getting?

Ive hit above 2 mb/s...

Maybe allow more connections or use SSL as your ISP may be throttling your bandwidth.

[StoneColdWhat]

I hate that site.

Here's my list:
General browsing - https://www.*********.com/
*to browse posts requires you to signup but it's well worth it, been having server issues lately, WARNING: Has NSFW section
Searching - https://www.*********.info/
TV episodes (1st choice) - https://tvbinz.net/collections.php
TV episodes (2nd choice) - http://www.tvnzb.com/

Keep sharing your NZB sites people.

I'm sorry to hear that. Haven't had any completion issues that pars couldn't fix and I don't deal with headers so I can't comment on that. I'm curious about your bandwidth issues though. I've pulled 5.1MB/s easily so that's why I ask (I found at home Rogers had over loaded my node and that's why I was getting below par speeds).

you mean 5.1mb/s.

[rEDSpider]

Ive hit above 2 mb/s...

Maybe allow more connections or use SSL as your ISP may be throttling your bandwidth.

I can max out at 600KB/s with 2 connections w/SSL. I am being throttled but dont mind too much at about 1TB/month, 95% of the time I am downloading something

[Flix3r]

I can max out at 600KB/s with 2 connections w/SSL. I am being throttled but dont mind too much at about 1TB/month, 95% of the time I am downloading something

Thats intense downloading! But yeah, I get very good speeds from Astraweb. It maxes my connection also. Also depends on when during the day but at night I get above 1.5 MB/s

[Digital_Domain]

you mean 5.1mb/s.
No, it's not a typo. I mean 5.1MB/s as in ~41Mbps or ~5200kB/s.

Recent download:


Stage Download
[Time-Taken]: 1 minute 18 seconds
[Avg-Speed]: 4713kB/s

[IceQue]

WOW thats fasstt!!!

[JustPass]

Does anyone know how long time it need to switch ISP from Bell to another DSL?

I hate no internet at home, If no internet, I don't know what to do!

[bellamr]

No, it's not a typo. I mean 5.1MB/s as in ~41Mbps or ~5200kB/s.

Recent download:


Stage Download
[Time-Taken]: 1 minute 18 seconds
[Avg-Speed]: 4713kB/s

Who is you ISP?

[look30]

I hate no internet at home, If no internet, I don't know what to do!

Go out , enjoy the weather ... make friends :)

[TurboRegal]

I'm loving this over using torrents, everything is so much quicker!!

My speeds seem to be capped at around 1200Kb/sec, but I'm more than happy with that!

[temporary user]

Off Topic: Is it worth getting a subscription with newzbin now that they seem to be dying off?
They opened up registrations and have half price topups. (never been with them before)

[zod]

Off Topic: Is it worth getting a subscription with newzbin now that they seem to be dying off?
They opened up registrations and have half price topups. (never been with them before)

I renewed, but I've been using them for about 5 years, and it looks like they're dealing with litigation, so I topped up full well knowing I might not actually get my whole year's worth.

I think its a tossup whether or not they'll remain open one year from now. It's still a pretty good site, but theres others that aren't quite as good but do the trick. nzbrus.com nzbmatrix.com

[Mendes]

Off Topic: Is it worth getting a subscription with newzbin now that they seem to be dying off?
They opened up registrations and have half price topups. (never been with them before)

May want to start a separate thread for that. A lot of people wait on it. Its a bit early this year as its usually closer to Christmas.

Myself being 1 of those who was waiting.

Edit just checking out my account "Credit 10.3 days" so looks like its about a week or so earlier than last year

[vomer]

I renewed, but I've been using them for about 5 years, and it looks like they're dealing with litigation, so I topped up full well knowing I might not actually get my whole year's worth.

I think its a tossup whether or not they'll remain open one year from now. It's still a pretty good site, but theres others that aren't quite as good but do the trick. nzbrus.com nzbmatrix.com

can you explain how newzbin is better than nzbmatrix or others?

[MacBuster]

looks like the servers AND website are down.

Seems fishy.

[Kuurgen]

Yup, thought I saw somebody mention another ip to use, came back to check this thread.

[MacBuster]

Yup, thought I saw somebody mention another ip to use, came back to check this thread.

if you find it please post it here, thanks.

[Kuurgen]

All of a sudden I'm regretting leaving newshosting

[MacBuster]

All of a sudden I'm regretting leaving newshosting

I've had some issues cropping with with astraweb in the last couple of months. More than I've ever had. It's annoying.

I'm not willing to save $5 in exchange for crappy service.

[Hunmeow]

The website is down. :(

[Kuurgen]

Yeah, looks like their servers are down,

I tried 208.67.220.220 as mentioned in this thread, but no luck there either.

[taliosfalcon]

I probably d/l about 90 gigs a month off of newsgroups, and there's only been one day, for a period of about 4 hours i've had issues with astraweb. I couldn't be happier with the price/retention/performance ratio

edit: and i'm not sure which servers you guys are referring to? i've been using the astraweb ssl server all day with no issues, its running right now.

[KelvinK]

Yeah, looks like their servers are down,

I tried 208.67.220.220 as mentioned in this thread, but no luck there either.

it just came back up..
my top gear dl was at 0.00 for about 30 min and just started on its own

[Flix3r]

Guys, try these:

216.151.153.34 (No SSL - Im connected to it and its working)

216.151.153.73 (has SSL - havent tried it)

[vomer]

Site and server working fine here, might have been a small hickup or DNS issue?

Offtopic:
What sorts of things do you guys enjoy downloading via usenet? I have recently started so I dont know what sorts of things are good to download other than shows and movies lol

[Flix3r]

Website is working again...everything seems to be back to normal. Lets go download guys!

[brucedlx]

Site and server working fine here, might have been a small hickup or DNS issue?

Offtopic:
What sorts of things do you guys enjoy downloading via usenet? I have recently started so I dont know what sorts of things are good to download other than shows and movies lol

Anime, Comp. Programs, PC Games, Console Video Games, Roms, Books, Music, I think they have a pr0n site too.

[TypeVR6]

Anime, Comp. Programs, PC Games, Console Video Games, Roms, Books, Music, I think they have a pr0n site too.

Oh you pirate you!

I just post and read news ;)

[Flix3r]

Oh you pirate you!

I just post and read news ;)

Of course, thats why we get an unlimited account :D

[adblink182]

in the last few months, no problems whats so ever

newsleecher+supersearch service ftw.

[Flix3r]

Good news! I just read Astraweb is upgrading retention to 270 days!

Will update OP

Source (http://helpdesk.astraweb.com/index.php?_m=news&_a=viewnews&newsid=12)

[Acuratl]

Good news! I just read Astraweb is upgrading retention to 270 days!

Will update OP

Source (http://helpdesk.astraweb.com/index.php?_m=news&_a=viewnews&newsid=12)


Right on, i have a feeling I'll be with Astraweb for a long long time especially since they say they won't raise their rates :) 270 days woot!

[rEDSpider]

they would increase it! I just switched back to giganews due to retention!!!

[flatface]

Holy crap, this is awesome news. I switched over to Astraweb a few months ago and I've been very happy... This is even better news!

I've been able to peak at about 9.5 megabytes per second with them at the local university. Not megabits, megabytes. That's got to be the best thing about 8am classes.

[EEE2]

Excellent service, makes me so happy. The service is great, no one can offer us a better price per month for such a good service. Only one IP and it makes sense to me.
Thank you

[ovexi]

I am very happy with the service as well. No issues so far.

[Derringdo]

Wow, 270 days? That sounds a little too good to be true. Has anyone tested it to find the true retention?

[Pseudo Nim]

Holy crap, if they really do 270 days, they will murder Giganews. My only regret has so far been the retention, as 160 days is quite short for certain things (I'm a lazy downloader, + some random things are way too rarely posted). But this would be awesome!

[Parps]

Oh you pirate you!

I just post and read news ;)

I'm sure he's just downloading backups of stuff he already legally owns ;)

[Pseudo Nim]

I'm sure he's just downloading backups of stuff he already legally owns ;)

<insert mandatory comment about lots of open source software being posted to usenet>

<insert mandatory comeback on lack of necessity to pay $15/month to download software available for free elsewhere>

<insert mandatory third person screaming "WAREZZZZZZZZZZZ">

[rharasem]

YAY i can finally cancel my giganews account!!!!

[hub714]

I'm not sure if someone mentioned this already, but they're upgradING to 270 days. Right now it's still around 160.

[Kris81]

Just a question - how do you all use more than 200day retention? My newsleecher supersearch only looks back 200 days. How can i get more then that?


As well i'm with usenetserver.com & have been paying $39 every 3 months for the last couple of years. I download at about a meg a second, have 10 connections, and even though their website says 120 day retention, i'm able to download files released over 190 days ago.

No complaints at all with their service.

[hub714]

I've never been able to dl anything over 120 days from UNS. Which is why I switched. I also download at a meg per second, using 8 connections. I would download faster if my harddrive was faster. At school I can usually hit 4MB/s or 5, depending on where I am. 4MB/s not Mb/s.

[Kris81]

Okay, but how do people even see stuff released over 200 days ago?

[YLSF]

This was probably posted earlier in the thread but for those that just want to use usenet to supplement what they can't find elsewhere, you might want to consider just buying a "block" of bandwidth credit. I bought mine from here:

http://usenet-news.net/index1.php?url=get

I have also bought from Astraweb in the past.


The good thing about usenet-news.net is that they have a referal program and if someone enters your referal code you get the same amount of bandwidth as they buy. I randomly got 1 gig added to my account a month or so ago and I have no idea where the guy guy my referal ID from!

[zod]

I don't think they're at 270 days yet, they're going to upgrade to 270 days. I got the feeling it would be a gradual process. The website still says 160 days.

Thought some people coming from giganews might want some clarification, because its not 270 days yet, and I'd hate to see them upset if they switched now.

I wonder If they'll just keep adding to the existing headers IE. If 160 days ago is day 1. Then instead of it getting deleted from the server tomorrow, they just keep adding retention 1 day at a time for about 110 days until it gets to 270.

[Nizer20]

Just cancelled my giganews and started using astraweb. Was downloading at 8MB/s on 20 concurrent connections.

[Eldorado]

I don't think they're at 270 days yet, they're going to upgrade to 270 days. I got the feeling it would be a gradual process. The website still says 160 days.

Thought some people coming from giganews might want some clarification, because its not 270 days yet, and I'd hate to see them upset if they switched now.

I wonder If they'll just keep adding to the existing headers IE. If 160 days ago is day 1. Then instead of it getting deleted from the server tomorrow, they just keep adding retention 1 day at a time for about 110 days until it gets to 270.

There's no way for them (easy way) to backfill the previous 110 days to automatically get them 270, so what they do is add the capacity and let it fill until they have reached their 270 day capacity

[Pseudo Nim]

There's no way for them (easy way) to backfill the previous 110 days to automatically get them 270, so what they do is add the capacity and let it fill until they have reached their 270 day capacity

Yep pretty much, since they won't go and start downloading past days from other news servers. Basically, they will install a bunch of extra storage, and stuff that is 160 days old will simply not get deleted (unlike before), until the new storage fills up.

[SAN66]

This was probably posted earlier in the thread but for those that just want to use usenet to supplement what they can't find elsewhere, you might want to consider just buying a "block" of bandwidth credit. I bought mine from here:

http://usenet-news.net/index1.php?url=get

I have also bought from Astraweb in the past.


The good thing about usenet-news.net is that they have a referal program and if someone enters your referal code you get the same amount of bandwidth as they buy. I randomly got 1 gig added to my account a month or so ago and I have no idea where the guy guy my referal ID from!

Other than the referral thing the 120GB/$25 is a better deal at Astraweb.

I don't know how people download so much personally. A good quality HD TV show compressed is about 1.5gb, movie is about 4gb.

Most of the folk I know simply build up collections and don't watch half of what they download. If you have rogers or another capped service its in your best interest to buy by bandwidth instead of unlimited monthly as you'll either go over your bandwidth limit or be paying more for a limit you can never achieve.

[Menace]

You will be surprised how many people find that HD pron can be very additive :cheesygri:D



I don't know how people download so much personally. A good quality HD TV show compressed is about 1.5gb, movie is about 4gb.

[nosnoop]

Newshosting has also upgraded their server to 250 days retention. And this would be across the board for all their price plans (instead of longer retention for XL vs unlimited). The build up will be gradual as they fill the server day by day until it reaches 250.

[Bordello]

270 days retention is good news, but it won't be ready any time soon. I still have trouble getting stuff that's past 150 days.

[slomo]

Okay, but how do people even see stuff released over 200 days ago?

Downloading 200 days worth of headers that of no use other than what are at the end of that 200 days heap is no fun, and they may not be viewable, but if you have the nzb file from of the nzb database sites, you can download the files you want that way.

[dreamaz]

just out of curiousity.. since i switched to astraweb from newshosting, i do get about 900kb/s however, there are moments when it drops to half that

when i look at the newsleecher graphs, i can see it does that quite often.. never had this problem with UNS and NWH before..

I'm using SSL

[rinse]

Downloading 200 days worth of headers that of no use other than what are at the end of that 200 days heap is no fun, and they may not be viewable, but if you have the nzb file from of the nzb database sites, you can download the files you want that way.

newzbin.com is great for this, for a nominal amount that you can topup as you wish.

[-=MK=-]

Okay, but how do people even see stuff released over 200 days ago?

*********.info - 240 days.

[magical]

The Price is right, but the quality isn't as good as giganews and powerusenet (giganews reseller but less retention).

I jumped at the $11 price, but I did find some issues with incomplete posts and a little downtime, but by no means does this kill the price, it was a little of a inconvenience, but nothing major, I just noticed when manually updating headers that some stuff just wouldn't be there.

For this reason I'd rather pay the double and go with giganews, also I had a few connection related issues that you just don't get with giganews.

Still a Great deal and by far the BEST for the price, so thanks OP for the opportunity to check em out at such a great price.

[Kuurgen]

It seems Newshosting, has noticed a drop in customers, they do an exit survey upon cancellation and the reason I put was Astraweb.



Here's a press release i just got from newshosting:

Newshosting Doubling Retention to 250 Days, Expanding Member Benefits

January 1, 2009 -- Newshosting announced today a massive increase in Usenet
newsgroup storage capacity to an unprecedented 250 days of binary
retention. Newshosting also announced expanded member benefits for
Newshosting Unlimited and Newshosting Lite plan members.

Retention for NHXL and Newshosting Lite plan members is currently 150 days
and will be growing day by day to a full 250 days. Retention for
Newshosting Unlimited members has already grown beyond the promised 110
days and will continue to grow to a full 250 days. All existing
Newshosting members will automatically have access to this increased
retention without any increase in price or changes to their newsreader
configuration.

Expanded benefits for Newshosting Unlimited and Newshosting Lite members
are also provided without any increase in price. The Newshosting Unlimited
plan has increased simultaneous connections by 50% to 12 connections. The
Newshosting Lite plan is doubling members' download allotment to 20
gigabytes per month.

With 250 days of retention and expanded plan benefits, Newshosting
continues to be the leading, premier Usenet newsgroup provider to watch in
2009.


About Newshosting

Newshosting is the world¹s leading premium Usenet service provider. An
industry leader in service reliability and speed, Newshosting is committed
to constant improvement of its member experience.

For more information about Newshosting and its offerings, please visit
http://www.newshosting.com/

[JAC]

It seems Newshosting, has noticed a drop in customers, they do an exit survey upon cancellation and the reason I put was Astraweb.

Got the same email. I left Newshosting for Power Usenet for a while, then came the Astraweb deal. Astraweb is still cheaper, and I'm quite pleased with the service.

[gameboy115]

I dun understand what services this company is providing. is it like rogers / bell?

I am about to change my internet provider this month, can anyone help me ?

Could I just use this services for normal surfing or downloading from Megaupload etc??

[flaming homer]

I dun understand what services this company is providing. is it like rogers / bell?

I am about to change my internet provider this month, can anyone help me ?

Could I just use this services for normal surfing or downloading from Megaupload etc??
Usenet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet)is not ISP, you're looking at the wrong service

[tienm23]

I dun understand what services this company is providing. is it like rogers / bell?

I am about to change my internet provider this month, can anyone help me ?

Could I just use this services for normal surfing or downloading from Megaupload etc??

No usenet is quite different. This link will answer any questions you may have

http://tinyurl.com/82222w

[Acuratl]

I use usenet for communicating with my friends on many forums..:razz:

[StoneColdWhat]

Still says 160 on the website, I tried to get something that was 250 days and couldn't.

[Acuratl]

Still says 160 on the website, I tried to get something that was 250 days and couldn't.

Well if you think of it, it would take minimum 90 days to build up the retention..160+90

[rinottawa]

The Price is right, but the quality isn't as good as giganews and powerusenet (giganews reseller but less retention).

I jumped at the $11 price, but I did find some issues with incomplete posts and a little downtime, but by no means does this kill the price, it was a little of a inconvenience, but nothing major, I just noticed when manually updating headers that some stuff just wouldn't be there.

For this reason I'd rather pay the double and go with giganews, also I had a few connection related issues that you just don't get with giganews.

Still a Great deal and by far the BEST for the price, so thanks OP for the opportunity to check em out at such a great price.

I signed up with astraweb 5 months ago, but I still don't know what newsgroup is used for. Could you share your experience with me like why and how you use newsgroups?

[hub714]

Wait, are you serious? 5 months ago? $55 USD down the drain and you don't know how to use the alt.bin section?

You need to read up on usenet and downloading. That's what you should do.

You can download all sorts of usefull things on usenet. That's the main reason why people would sign up for an unlimited account.

[rinottawa]

Wait, are you serious? 5 months ago? $55 USD down the drain and you don't know how to use the alt.bin section?

You need to read up on usenet and downloading. That's what you should do.

You can download all sorts of usefull things on usenet. That's the main reason why people would sign up for an unlimited account.

I know I can download stuff from newsgroup, but I can not find anything interesting from astraweb. To make things worse, I don't know how to cancel it.:cry:

[komal]

I know I can download stuff from newsgroup, but I can not find anything interesting from astraweb. To make things worse, I don't know how to cancel it.:cry:

You create a support ticket and include your account number.

They state so on their site.

FAQ.

http://helpdesk.astraweb.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=19

You need help using the internet.

[rinottawa]

You create a support ticket and include your account number.

They state so on their site.

FAQ.

http://helpdesk.astraweb.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=19

You need help using the internet.

Thank you komal!

[StoneColdWhat]

I know I can download stuff from newsgroup, but I can not find anything interesting from astraweb. To make things worse, I don't know how to cancel it.:cry:

You just dont know where to look for both things.

[Acuratl]

Looks like Usenetserver.com also noticed the loss of customers.

PRESS RELEASE
UseNetServer Expands Usenet Newsgroup Retention


January 6, 2009 -- UseNetServer has expanded Usenet newsgroup retention for its customers from 101 days to 125 days, the company announced today. Customers in all service plans can now access this increased retention without any configuration changes and without any additional cost.

UseNetServer High Speed Plus customers can use up to 20 connections to download at maximum speed. All UseNetServer customers can connect securely with SSL and all customers can use UsenetServer.s unique GlobalSearch feature to search within each newsgroup.

UseNetServer plans start as low as $3/3 days for short term accounts or $13.32/month for the 3 month pre-pay plans.

About UseNetServer

UseNetServer is a long-time leader in premium Usenet newsgroup access. Benefiting from over 50 years of combined Usenet experience in their operations team, the company continues to grow and offer new features to its customers.

More information about UseNetServer and the services offered is available at http://www.usenetserver.com/

###

Thank You
UNS Staff

[IceQue]

i signed up with astraweb 5 months ago, but i still don't know what newsgroup is used for. Could you share your experience with me like why and how you use newsgroups?

fail.

[rain]

Unlimited DSL - US$ 11 every month

Is that an ISP? How come it says unlimited DSL.

[StoneColdWhat]

Looks like Usenetserver.com also noticed the loss of customers.

PRESS RELEASE
UseNetServer Expands Usenet Newsgroup Retention


January 6, 2009 -- UseNetServer has expanded Usenet newsgroup retention for its customers from 101 days to 125 days, the company announced today. Customers in all service plans can now access this increased retention without any configuration changes and without any additional cost.

UseNetServer High Speed Plus customers can use up to 20 connections to download at maximum speed. All UseNetServer customers can connect securely with SSL and all customers can use UsenetServer.s unique GlobalSearch feature to search within each newsgroup.

UseNetServer plans start as low as $3/3 days for short term accounts or $13.32/month for the 3 month pre-pay plans.

About UseNetServer

UseNetServer is a long-time leader in premium Usenet newsgroup access. Benefiting from over 50 years of combined Usenet experience in their operations team, the company continues to grow and offer new features to its customers.

More information about UseNetServer and the services offered is available at http://www.usenetserver.com/

###

Thank You
UNS Staff

Very not impressive.


Unlimited DSL - US$ 11 every month

Is that an ISP? How come it says unlimited DSL.

Not an isp. Not sure what DSL says for.. Download S.... Limit ?

[Trigger]

Just signed up. Very impressed so far.

Less than half the price of Giganews. Nice :)

[superfigz]

fail.

I lol'd

[HKPolice]

Does anyone know if newhosting.com still allows multiple IP simultaneous connections?

[Gee]

Unlimited DSL - US$ 11 every month

Is that an ISP? How come it says unlimited DSL.

Unlimited DSL means you get full DSL / Cable speed. If you just sign up for unlimited, you will get 1 Meg transfer speeds.

[ceeatch]

newzbin.com is great for this, for a nominal amount that you can topup as you wish.

Except it's invite only.

[zod]

Except it's invite only.

They'res also freebie sites like

nzbrus.com or nzbmatrix.com that let you download zipped nzb's for free. I think nzbrus limits you to 5 nzb's a day.. but its free.

Also *********.info is a great website for searching all of usenet.. in raw form, and can create nzb's.

[IceQue]

They'res also freebie sites like

nzbrus.com or nzbmatrix.com that let you download zipped nzb's for free. I think nzbrus limits you to 5 nzb's a day.. but its free.

Also *********.info is a great website for searching all of usenet.. in raw form, and can create nzb's.

I joined nzbrus.com. I paid $10 for a full unlimited membership. Its paid itself 100x over for all the times Ive used it.

[akademiks]

kinda wish I didn't waste my money on a rapidshare account...
Oh well...I'll be fine until September.

[nfuz]

Does anyone know if newhosting.com still allows multiple IP simultaneous connections?

Yes

been using it for 3 years with several people in diff countries :)

Got a few warnings, but never did anything about it

[ceeatch]

how long did it take to setup your account (with astra)?

[wonderboy]

this question might sound stupid but the downloads from newsgroups still count towards your bandwitdh limit right?

bell's 60 gig limit ftl :(

[entity]

this question might sound stupid but the downloads from newsgroups still count towards your bandwitdh limit right?

bell's 60 gig limit ftl :(

yep, they count towards the limit
also
www.acanac.ca :) (or teksavvy)
i've actually gone over 800GB in less than a month with not a peep from Acanac

[wonderboy]

yep, they count towards the limit
also
www.acanac.ca :) (or teksavvy)
i've actually gone over 800GB in less than a month with not a peep from Acanac

i would switch in a heartbeat... i moved into my place after my roommate, and he says that he had it for long, and he's bundled with everythin at bell so he doesn't wanna switch.. i'm movin out at the end of the school term anyways...

and the guy is def. not a RFDer, as you can see that he has a bundle with bell lol

[wonderboy]

yep, they count towards the limit
also
www.acanac.ca :) (or teksavvy)
i've actually gone over 800GB in less than a month with not a peep from Acanac

also can you use the acanac or teksavvy without an active phone line?

[ceeatch]

also can you use the acanac or teksavvy without an active phone line?

Yes. Look for Naked DSL or Dry Loop.

[ibby]

Does Astraweb allow multiple IP simultaneous connections?

[ceeatch]

Does Astraweb allow multiple IP simultaneous connections?

Short answer: No.

[joelones]

yep, they count towards the limit
also
www.acanac.ca :) (or teksavvy)
i've actually gone over 800GB in less than a month with not a peep from Acanac

I am just wondering, what client you're using and if it works correctly with Acanac's Tunnelier program? What is your speed like?

Edit: I just realized that astraweb provides SSL so using a Tunnel program is unnecessary.

[ceeatch]

Can anyone chime with the time it took with getting their account setup after signing up?

[flatface]

Can anyone chime with the time it took with getting their account setup after signing up?

Instant for me.

[ceeatch]

Instant for me.

So did you get a follow up email or what?

edit: If I go to the members page and drop my email address in under 'forgot password' I get no email address exists.

[georgiee]

seems to me like this guy's singing is similar to this deal!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eyd916SK5E

[nick98]

seems to me like this guy's singing is similar to this deal!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eyd916SK5E

you mean sweet?

[georgiee]

i unno... u think the dude's singing is sweet?

[mlc2000]

Does Astraweb allow multiple IP simultaneous connections?

Usenetserver.com allows multiple IP's.
They only have 125 Days Retention but I want new files, not old files.
If it was out on usenet 250 days ago, chances are good I got it then.

I've been sharing a usenet acct with 2 friends for a year.
Its $40/3 months for unlimited. Thats like $4/mo each.

[StoneColdWhat]

I wonder when they're going to finish upgrading to 270 days ? Mines still sitting at 150ish.

[inocent]

I wonder when they're going to finish upgrading to 270 days ? Mines still sitting at 150ish.

It's going to take 110 days .. I can get stuff at 166 already

[rvd]

Good deal.:arrowd:

[flatface]

So did you get a follow up email or what?

edit: If I go to the members page and drop my email address in under 'forgot password' I get no email address exists.

Now that I checked my e-mail archives, I don't think I got a confirmation from Astraweb; I only see 2co (their cc merch) e-mails. Nothing with my password... But I'm pretty sure either there was a printable receipt, or the info I gave them "just worked".

But if they don't even have your e-mail on file, you should send them a ticket.

[seL]

Just signed up for the Unlimited plan. Seems consistent so far but DAMN it's slow. I think I'm going to be canceling and upgrading to the Unlimited DSL.

[ceeatch]

Now that I checked my e-mail archives, I don't think I got a confirmation from Astraweb; I only see 2co (their cc merch) e-mails. Nothing with my password... But I'm pretty sure either there was a printable receipt, or the info I gave them "just worked".

But if they don't even have your e-mail on file, you should send them a ticket.

Thanks for info.

[ceeatch]

Just signed up for the Unlimited plan. Seems consistent so far but DAMN it's slow. I think I'm going to be canceling and upgrading to the Unlimited DSL.

Unlimited is only 1MBit.. no wonder it's slow lol.

[seL]

Unlimited is only 1MBit.. no wonder it's slow lol.

I figured I'd be able to open a few connections though, I guess I read wrong lol.

[vomi]

I just signed up for this

so far it's maxing out my horrible little connection

thanks OP

[xscorpio]

here is the speed that i get from newsgroups, sorry had to edit few things out for legal purposes :)

http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/9369/newsgrouppic5tewp3.jpg

[mydssbin]

anyone have any experiences with http://www.ngindex.com?

[ceeatch]

So I signed up on Saturday. My account still isn't created and my ticket is still open with no reply. Is this normal with astraweb?

[inocent]

So I signed up on Saturday. My account still isn't created and my ticket is still open with no reply. Is this normal with astraweb?

No .. did you use paypal? .. I know someone else who had trouble with this .. once you hit pay it should redirect you back to astraweb to make a login/password .. if it didn't .. I suggest canceling the subscription from paypal and trying again

[Arzadon03]

here is the speed that i get from newsgroups, sorry had to edit few things out for legal purposes :)



wow how fast is your internet connection? lol are you on residence or something?

I can only manage around 2mb/s tops.

[hoho87]

can some1 explain to me what type of "information" i can obtain from usenet through pm...hehe thanks

[duckdown]

can some1 explain to me what type of "information" i can obtain from usenet through pm...hehe thanks

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_p5PsAaN5d0Y/SV-B6_3WE8I/AAAAAAAAAJs/gQ5KImMuVM0/s800/122624214316%5B1%5D.jpg

[Kaitlyn]

It looks like I am maxing out my router (WRT54G)... getting 2mb/s and router load is 100% :(

[Emancipated]

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_p5PsAaN5d0Y/SV-B6_3WE8I/AAAAAAAAAJs/gQ5KImMuVM0/s800/122624214316%5B1%5D.jpg

:confused::lol:

[ceeatch]

No .. did you use paypal? .. I know someone else who had trouble with this .. once you hit pay it should redirect you back to astraweb to make a login/password .. if it didn't .. I suggest canceling the subscription from paypal and trying again

Hrmm thanks for the clarification. I figured something went wrong. I should be more vigilant when using Chrome. I've had issues before with some things. I used my CC directly.

[shawn99]

It looks like I am maxing out my router (WRT54G)... getting 2mb/s and router load is 100% :(



That's fast, who is the internet provider?

[Kaitlyn]

That's fast, who is the internet provider?

Telus - 100mbit (in other words, I should be able to reach much faster speeds... but my setup does not allow me to easily bypass the router...

[xscorpio]

Telus - 100mbit (in other words, I should be able to reach much faster speeds... but my setup does not allow me to easily bypass the router...

is this for resident or cooperation line? i am 100000000% sure that no ISP in Canada has anything over 20Mb/s line for resident :)

i think bell have 25Mb/s fiber line for home I THINK....

[Kaitlyn]

is this for resident or cooperation line? i am 100000000% sure that no ISP in Canada has anything over 20Mb/s line for resident :)

i think bell have 25Mb/s fiber line for home I THINK....

Telus in Toronto has 100mbit - residential. I am more than 100000000% sure. lol...

Anyways, do you think it is in fact my router that just can't handle the load? I have DD-WRT loaded on it... I would love to try another solution, just to see how fast I can get from usenet... :)

[xscorpio]

also to all the Astraweb users do you guys have cap of 1mb/s or is it as fast as you can download, it wil upload??

thats the only thing that is stopping me from switching to this service the cap :)

[xscorpio]

Telus in Toronto has 100mbit - residential. I am more than 100000000% sure. lol...

Anyways, do you think it is in fact my router that just can't handle the load? I have DD-WRT loaded on it... I would love to try another solution, just to see how fast I can get from usenet... :)

I am extremely sorry i was unaware of that, i checked the site and you are right, i am astonished that they have that speed for residential. that is awesome, is it a shared line or 1 line per customer.

i would like to get this.

[xscorpio]

It looks like I am maxing out my router (WRT54G)... getting 2mb/s and router load is 100% :(


Telus in Toronto has 100mbit - residential. I am more than 100000000% sure. lol...

Anyways, do you think it is in fact my router that just can't handle the load? I have DD-WRT loaded on it... I would love to try another solution, just to see how fast I can get from usenet... :)

dude, there is something wrong, did you call telus and have them check on this, or it could be that it is shared line, yes its 100Mb/s but they might be sharing it with like 10 customers or something, which means each person get 10Mb/s which equals to 1.5-2 Mb/s speeds.

if it is a single line per customer then there is def something wrong with their setup or yours, it could be various things, your router, the cable you are using, definitely hard drive, they can not write that fast, so make sure you have big enough temp folder (or where you storing those file chunks).

[Kaitlyn]

dude, there is something wrong, did you call telus and have them check on this, or it could be that it is shared line, yes its 100Mb/s but they might be sharing it with like 10 customers or something, which means each person get 10Mb/s which equals to 1.5-2 Mb/s speeds.

if it is a single line per customer then there is def something wrong with their setup or yours, it could be various things, your router, the cable you are using, definitely hard drive, they can not write that fast, so make sure you have big enough temp folder (or where you storing those file chunks).

I'm not a dude!

Ya I'm going to play around with the settings some more and see if I can figure out what's wrong. As soon as I download though, I can no longer access the router interface until I stop downloading... so I suspect the bottleneck is there.

[xscorpio]

I'm not a dude!

Ya I'm going to play around with the settings some more and see if I can figure out what's wrong. As soon as I download though, I can no longer access the router interface until I stop downloading... so I suspect the bottleneck is there.

yes, bottle neck is there because these plug and play home routers and switches have very poor backplane, and also, you mentioned that router utilization is at 100% so thats why it is hard for router to open another connection while the resources on it are maxed out :)

i would start off with by calling telus and asking them if its a shared line or dedicated...most likely its shared...because dedicated T1 line (1.5 Mb/s) for business cost like 1200 bucks a month :)

PS: my bad on the dude part, miss :D

[Jon Lai]

Is there a "usenet for dummies" thread somewhere? I know what it is but I've never used it before, and I'm not dropping cash before I know I can take full advantage of it :)

[Squeeky]

can some1 explain to me what type of "information" i can obtain from usenet through pm...hehe thanks

Just google "usenet search" and choose one of the search engines.

[xscorpio]

some good information for you all regarding the services they offer, i am tempted to switch my service to astraweb and for unlimited DSL :)

http://www.news.astraweb.com/unlimitedplans.html

[ditachan]

Been using the service for a near month now, great speeds and retention rate.

[scott_newsgroup]

Two quick questions - I have searched the forum, and I've been reading articles online (but can't seem to get a straight answer for these two):

What benefit does SSL provide (in this case)?

Can someone use SSL on Rogers? And, are the ports associated with Astraweb/SSL throttled?

[ktokes12]

Is there a "usenet for dummies" thread somewhere? I know what it is but I've never used it before, and I'm not dropping cash before I know I can take full advantage of it :)

Here is a site http://www.slyck.com/ng.php

[xscorpio]

Two quick questions - I have searched the forum, and I've been reading articles online (but can't seem to get a straight answer for these two):

What benefit does SSL provide (in this case)?

Can someone use SSL on Rogers? And, are the ports associated with Astraweb/SSL throttled?

SSL= Secure Sockets Layer
so the traffic is secure and encrypted end to end connection. In this case it good to have SSL is because, when your ISP sees high BW usage and they might try to look at the traffic, but if it is encrypted they will not be able to determine, because ISP might decide to throttle or block this traffic if they dont like, but with SSL it is just that extra layer of security. i am sure if they really want to do something about this they can.

Yes you can use SSL if you have rogers, i do not know what port they use so i can not answer that question.

[vpower]

I've been using astrabweb adn the service is great!

Only downside, i'm having random issues connecting using SSL.

Search around and seems "some" people have the same issues as mine.

[Bordello]

I'm on Rogers and I have zero problems using SSL. It's the only server I use. What sort of "random issues" are you/some people having?

Question: do you guys find any difference when connecting to the US server compared to the Europe server (either standard or SSL)?

[chestyleroux]

I'm on Rogers and I have zero problems using SSL. It's the only server I use. What sort of "random issues" are you/some people having?

Question: do you guys find any difference when connecting to the US server compared to the Europe server (either standard or SSL)?

I use GrabIt, and sometimes, on start-up, it is not able to connect to the SSL servers. Usually after I re-start GrabIt once (or rarely a second time), it can connect again.

I have not noticed any speed differences between either server. For me, both servers top out at 700kb/s, which I believe is the download max for my internet connection.

[Bordello]

I use GrabIt, and sometimes, on start-up, it is not able to connect to the SSL servers. Usually after I re-start GrabIt once (or rarely a second time), it can connect again.

I have not noticed any speed differences between either server. For me, both servers top out at 700kb/s, which I believe is the download max for my internet connection.
You should give SABnzbd a try. It's even better when you pair it up with Newzbin Premium and the Firefox extension.

800 kbps is my max. It's the speed limit for my Rogers connection.

[Jon Lai]

Do Rogers throttle these as well? Are there mostly only American content, or are there any Asian (cough Chinese) content?

[xscorpio]

all kinds of content world wide stuff :)

and rogers i don't think they throttle but that's why its always good to use SSL extra layer of stealthiness :)

[hub714]

Actually it's more Western stuff and less asian stuff. There are a couple groups dedicated to asian stuff but not many.

[techboss]

Do Rogers throttle these as well? Are there mostly only American content, or are there any Asian (cough Chinese) content?

Asian stuff are mostly using different delivery methods. They use a lot of Megadownload, rapidshare, ..etc. Not so much usenet.

[vpower]

I'm on Rogers and I have zero problems using SSL. It's the only server I use. What sort of "random issues" are you/some people having?




I use GrabIt, and sometimes, on start-up, it is not able to connect to the SSL servers. Usually after I re-start GrabIt once (or rarely a second time), it can connect again.

I have not noticed any speed differences between either server. For me, both servers top out at 700kb/s, which I believe is the download max for my internet connection.

as quoted by chestyleroux, it's the problems connecting with grabit.
often errors messages from grabit or just a message indicating "connecting"..

[pestul]

Hmm, I'd just been using the standard server.. maybe I should switch to the SSL one. I'll see if it effects my speed.

[Kaitlyn]

Hahaha wow! I just bypassed my router with my laptop and went from 2mb/s to 9-10.5mb/s!!!

[sjwong]

Hahaha wow! I just bypassed my router with my laptop and went from 2mb/s to 9-10.5mb/s!!!

How did you accomplish that?

[seL]

Opened up Firefox this morning and got a message from Rogers saying that I've exceeded my 95GB bandwidth limit for the month and now each GB is gonna cost me $1.50 up to a max of $25...damn newsgroups!!!

On that note, which other Canadian ISPs are there that offer high speed internet with unlimited bandwidth?

[Jon Lai]

Opened up Firefox this morning and got a message from Rogers saying that I've exceeded my 95GB bandwidth limit for the month and now each GB is gonna cost me $1.50 up to a max of $25...damn newsgroups!!!

On that note, which other Canadian ISPs are there that offer high speed internet with unlimited bandwidth?

TekSavvy, but depends on your location. I had to say good bye to them after realizing DSL in my area only serves 1.5mbps, sucks crap.

On another hand, I'd just pay Rogers an extra $25/mo. and be done with it, for people like me who have no other choice. BTW you might as well downgrade to Express to recoup some of your cost if you are going this route, I find the speed doesn't make much difference.

[cechlin]

TekSavvy, but depends on your location. I had to say good bye to them after realizing DSL in my area only serves 1.5mbps, sucks crap.

On another hand, I'd just pay Rogers an extra $25/mo. and be done with it, for people like me who have no other choice. BTW you might as well downgrade to Express to recoup some of your cost if you are going this route, I find the speed doesn't make much difference.

does rogers allow you to do that every month? or is there a limit?

im only getting 1.5 with teksavvy and its really pissing me off, i mean when i first got the internet it was about 350-400kb/s and now its at MAX 200kb/s.

[ana_jagal87]

Thanks... signed up for this.

At my home, I usually get 500-520 KBps with a TekSavvy 5 Mb connection.

For curiosity's sake, I went to uni and tried to see what kind of speeds I could pull. See for yourself :cheesygri

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/6324/fattestpipehz7.th.jpg (http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fattestpipehz7.jpg)

Now only if we could get some sort of FiOS equivalent here...

[seL]

TekSavvy, but depends on your location. I had to say good bye to them after realizing DSL in my area only serves 1.5mbps, sucks crap.

On another hand, I'd just pay Rogers an extra $25/mo. and be done with it, for people like me who have no other choice. BTW you might as well downgrade to Express to recoup some of your cost if you are going this route, I find the speed doesn't make much difference.

I would downgrade but I have 2 XBOX systems that both access Live at the same time as well as 2 computers hooked up to the internet so I need the extra bandwidth. I get 20% off my internet bill, so the $25 is actually only $13 extra, which isn't bad since I believe it puts me at unlimited at that point.

[bellamr]

Hahaha wow! I just bypassed my router with my laptop and went from 2mb/s to 9-10.5mb/s!!!

You might want to upgrade your router to a router that has a gigabit WAN (aka internet) port on it like a D-Link DGL-4500 http://games.dlink.com/products/?pid=643&#DGL-4500 or a DIR-855 http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=548.

[Kaitlyn]

You might want to upgrade your router to a router that has a gigabit WAN (aka internet) port on it like a D-Link DGL-4500 http://games.dlink.com/products/?pid=643&#DGL-4500 or a DIR-855 http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=548.

Eek! Both of those are listed as EXPENSIVE! lol...

The WRT54G's can often be had for < $50...

[[H]ackerK]

You might want to upgrade your router to a router that has a gigabit WAN (aka internet) port on it like a D-Link DGL-4500 http://games.dlink.com/products/?pid=643&#DGL-4500 or a DIR-855 http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=548.

Why? Unless you get a internet connection that's faster (or close to) 100Mbps, otherwise it is a waste of money.

Of course if you live at cityplace, that's another matter...

[Kaitlyn]

ackerK;8160880']Why? Unless you get a internet connection that's faster (or close to) 100Mbps, otherwise it is a waste of money.

Of course if you live at cityplace, that's another matter...

They were talking to me, and ya I'm in Cityplace so I have that 100mbps connection... heh

[Jon Lai]

I would downgrade but I have 2 XBOX systems that both access Live at the same time as well as 2 computers hooked up to the internet so I need the extra bandwidth. I get 20% off my internet bill, so the $25 is actually only $13 extra, which isn't bad since I believe it puts me at unlimited at that point.

How is 20% off only $13 extra? :confused:

[Jon Lai]

does rogers allow you to do that every month? or is there a limit?

im only getting 1.5 with teksavvy and its really pissing me off, i mean when i first got the internet it was about 350-400kb/s and now its at MAX 200kb/s.

Yes, you can do that with Rogers every month. Just pay $25 extra every month... which can add up, but if DSL isn't an option for you, then at least this is an option to go with.

So basically you pay $70 for Express and $80 for Extreme, unlimited :P

[xscorpio]

They were talking to me, and ya I'm in Cityplace so I have that 100mbps connection... heh

i want 100Mb/s connection for home, tho my work pays for my internet i dont think they will appreciate if i get $100 internet plan :)

[xscorpio]

You might want to upgrade your router to a router that has a gigabit WAN (aka internet) port on it like a D-Link DGL-4500 http://games.dlink.com/products/?pid=643&#DGL-4500 or a DIR-855 http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=548.

thats what i did, i got fed up with all the kiddie routers and switches for home, so i took cisco 3560 from my lab and put it on my WAN link ;)

no speed issues what so ever.

[scott_newsgroup]

Thanks OP - signed up.

Anyone have any recommended setup for Rogers? I'm running Grabit, and I'm getting maxed-out at 1150 KB/s with 10 connections open (SSL). Should I be doing anything to get that higher, or is that maxed-out?

[bellamr]

Thanks OP - signed up.

Anyone have any recommended setup for Rogers? I'm running Grabit, and I'm getting maxed-out at 1150 KB/s with 10 connections open (SSL). Should I be doing anything to get that higher, or is that maxed-out?

I used grabit. I found it buggy and lost connections with the SSL. I am now using SABnzbd+ and find it to be much better. A number of users like Alt.Binz as well. I think it is a choice between SABnzbd+ and Alt.Binz (version 0.25.0) for the freeware. For a comparison of these clients see http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1752.

As for 1150KBps, that would be about max for a 10Mbit connection.

[hyperactiveme]

can someone give me a play by play on set up. How do i search for stuff?

[seL]

can someone give me a play by play on set up. How do i search for stuff?

Check this out http://www.slyck.com/ng.php

It's not too detailed but it gives you all the info you should need and lists a lot of good resources.

[mjohare]

Signed up last week for this astraweb deal. My first use of binaries and its working out pretty well. However, I could really use a newzbin.com account. If anybody could set me up with a referral it would be greatly appreciated.

[infamouskid]

this would be good if everything isnt goin in the capped and throttled direction

[Pavel]

Has anyone here who's paying by Credit card with Astra News had their CC comprised recently? I cancelled my sub with them but just today I received a phone call from Bank of Montreal that my credit card has been compromised. I use this credit card very sparingly and only for US transactions.

[zod]

Has anyone here who's paying by Credit card with Astra News had their CC comprised recently? I cancelled my sub with them but just today I received a phone call from Bank of Montreal that my credit card has been compromised. I use this credit card very sparingly and only for US transactions.

No,

but last month I recieved an email that my monthly payment was rejected from my credit card. So I re-entered the info and about 10 minutes it later it charged fine and sent me the email confirmation.

Just looked at my CC bill nothing odd on there. Royal Bank has always been good at freezing out my card at the smallest hint of trouble. Even once when I was on holidays and used it quite a bit more then my usual activity :(

[Pavel]

You may wish to consider getting a US credit card. If there is a problem that involves a US transaction, they'll usually not reimburse you the full amount due to exchange rate variations in the buy/sell rate.

[[H]ackerK]

They were talking to me, and ya I'm in Cityplace so I have that 100mbps connection... heh

Oh lucky you! :razz:

[Pavel]

Giganews has reportedly slashed their prices by 50%. However, the new rates don't appear to be posted on their site at time of writing. Astranews has gone up to $15/month: http://www.slyck.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=46306#p508354

[qafyg]

Giganews has slashed its prices by 50% for its unlimited accounts for the first three months for new users...

Hmmm, I'm keeping my Astraweb account!

[Goober56]

Giganews has reportedly slashed their prices by 50%. However, the new rates don't appear to be posted on their site at time of writing. Astranews has gone up to $15/month: http://www.slyck.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=46306#p508354

Still looks like $11 to me:

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html

[rEDSpider]

whats the current retention like, I know they are building towards 270 days. it was 160 when I canceled.

[StoneColdWhat]

whats the current retention like, I know they are building towards 270 days. it was 160 when I canceled.

180 ish, basically it takes 1 day to build an extra day of retention.

[Pavel]

Still looks like $11 to me:

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html

Better bookmark the link. This price isn't on their home page. :cheesygri

[Keops]

Better bookmark the link. This price isn't on their home page. :cheesygri

I don't think it ever was.

Keops

[tigger03]

signing up for this service. I currently use bittorrents, and it's like a newbie 'upgrade' for me since I'm not a techie.

I've read: http://www.slyck.com/ng.php

Does anyone have an invite to newzbin? -- do I have to pay for this, or should I use NZBMatrix?

Edit: WHOA ... IT'S $14.75 CAD PER MONTH!?

Edit Again: NM ... it's $11 USD now -- signed up

Update:
- signed up for astraweb
- d/l Grabit
... which indexing site do you guys use?

[Pavel]

U dont need newzbin. Since you already use torrents, search for newsleecher. Personally, I dont think it's worth it having a subscription before. YMMV.

[Kaitlyn]

signing up for this service. I currently use bittorrents, and it's like a newbie 'upgrade' for me since I'm not a techie.

I've read: http://www.slyck.com/ng.php

Does anyone have an invite to newzbin? -- do I have to pay for this, or should I use NZBMatrix?

Edit: WHOA ... IT'S $14.75 CAD PER MONTH!?

Edit Again: NM ... it's $11 USD now -- signed up

Update:
- signed up for astraweb
- d/l Grabit
... which indexing site do you guys use?

GrabIt has a search subscription... 1 free/day, or at most I think its like $20/year?

No need for NZBs or anything... just search and download. (or search for "[searchterm] nzb" to just easily download the nzb first...

[tigger03]

GrabIt has a search subscription... 1 free/day, or at most I think its like $20/year?

No need for NZBs or anything... just search and download. (or search for "[searchterm] nzb" to just easily download the nzb first...

Grabit doesn't seem to be working with astraweb for some reason. I'd like to try NewsLeecher, but all the newsreaders seem to want $$ :(

[bobo22]

use
www.*********.com (not the same as newsleecher) or
www.*********.info

If you know what you want, just type it in and get the NZB. All free!

[tigger03]

use
www.*********.com (not the same as newsleecher) or
www.*********.info

If you know what you want, just type it in and get the NZB. All free!

Thanks, I've saved those in my favourites. I'm just having trouble trying to figure out how to use the newsreader. I'm using Altbinz right now.

Edit: wow, I somehow got it to work using this search: http://filesharingtalk.com/vb3/f-movie-nzbs-80/ ... I'm getting 5 MB that Teksavvy has alloted me!!

[duckdown]

Giganews has slashed its prices by 50% for its unlimited accounts for the first three months for new users...

Hmmm, I'm keeping my Astraweb account!

+1

giganews is a ripoff from hell

[octacon]

been with giganews a long time and they've been great and extremely reliable, but i am currently looking at switching to astraweb to lower costs since i am paying a bit more to rogers because of the caps. in any case what is the retention like now on astraweb? the titles says 270 days but it looks like they haven't reached that pinnacle yet.

[adrianf74]

been with giganews a long time and they've been great and extremely reliable, but i am currently looking at switching to astraweb to lower costs since i am paying a bit more to rogers because of the caps. in any case what is the retention like now on astraweb? the titles says 270 days but it looks like they haven't reached that pinnacle yet.

Somewhere between 190 and 200 days. I signed up just before they announced the increased retention.

Pretty good completion stats for content. US$11 is a bargain. I easily max out my 6 meg DSL connection with between 6 and 8 connections.

[Handa]

use
www.*********.com (not the same as newsleecher) or
www.*********.info

If you know what you want, just type it in and get the NZB. All free!

Don't I still need a server to connect to tho? Explain how this is free to us nooobs please :)

[Derringdo]

Don't I still need a server to connect to tho? Explain how this is free to us nooobs please :)

You use Astraweb as your server, and you use the sites that you quoted to search for stuff to download.

Btw, retention is currently up to 210 days according to http://www.news.astraweb.com/tools/stats.html

[flaming homer]

Astraweb is upping it to 365 days

https://helpdesk.astraweb.com/index.php?_m=news&_a=viewnews&newsid=20


Retention Capacity Upgrade to 365 Days

Astraweb is pleased to announce that we have just completed an infrastructure upgrade to increase our retention storage to 365 days.

Currently our server storage capacity stands at 365 days.

Our retention is currently growing daily towards 365 days. The latest retention statistics as well as our retention capacity is available at:

http://www.news.astraweb.com/tools/stats.html

Our retention growth is for ALL groups. Our retention growth also includes headers, unlike many other services that do not include headers as part of their retention growth.

Astraweb is committed to providing the best value service!

[mjohare]

I desperately need to find a better way of searching for nzb files. *********.info is practically useless. nzbmatrix wants money to do anything useful. Please please please can someone send me an invite to Newzbin???

[cruisx]

I desperately need to find a better way of searching for nzb files. *********.info is practically useless. nzbmatrix wants money to do anything useful. Please please please can someone send me an invite to Newzbin???

u still have to pay man even if u got a newzbin invite.......You cant just download if u get an invite. best option atm that i am gonna concider as i no longer have newsgroups. I would get

astraweb+ newzbin+ newsleecher = best and fast easy access to downloads. :-0

btw i can get u thr prices for newzbin if u want, i am a member but i stoped using newsgroups like 3 months ago ='( miss it. Will be getting it again soon.

[maxleung]

mjohare: Maybe you can give bintube.com a try.

[cruisx]

try
*********
merlisn portal
nzbmatrix.com -- good for new stuff and its only 10$ for lifetime.
newzbin.com -- if you can get an invite, still have to pay. great low prices.

[Eldorado]

I desperately need to find a better way of searching for nzb files. *********.info is practically useless. nzbmatrix wants money to do anything useful. Please please please can someone send me an invite to Newzbin???

If you don't want to pay, have you tried nzbsrus.com? If I remember right they were decent, but relied on user submitted nzb's rather than idexing them on their own

[pontiacgagt]

nzbs.org
tvnzb.com
www.nzbmovieseeker.com

nzbsrus gives you 5 nzb downloads a day

[swell9]

excuse my ignorance
but what are Usenet servers used for?

[juched]

NZBsRUs.com

I use AstraWeb and love them. Myself I purchase 120GB at a time, and use it for months.

[komal]

excuse my ignorance
but what are Usenet servers used for?

Read this thread, or search this thread, or search the forums, or use google.

That question has been answered many many times.

[komal]

I desperately need to find a better way of searching for nzb files. *********.info is practically useless. nzbmatrix wants money to do anything useful. Please please please can someone send me an invite to Newzbin???

You can also try grabit's search, its pretty cheap, works well.

[mlc2000]

try
*********
merlisn portal
nzbmatrix.com -- good for new stuff and its only 10$ for lifetime.
newzbin.com -- if you can get an invite, still have to pay. great low prices.

You mean Merlins Portal.:cheesygri

[AlexV]

So astraweb now has the longest retention at 365 days? Is there anyone that plans to match it?

[chadw01]

I desperately need to find a better way of searching for nzb files. *********.info is practically useless. nzbmatrix wants money to do anything useful. Please please please can someone send me an invite to Newzbin???

*********.com is free and just as good.

[ovexi]

So astraweb now has the longest retention at 365 days? Is there anyone that plans to match it?

where do you have this information from? it's 270 days on their website

[Kaitlyn]

where do you have this information from? it's 270 days on their website

It's the top post on this page... (edit: created new page, lol.. top post on the page you posted on!)

https://helpdesk.astraweb.com/index.php?_m=news&_a=viewnews&newsid=20

[ReBeL]

Astraweb is upping it to 365 days

https://helpdesk.astraweb.com/index.php?_m=news&_a=viewnews&newsid=20


Thnx for the retention update Homer....... :D

Just stumbled upon nzbclub. NZB downloads appear free and
go beyond 365 days.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Flix3r]

Nice! Ill edit OP with new retention info.

Thanks guys

[iLLNESS]

do they still only have 1 ip per account limit?

[Stryk3r]

do they still only have 1 ip per account limit?

Yes they do limit the IP's, I just signed up for the $11 US a month Unlimited DSL account from the OP and it won't allow me to log in from work and home at the same time, I get a 502 error not allow to connect and even lists the IP I am already connected on.

They have pay per use account that don't have the IP restriction but then you don't get unlimited downloads. For me I don't download from work and as long as you aren't connected at the same time you can still connect from any IP you want, just not simultaneously. I think it's still a killer deal for 365 days of retention, SSL, and unlimited downloads with 20 connections.

I just cancelled my usenetserver account cause this is a much better deal, even just the retention alone.

[naveed3434]

i've been using astraweb since this promo ran in Nov. I've been impressed. Maxed my connection to the same speed as giganews. Plus compress headers with the new verion of newsbin pro. huge difference in the time it takes to get headers.

[Acuratl]

Yes they do limit the IP's, I just signed up for the $11 US a month Unlimited DSL account from the OP and it won't allow me to log in from work and home at the same time, I get a 502 error not allow to connect and even lists the IP I am already connected on.

They have pay per use account that don't have the IP restriction but then you don't get unlimited downloads. For me I don't download from work and as long as you aren't connected at the same time you can still connect from any IP you want, just not simultaneously. I think it's still a killer deal for 365 days of retention, SSL, and unlimited downloads with 20 connections.

I just cancelled my usenetserver account cause this is a much better deal, even just the retention alone.

had similar issues, just set your client at home to disconnect if you're not downloading anything, and then you can keep your ports open for when you're at work.

[StoneColdWhat]

I desperately need to find a better way of searching for nzb files. *********.info is practically useless. nzbmatrix wants money to do anything useful. Please please please can someone send me an invite to Newzbin???

*********.info is GREAT learn to use it.

[HKPolice]

Newshosting has 400 days now :lol:

http://www.newshosting.com/news/400-days-retention.php

It's retention wars!!!

[AlexV]

www.NGroups.net has also announced 400+ day retention: http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=717150

Which is the lowest price around (correct me if I'm wrong): $11.99 regular or $9.99 if you pay quarterly

[KraftDinner]

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html

The only catch is you have to pay with PayPal, but if that's your only problem in life, I think you can sleep easy. I have used them personally and I have never had ANY problem. Speeds are always more than my connection can handle(Constant 900 Kb/s transfer). As far as I know, they don't really advertise this deal anymore, but they still offer it. So get it while it lasts! Sorry if this is a re-post.

[ott_wrench]

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html

The only catch is you have to pay with PayPal, but if that's your only problem in life, I think you can sleep easy. I have used them personally and I have never had ANY problem. Speeds are always more than my connection can handle(Constant 900 Kb/s transfer). As far as I know, they don't really advertise this deal anymore, but they still offer it. So get it while it lasts! Sorry if this is a re-post.

Looks like a pretty good deal aside from the fact that the Terms state only one IP can connect at a time.

[Pseudo Nim]

Looks like a pretty good deal aside from the fact that the Terms state only one IP can connect at a time.

That's the same just about everywhere, though. Nothing prevents you from connecting from more than one IP consecutively, though, so you just coordinate your downloads with your friends :)

[Jman]

1) Payment methods: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, EuroCard, Discover, JCB, Diners Club and Debit Cards with the Visa/MasterCard Logo

2) you can only have 1 ip otherwise 50 people would share an account. You can switch ip's as often as you want, just never 2 different accessing.

[maritrunks]

Is anyone sharing an account?

[lpsaad]

Hey guys..I need some help. Im sick of Cogeco's BS bandwidth cap and im looking to switch. I have these options
Teksavvy
Usenet
Are there others?

Im paying like $89 per month right now its ridiculous. Is usenet good? How about Teksavvy? What does retention mean? DO they sent a guy in to install a modem? How does this work? Please pm me. thanks!

[zod]

Hey guys..I need some help. Im sick of Cogeco's BS bandwidth cap and im looking to switch. I have these options
Teksavvy
Usenet
Are there others?

Im paying like $89 per month right now its ridiculous. Is usenet good? How about Teksavvy? What does retention mean? DO they sent a guy in to install a modem? How does this work? Please pm me. thanks!

Usenet is not an ISP. I would recommend googling it to find more about it :) Also it could be detrimental if you use it on any service that has caps.

[airplay]

A little off topic...but are there any newsreaders to download and compile binaries that work with Mac? (Like Altbinz or Grabit? Do they work with Mac?)

Back on topic...I use the Astraweb/NBZmatrix/Altbinz combo on my PC (with a little TVNZB & Binserach thrown in), and have been very successful. It has changed my downloading life for the better:cheesygri

[TommyC]

A little off topic...but are there any newsreaders to download and compile binaries that work with Mac? (Like Altbinz or Grabit? Do they work with Mac?)



have you looked at this?: http://www.sabnzbd.org/

[AlexV]

I use Unison on the mac

[sassysue]

any discount codes

[Battscrew]

try this


http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html

[huthut]

Damn:evil:, I was with Astraweb ($15 UNL) since 11/07 and just noticed this thread. I'm switched over now, so it's all good. Let the savings begin:lol:

I was with Giganews before this and cannot see how they can justify charging double with the other guys catching up in retention. Their half-assed attempt at price matching is hilarious. I don't see them staying in business much longer at their price point.

[iLLNESS]

have you looked at this?: http://www.sabnzbd.org/

^^^^^^^ the best newsgroup app EVER. that app is awesome. automatic par repairs and unrarring. web server so you can remotely have your sab machine download stuff. VERY easy to organize your downloads and change queue order.

if ANYONE hasn't tried sabnzbd, do it now. youll never go back to another app :)

related note: does astraweb still only have 1ip per account? 20 connections is completely useless if they haven't lifted that. makes dual wan setups impossible with astraweb

[Pavel]

Nows a pretty good time to join Astraweb cuz our dollar is doing better and Shaw has capped their download speeds on their news servers to around 400 KBps.

[Infamous1]

^^^^^^^ the best newsgroup app EVER. that app is awesome. automatic par repairs and unrarring. web server so you can remotely have your sab machine download stuff. VERY easy to organize your downloads and change queue order.

if ANYONE hasn't tried sabnzbd, do it now. youll never go back to another app :)

related note: does astraweb still only have 1ip per account? 20 connections is completely useless if they haven't lifted that. makes dual wan setups impossible with astraweb


QFT!!! I am downloading MKV movies so easily with sabnzbd. It does all the dirty work to deal with pars and extracting and my speeds are crazy fast with Astraweb. :) I just hope Shaw doesnt tell me I download too much. I went crazy the last week since buying the WD Media Player and a 1TB Hard drive.

[CingKrab]

QFT!!! I am downloading MKV movies so easily with sabnzbd. It does all the dirty work to deal with pars and extracting and my speeds are crazy fast with Astraweb. :) I just hope Shaw doesnt tell me I download too much. I went crazy the last week since buying the WD Media Player and a 1TB Hard drive.

+1. Sabnzbd makes things stupidly easy, especially if you use Newzbin and have nzbStatus for Firefox, which enables one click download.

[AlexV]

Automatic repair and extraction is pretty standard across most usenet clients...

[iLLNESS]

QFT!!! I am downloading MKV movies so easily with sabnzbd. It does all the dirty work to deal with pars and extracting and my speeds are crazy fast with Astraweb. :) I just hope Shaw doesnt tell me I download too much. I went crazy the last week since buying the WD Media Player and a 1TB Hard drive.

should have got an HDX1000 or a PCH-110
wayyyy better then that WD hard drive player

[Menace]

Yes for more $$$.


should have got an HDX1000 or a PCH-110
wayyyy better then that WD hard drive player

[jeeva86]

anyone find a company that allows sharing, i remember there was one...uns has finally caught on....

[aarhed]

Anyone looking to split an account?

[gymrat9]

^^^^^^^ the best newsgroup app EVER. that app is awesome. automatic par repairs and unrarring.

I use Grabit which does that too.

[Jon Lai]

Anyone looking to split an account?

Is that even allowed?

[kcorscadden]

Is that even allowed?

Of course it is allowed. As long as you both aren't attempting to log in at the same time, then there is no problems

When I am at my brother's house and he wants to watch a movie, I setup everything on his computer with my account info and we downloaded a movie right then and there and there was no problems at all.

The only issue I could see is if you both were trying to log in at the same time, who would be given access? Also, if you are already logged in and the other person tries to log in, do they get denied or does the other user get disconnected? I would imagine they would get denied.

[S_G]

Of course it is allowed. As long as you both aren't attempting to log in at the same time, then there is no problems

When I am at my brother's house and he wants to watch a movie, I setup everything on his computer with my account info and we downloaded a movie right then and there and there was no problems at all.

The only issue I could see is if you both were trying to log in at the same time, who would be given access? Also, if you are already logged in and the other person tries to log in, do they get denied or does the other user get disconnected? I would imagine they would get denied.

The first user would have precedence over the second user. In fact, it's not how many computers you log on from, just how many IP addresses. You can even have two computers on the same network logging in 10 connections each, but you can't have two computers running completely different IP addresses on at all.

[monkey_bongo]

Hey guys,

I ended up signing up to the Astraweb deal. I currently have a Rapidshare account but I couldn't find a way to automate downloads so I'll try newsgroups for a month.

I just downloaded sabnzbd but does anyone have a invitation to Newzbins they could send me?

[Metablob]

I have been using P2P primarily for the past few years, but I'm finding Rapidshare/Megaupload a better experience since Bell is throttling. Can someone who uses these services compare their experiences:

From my experience:

............................P2P (e2k)...Torrent....Forums/Rapidshare....Usenet

Latest releases.........Yes............Yes...........dela yed.................??
Obscure releases.......Yes............no............harder to find.........??
Speed.....................Slow.........Throttle... ....Line rate............Line rate?
Search....................good............OK...... .....poor (Google).........??
Convenience...........Great...........OK.......... .Poor (Manual).........??
Free.........................yes............ yes...........Yes (limited)..........no

The limitation with Rapidshare/Megaupload is finding the material - there are a lot of forums that use these file repositories but you have to know where to look. How is usenet for finding files?

[kamran]

............................P2P (e2k)...Torrent....Forums/Rapidshare....Usenet

Latest releases.........Yes............Yes...........dela yed.................Yes
Obscure releases.......Yes............no............harder to find.........no
Speed.....................Slow.........Throttle... ....Line rate............Line rate
Search....................good............OK...... .....poor (Google).........Yes
Convenience...........Great...........OK.......... .Poor (Manual).........OK
Free.........................yes............ yes...........Yes (limited)..........No

Both of these are popular usenet indexing sites
http://nzbmatrix.com/index.php
http://www.newzbin.com/

[wiebecj]

well i finally bit the bullet and got a newsgroup account. 1.9MB/s is sweet

[KraftDinner]

Hey guys,

I ended up signing up to the Astraweb deal. I currently have a Rapidshare account but I couldn't find a way to automate downloads so I'll try newsgroups for a month.

I just downloaded sabnzbd but does anyone have a invitation to Newzbins they could send me?

If you want a good nzb service, a free one is nzbclub.com. REALLY awesome nzb indexer.

[vomer]

nvm

[chadw01]

Well a lot of people want to split one account, so do I... so ill take charge to gather you peeps lol.

$11 USD = ~ $12.7 CAD

If 4 people split, our cost will be ~ $3 each

I have already signed up for the service so all I need is 3 more people to join me!

You can paypal me the $ or if you want to do it then I can paypal you...whatever works.

PM me if interested!


Why? Only 1 IP per account at any time.. no sharing on this plan.

[Yankees 1903]

This question has probably been asked before somewhere on this thread but it is a long thread. What are the typical download speeds for new releases like with say Rogers Express 7.0 Mbps?

[TLSRULZ]

You will get ur line speed .. for eg I get 6400 bits / sec or 6.4Mbps with the Rogers Express when I dl using Astraweb.

ur line speed may be different

[wiebecj]

This question has probably been asked before somewhere on this thread but it is a long thread. What are the typical download speeds for new releases like with say Rogers Express 7.0 Mbps?

yup - you will easily max it out at 7 Mbps

I have shaw extreme and i max out my 15 Mbps connection EASILY. That's nearly 2 MB/s - good thing i just picked up 4 TB of harddrives :-)

[anhtuan]

I've been with astraweb for well over a year now, ever since this deal came out. Been great over the last year, but I've noticed there's been some hickups in the last couple days where I can't connect for 15 minutes or so cause the servers are down or something.

[TLSRULZ]

I've been with astraweb for well over a year now, ever since this deal came out. Been great over the last year, but I've noticed there's been some hickups in the last couple days where I can't connect for 15 minutes or so cause the servers are down or something.

Make sure you have both Europe and US servers in ur list and you wont have that prob. At least I dont.. cus when US servers are down the Europe ones work and vice versa..

[cantbprince]

This question has probably been asked before somewhere on this thread but it is a long thread. What are the typical download speeds for new releases like with say Rogers Express 7.0 Mbps?

7.0 Mbps would be about 875kb/s. so you will probably see just that. 875k/s sustained.

I have extreme (10 Mbps) and i get about 1.18MB/s all the time!

[Effem]

Does anybody know of any free/legal documentary/nature series you can download? I'm really interested in the type of things you'd see on Discovery Channel or National Geographic...

Thanks!

[mark_in_2k]

Does anybody know of any free/legal documentary/nature series you can download? I'm really interested in the type of things you'd see on Discovery Channel or National Geographic...

Thanks!You want to keep a clear conscience when downloading from newsgroups? OK, I guess you would have to try some docu's from PBS, as that's public television. You can check them out( and watch online too) here (http://www.pbs.org/video/program/979358043).

[Trigger]

Does anybody know of any free/legal documentary/nature series you can download? I'm really interested in the type of things you'd see on Discovery Channel or National Geographic...

Thanks!

While most of us think of piracy as video games, movies, and music.... sadly downloading (most) TV shows is also considered piracy.

I say sadly only because in Canada we really don't have any good alternatives when it comes to internet-TV, particularly in high definition.

As the other poster said. You probably shouldn't have that much of a conscience if you use newsgroups!

[goat]

sorry, i should probably search the 50 page thread, but i'll just ask here:

are ports throttled with Astraweb?
99% of my uploading is through torrents, so i need to ensure i can maintain good upload speeds

[archimed]

sorry, i should probably search the 50 page thread, but i'll just ask here:

are ports throttled with Astraweb?
99% of my uploading is through torrents, so i need to ensure i can maintain good upload speeds

What do you mean? Astraweb is a usenet server, not an ISP.

[BandH]

sorry, i should probably search the 50 page thread, but i'll just ask here:

are ports throttled with Astraweb?
99% of my uploading is through torrents, so i need to ensure i can maintain good upload speeds

Bell and other DSL providers throttle torrent d/l s during peak times.
Usenet is different. And No, it isnt throttled.

[goat]

What do you mean? Astraweb is a usenet server, not an ISP.

i must still be asleep
i read that it was a usenet server
yet that didn't register

i retract my question....

[Kalstream]

I have been with Astraweb for the last few weeks. Speeds have been great with only using 10 connections to the US server. I am located in Ottawa using Rogers with the Extreme connection speed (~10mbps).

Up until a few days ago I was happy with the service. Recently the speed has dropped to a literal crawl (ie ~3KB/s).

When I load up a queue to download (start my news reader up) my downloads peak at about half what I used to see (I get 500 KB/s on startup). But they creep down quickly to bottom out at almost stopping within 1 minute. It never climbs back up until I close the news reader and re-open it to restart new connections.

My question is if anyone else is having similar problems. I am using Newbin Pro as my news reader.

Oh I'd also like to point out that I've used both the US and EU servers on both open and SSL ports during tests. Every server/configuration causes the same effects. I've contacted Rogers and their first level support says they don't throttle usenet (only Torrents they say.) I've been advised to send Trace Routes to internetsupport@rci.rogers.com but since those aren't peaking at really high or timeouts I don't see this as going to help much (I average 130ms to the US servers).

I've also contacted Astraweb about this issue and will put their reply here if it is relevant.

[huthut]

I have been with Astraweb for the last few weeks. Speeds have been great with only using 10 connections to the US server. I am located in Ottawa using Rogers with the Extreme connection speed (~10mbps).

Up until a few days ago I was happy with the service. Recently the speed has dropped to a literal crawl (ie ~3KB/s).

When I load up a queue to download (start my news reader up) my downloads peak at about half what I used to see (I get 500 KB/s on startup). But they creep down quickly to bottom out at almost stopping within 1 minute. It never climbs back up until I close the news reader and re-open it to restart new connections.

My question is if anyone else is having similar problems. I am using Newbin Pro as my news reader.

Oh I'd also like to point out that I've used both the US and EU servers on both open and SSL ports during tests. Every server/configuration causes the same effects. I've contacted Rogers and their first level support says they don't throttle usenet (only Torrents they say.) I've been advised to send Trace Routes to internetsupport@rci.rogers.com but since those aren't peaking at really high or timeouts I don't see this as going to help much (I average 130ms to the US servers).

I've also contacted Astraweb about this issue and will put their reply here if it is relevant.

I just did a test and d/l speeds for me are fine (+700 kB/s with 10 connections). I'm using the US SSL port with Bell Sympatico.

[shane4050]

just signed up first time using usenet iv wanted to learn to use it for years since i first heard of bittorrent back in i think 05 currently im useing *********.com what do you guys use and does anyone have a invite for newzbin?

[TheGamer2400]

I just did a test and d/l speeds for me are fine (+700 kB/s with 10 connections). I'm using the US SSL port with Bell Sympatico.

I'm getting 835 kbs with 6 connections through my 7 mbps cable connection. I'm using the US SSL connection as well.

[DarkAbyss]

Been using Astraweb for almost half a year. Very good, I max out at the speed i get (1megabyte a second ~ 10mbit). I rarely use torrents now, I can find most of my stuff through newsgroups except for hard to find things.

BTW, I just searched what Klevreig actually means and its... :evil:

[ZombieSNiPER]

If I sign up, does this mean I have to cancel with Teksavvy isp? (Unlimited, 5M/800k plan)

It says "Unlimited DSL - US$ 11 every month". I know it says usenet server...used usenet before when I had LOOK isp.

I currently get only 1420 kbps on a speedtest (My area doesn't get great DSL speeds), what speeds could I expect using usenet? I get about 170 kbps max on torrents.

[kcorscadden]

If I sign up, does this mean I have to cancel with Teksavvy isp? (Unlimited, 5M/800k plan)

It says "Unlimited DSL - US$ 11 every month". I know it says usenet server...used usenet before when I had LOOK isp.

I currently get only 1420 kbps on a speedtest (My area doesn't get great DSL speeds), what speeds could I expect using usenet? I get about 170 kbps max on torrents.

Teksavvy is your ISP, Astraweb is Usenet.

These are 2 totally different services and in order for you to use usenet, you must have an ISP.

[ZombieSNiPER]

Teksavvy is your ISP, Astraweb is Usenet.

These are 2 totally different services and in order for you to use usenet, you must have an ISP.

I thought so...it just seemed weird that they'd phrase it "Unlimited DSL" as if they were a ISP.


Do you need a static ip for this like Teksavvy usenet does? I know they outsource it, so probably no for need for static ip on Astraweb.

[kcorscadden]

I thought so...it just seemed weird that they'd phrase it "Unlimited DSL" as if they were a ISP.


Do you need a static ip for this like Teksavvy usenet does? I know they outsource it, so probably no for need for static ip on Astraweb.

No you don't need a static IP address. A reg IP address will do.

[ZombieSNiPER]

^ok, looks like I don't need to do any changes to my isp account...


What news readers are good to use and FREE? Since my Mom likes to stream Chinese dramas to watch, I'd probably need to be able to set a download speed limiter. Is this option available in newsreaders? I can't remember...

Few yrs ago since I've newsgroups, I used NewsBin Pro. Is that any good still? How about alt.binz, newsleecher?

[takumi111]

I can't seem to download anything with SSL turned on using port 119 .. if I turn off SSL I'm getting 1.2MBps

Any ideas of what I may be doing wrong? Thanks in advance

I'm on Rogers + WRT54GL w/DD-WRT + SABnzbd if that matters

[MrDisco]

I'd probably need to be able to set a download speed limiter. Is this option available in newsreaders? I can't remember...


most (if not all) the newsreaders out there let you limit the bandwidth used.



Few yrs ago since I've newsgroups, I used NewsBin Pro. Is that any good still? How about alt.binz, newsleecher?

I purchased (yes legally) a copy of newsleecher. well worth it imo.

[ktokes12]

I can't seem to download anything with SSL turned on using port 119 .. if I turn off SSL I'm getting 1.2MBps

Any ideas of what I may be doing wrong? Thanks in advance

I'm on Rogers + WRT54GL w/DD-WRT + SABnzbd if that matters

Try port 563 if that doesn't work go to Astraweb site http://helpdesk.astraweb.com/

you have to login and they have a list of the ports to use.

[dcpyke]

^ok, looks like I don't need to do any changes to my isp account...


What news readers are good to use and FREE? Since my Mom likes to stream Chinese dramas to watch, I'd probably need to be able to set a download speed limiter. Is this option available in newsreaders? I can't remember...

Few yrs ago since I've newsgroups, I used NewsBin Pro. Is that any good still? How about alt.binz, newsleecher?


I use SABnzbd+ with newzbin.com, in some cases it's a little bit of a learning curve to go through the setup but once it's done I think it beats a lot the other programs out there and it's free.

Newsleecher, newsbin pro etc are good if you're prefer to search through all the posts in the groups. It was a big time waster and now it's just so much easier to just grab the nzb files off a listing site.

[brunes]

FYI - if you are like me and have a server PC that keeps all your files and several media clients that connect to it, have a look at Ninan (ninan.sf.net). it is a newsbin downloader that runs as a web service.

When you use the greasemonkey addons to integrate it with Newzbin.com, It is pretty slick.

[gimmegimme]

I can't seem to download anything with SSL turned on using port 119 .. if I turn off SSL I'm getting 1.2MBps

Any ideas of what I may be doing wrong? Thanks in advance

I'm on Rogers + WRT54GL w/DD-WRT + SABnzbd if that matters
Are you connecting to the SSL server? You need to connect to secure.news.astraweb.com for SSL, not news.astraweb.com.

[Bordello]

Are you connecting to the SSL server? You need to connect to secure.news.astraweb.com for SSL, not news.astraweb.com.
The secure server is "ssl.astraweb.com".

[MrDisco]

Newsleecher, newsbin pro etc are good if you're prefer to search through all the posts in the groups. It was a big time waster and now it's just so much easier to just grab the nzb files off a listing site.

Newsleecher fully supports nzb files as well.

[gmcq]

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/96-yearly.html

[Kaitlyn]

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/96-yearly.html

I forgot to post in here... but ya, I created a new thread here:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=759254

Also lists a $25 one-time deal!

[Narutard]

The secure server is "ssl.astraweb.com".

noobie question. whats the point of connecting through SSL

[slomo]

noobie question. whats the point of connecting through SSL

Security, your ISP (Bell, Rogers) can still see the content of the packet that you are transferring from wherever it is. With SSL, each packet is encrypted. Very useful if you are downloading from outside of your home. For privacy reasons, you may want to do this from inside as well.

[shahn2]

I see a huge possibility of hitting the Rogers limit of 60 GB very quickly with this.
Movies and TV shows alone will take you over!
How do you folks get around that if at all?

[paradime]

How do you folks get around that if at all?
Easy...you just pay the surcharge amount. :D

If I'm not mistaken, Rogers caps your surcharges to $25 so you can download 100 GB or 500 GB and the most they're going to hit you with is $25. You might also get a warning for hitting 500 GB but I haven't heard of anyone receiving a warning letter in quite a few years.

[scouzer]

Unless you download a lot, the 180GB for $25 is probably a better deal than their monthly plans. Most people have a 60GB bandwidth limit per month anyway... so it'd probably take a minimum of 4 months to hit 180GB = $6.25/mo

[Squeeky]

In the US bandwith caps are on the order of 250GB (Comcast) and customers complain. We are so passive here making do with 60GB.

[zod]

I see a huge possibility of hitting the Rogers limit of 60 GB very quickly with this.
Movies and TV shows alone will take you over!
How do you folks get around that if at all?

I'm in the west where Telus has been rolling out adsl2 technology. They don't currently monitor your consumption if you're on an adsl2 port. If they ever do I'd go back to teksavvy. Allthough teksavvy has a 200gb cap for the west, they give you options like buy 100gb for 10 bux extra on your bill (allthough this means you have to guess what your consumption might be).

[FlyingElvi]

The problem is that al the main internet providers in canada are also TV Program provider. They can't give you too much bandwidth because then you can rely on that medium to get your TV (or phone)

With Astraweb for example you can get all HD TV you need add some OTA HD channel with that and you no longer need cable or satelite TV. So they ask the CRTC to help them keep their profits.

[TanGU]

In the US bandwith caps are on the order of 250GB (Comcast) and customers complain. We are so passive here making do with 60GB.

in quebec, the limit with Videotron is 30 gig! Can we call that "passive" ?

[bluetea]

is this thing dead for anyone else?

[airjordan604]

is this thing dead for anyone else?

dead? well... im having problems connecting to their news server at the moment, annoyed cus lots of stuff I need to DL tonight

[bluetea]

dead? well... im having problems connecting to their news server at the moment, annoyed cus lots of stuff I need to DL tonight

it was giving me an error (10060:444) earlier, i was able to telnet/ping their server tho. restarted the box, everything's fine now

[airjordan604]

it was giving me an error (10060:444) earlier, i was able to telnet/ping their server tho. restarted the box, everything's fine now

yea me too... everything seems fine now :)

[GStrike-]

What actually is this? is this some kind of ISP?

[robmtl1]

in quebec, the limit with Videotron is 30 gig! Can we call that "passive" ?

30 GB?

That is the limit for the plan you are paying for. Videotron certainly offers other plans that have a much higher or unlimited download limit.

[zod]

dead? well... im having problems connecting to their news server at the moment, annoyed cus lots of stuff I need to DL tonight

its backup.. looks like it went down for a few hours. I don't recall it ever doing that while I've used it... hopefully it was just a hiccup.

[Pseudo Nim]

30 GB?

That is the limit for the plan you are paying for. Videotron certainly offers other plans that have a much higher or unlimited download limit.

No more unlimited - unless you go for the business account. But yes, they DO offer larger plans.

[RedFlagRobot]

Anyone use some sort of automated setup for TV shows so you automatically grab new episodes as soon as they're released?

[rEDSpider]

Anyone use some sort of automated setup for TV shows so you automatically grab new episodes as soon as they're released?

http://www.tvnzb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52069

[dcpyke]

What actually is this? is this some kind of ISP?

No you still need your ISP. Astraweb allow you access to newsgroups where people have uploaded files, ie movies, music, books, etc.

It's preferable to filesharing because of faster connection speeds and you don't have to maintain upload quota.

[RedFlagRobot]

http://www.tvnzb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52069

Thanks!

[MWM]

XLned
http://www.xlned.com/partner/xp044475/

Been with them for over a year, best deal I could find.
The XL BASIC would be enough speed (10mb) for all but the fastest connections.
I'm on a 5mb connection so i'm on the XL SMALL.

[Frankie3s]

http://www.tvnzb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52069

Thank you as well.

[sheriffabc]

noobest question: Can you watch movies and TV in HD thru this usenet? If so, what would I need (any special programs, etc)?

[slaman]

noobest question: Can you watch movies and TV in HD thru this usenet? If so, what would I need (any special programs, etc)?

Google.

[zod]

noobest question: Can you watch movies and TV in HD thru this usenet? If so, what would I need (any special programs, etc)?

usenet was originally developed for messages, but as online forums took over, it got used less and less (especially with all the spam).
Some genious (years ago) figured out how to turn standard files into text. There by allowing the upload of files onto usenet. Basically usenet is a giant filesharing server. You don't play anything through it. You just download stuff off it.. whether it be in mkv, or avi, x264 or xvid. The thing is one it gets posted its on all the usenet servers. Unlike bittorent it doesn't require people to upload it over and over again. One person uploads... everyone else downloads.

[SaraLee]

If I am on Rogers with 60 Gig cap and don't want to exceed it then it would be a waste/defeat the purpose to get an unlimited usenet account? Am I seeing this right?

[Xon]

If I am on Rogers with 60 Gig cap and don't want to exceed it then it would be a waste/defeat the purpose to get an unlimited usenet account? Am I seeing this right?

Yeah, it would be a bit of a waste. 3 months of the unlimited plan would cost you $30. The $25 Pay by Download package allows you to download 180 GB which = 3 months under Rogers' 60GB cap (5$ less than the unlimited plan). And that's assuming you don't do anything with your internet connection but download from usenet, which is unlikely. You would probably get at least 4 months out of the $25 plan.

[hardness]

If I am on Rogers with 60 Gig cap and don't want to exceed it then it would be a waste/defeat the purpose to get an unlimited usenet account? Am I seeing this right?

It all depends on your ISP, I'll give you an example.

I am in Manitoba using Shaw, using their High Speed Extreme (15Mb connection, 100 GB limit). I have never gotten a complaint even though I download in excess of 400GB a month.

When I was living in BC using Shaw they would routinely complain about my bandwidth usage to the point I got blacklisted and was no longer a customer.

In Manitoba the competition to Shaw is MTS (DSL). MTS never complains about usage so it may be the reason why Shaw doesn't complain either.

So the main things is you need to know how strict your ISP is with exceeding your limit. I hope this helps

[Slingshot377]

Hmmm, 20 connections?
Does that mean you can share this with 20 people?

[Xon]

Hmmm, 20 connections?
Does that mean you can share this with 20 people?

It means you can use multiple connections to increase your download speed.

[Natural99]

anyone with an account that wants to sell me a connection please pm me

[JustinZ]

anyone with an account that wants to sell me a connection please pm me

lol

[netpredator]

First rule of usenet is :

- Don't talk about usenet

Second rule of usenet :

- Never forget rule number one

:)

[lunaris]

anyone with an account that wants to sell me a connection please pm me

lold, 20 connections means basically u can download 20 files at the same time dumbass:lol:

[jamex]

lold, 20 connections means basically u can download 20 files at the same time dumbass:lol:

actually it means you can download 20 parts at the same time which could all belong to the same file....dumbass

in other words you don't need multiple files to take advantage of threading connections.

[bellamr]

First rule of usenet is :

- Don't talk about usenet

Second rule of usenet :

- Never forget rule number one

:)

You just broke the first and second rule :cheesygri

[theCSbully]

Wow this is good stuff.

[GRANDISON]

i dont want to sift through all 54 pages, can someone explain how usenet works! I remeber trying it along time ago, but it looked way to advanced for me to figure out so i deleted it.

[Noobzilla]

i dont want to sift through all 54 pages, can someone explain how usenet works! I remeber trying it along time ago, but it looked way to advanced for me to figure out so i deleted it.

It's a series of tubes that send you the internets for free.

[Don DiGuapo]

i dont want to sift through all 54 pages, can someone explain how usenet works! I remeber trying it along time ago, but it looked way to advanced for me to figure out so i deleted it.

http://www.slyck.com/

[Emancipated]

i dont want to sift through all 54 pages, can someone explain how usenet works! I remeber trying it along time ago, but it looked way to advanced for me to figure out so i deleted it.

I'm going to go against my better judgement on this, but in a nutshell, it's a way to get free stuff.

Think of all the other aggregated solution which is in a relatively easy medium and only a few keyword searches away. Instead of using specific sites to search for content, you use sites like Newzbin.com ($5 a month) or free ones but less intuitive like (check slykck.com for the list) to find what you're looking for.

Some sites will offer longer retentions than others but generally, it's more than 6 months before the stuff is purged from the server. Biggest selling point is that it's on-demand. You don't need to share like torrents; it's biggest flaw is stuff may be a little scarce unless you're patient and wait for requests to be fulfilled.

check the slyck.com site for more info.


I'm currently using Astraweb and sometimes only get 300kb. Site has been really slow lately but i"m on their 90GB unlimited plan.

[jackie999]

I don't want to sift thru all the posts either...but astraweb is now 465 day retention.
The way usenet works for me..I visit newzbin.com and search..I find the linux distro :) I want to download and either create a nzb file (or just copy the ID) for the download. You can also use " bin search dot info "
Then, in my ubuntu, I open up lottanzb/hellanzb and input either the nzb file (or the ID) and it downloads. I've already configured lottanzb with my astraweb information.
On windows I think most use newsleecher or newsbinpro instead of lottanzb.
That's about it in a nutshell.
HTH's

I'm on the unlimited $11US pm plan http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html - speed is 600+ with teksavvy

[Emancipated]

http://www.slyck.com/

Didn't know they have videos now. Cool!

[surfmonster]

it's a series of tubes that send you the internets for free.
roflmao


i dont want to sift through all 54 pages, can someone explain how usenet works! I remeber trying it along time ago, but it looked way to advanced for me to figure out so i deleted it.
jfgi

[bionicsamm]

Astraweb still has there $96 per year deal, you just have to email them and they'll send you a special promo link. I know that's been mentioned already, but I just wanted to mention that it's still current, I purchased it this week :)

[jackie999]

How does the $96 per year work? I have the $11 per month, but it doesn't expire as long as you maintain your subscription. What happens after the year is up with the $96 plan..also, how about posting the promo link they sent you for the benefit of other RFD'ers :)

[bionicsamm]

It stays the same $96 indefinitely, automatically renews on your yearly date. I'm getting great speeds and have been very happy with the service so far.

Here's the link they sent me.

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/voucher.cgi?t=b8gruazjrk0uyll

[S_G]

i dont want to sift through all 54 pages, can someone explain how usenet works! I remeber trying it along time ago, but it looked way to advanced for me to figure out so i deleted it.
You deleted usenet? The whole thing?

[jackie999]

Thanks Bionicsamm - I've sent in a ticket asking to change my plan from the $11pm to the $96 per year. I figured it was best to email, since it's a plan change in my case.
Another few bucks RFD'ers have saved me :)

[Konowl]

Seems complicated but I poked around Newzbin etc, the choices of what to download are limitless LOL. Right now I have my media server in the closet do all my torrent downloads while I sleep - is there any network friendly reader I could use, or would I have to remote into the server all the time to down load from the newsgroups? Right now I just drop a torrent into dropbox and my server will automatically grab the torrent and start downloading, and I can monitor via utorrents web interface.

[Canadianpsycho]

Seems complicated but I poked around Newzbin etc, the choices of what to download are limitless LOL. Right now I have my media server in the closet do all my torrent downloads while I sleep - is there any network friendly reader I could use, or would I have to remote into the server all the time to down load from the newsgroups? Right now I just drop a torrent into dropbox and my server will automatically grab the torrent and start downloading, and I can monitor via utorrents web interface.

SABnzbd http://www.sabnzbd.org/

Free, automatically scans a directory for .nzbs, downloads, extracts and deletes .rars. Web based interface, runs in background. Pretty sure you can access remotely, never tried it.

[Emancipated]

Where is Astraweb located? Important to know in case the FBI raids them in the future.

[jamex]

Where is Astraweb located? Important to know in case the FBI raids them in the future.

you can put your tinfoil hat away. usenet servers dont contain copywrite material per se. Its simply text broken into chunks that are meaningless on their own. Thats the beauty of it. Its been around far longer than torrents and p2p. If they could stopped usenet it would have happened long ago.

[AlexV]

usenet servers dont contain copywrite material per se. Its simply text broken into chunks that are meaningless on their own.lipstick on a pig...

[JAC]

you can put your tinfoil hat away. usenet servers dont contain copywrite material per se. Its simply text broken into chunks that are meaningless on their own. Thats the beauty of it. Its been around far longer than torrents and p2p. If they could stopped usenet it would have happened long ago.

They way Usenet for binaries will die is when legislation passes that requires ISPs to rat out suspected copyright infringement. I'm hoping SSL encryption will forestall that, but I'm not optimistic.


lipstick on a pig...

Hey, good for you. At least you don't try to justify your 360 'backups'. ;)

[ortofon]

Hm thinking about getting this, I got the NewsDemon unlimited plus for $1.00 for the first two months (basically a free trial) and I'm loving it. if Astraweb is as good as NewsDemon I'm all for it.

[volan]

This may have been covered on a previous post but a brief look couldn't dig it up.

Does Astraweb have a web interface (like EasyNews) or do you need a usenet client?

[Pavel]

Usenet client. I like newsleecher.

[ultimatejester]

Seems complicated but I poked around Newzbin etc, the choices of what to download are limitless LOL. Right now I have my media server in the closet do all my torrent downloads while I sleep - is there any network friendly reader I could use, or would I have to remote into the server all the time to down load from the newsgroups? Right now I just drop a torrent into dropbox and my server will automatically grab the torrent and start downloading, and I can monitor via utorrents web interface.

I don't know. I got an account with Astraweb but i haven't been able to find a site that provides latest stuff. I know i can use ********* to search for releases but is there a website that shows the recent uploaded content.

[setTopbox]

you can put your tinfoil hat away. usenet servers dont contain copywrite material per se. Its simply text broken into chunks that are meaningless on their own. Thats the beauty of it. Its been around far longer than torrents and p2p. If they could stopped usenet it would have happened long ago.

"simply text broken into chunks, that are meaningless on their own".

I wouldn't be so optimistic about that, the semantics of these sorts of things
are still being fought through courts around the world. At what part do
you define randomness and meaning?

There's clearly a pattern when you use yenc or base64 or whatever, and using those things you can reconstruct a jpeg etc from text. At that point those random pieces of text aren't so random any more, since we easily combine and create things from data put there by others. This isn't some new fangled discovery and anyone can do it.

My point is that the Usenet isn't safe because of it's perceived complexity, it's *orders*
of magnitude simpler than bittorrent in how it operates. The benefit in terms of
safety if the *IAA's ever start suing again is that they can't use the "making available"
argument against you, like they did with the Jamie Lynn case etc. In my view
that makes NNTP massively more attractive and far less worrisome than BT
gnutella etc.

If you were to claim it was safer, I would probably argue safety in the numbers of users world wide , I bet the *IAA's have detailed info on every single mid to large scale NNTP provider out there anyway. And as for SSL, that only helps you protect yourself from you ISP, hopefully.

SSL ends at your NNTP provider and at that point all those Jenna Jameson flicks you downloaded are potentially visible to someone in some data center.

[Eldorado]

Anyone else getting speed problems with Astraweb the past few weeks?

I'm with Rogers with 10meg download, speedtest shows me getting almost that

Always have got around 6-7meg down with Astraweb, but recently I'm barely peaking 4meg and is never stable.. drops quite a bit almost like I'm getting throttled

[archimed]

Anyone else getting speed problems with Astraweb the past few weeks?

I'm with Rogers with 10meg download, speedtest shows me getting almost that

Always have got around 6-7meg down with Astraweb, but recently I'm barely peaking 4meg and is never stable.. drops quite a bit almost like I'm getting throttled

Megabytes or megabits?

I usually max out my bandwidth at 1 megabyte / sec on Shaw. Fantastic.

[jamex]

Anyone else getting speed problems with Astraweb the past few weeks?

I'm with Rogers with 10meg download, speedtest shows me getting almost that

Always have got around 6-7meg down with Astraweb, but recently I'm barely peaking 4meg and is never stable.. drops quite a bit almost like I'm getting throttled

YES! I typically dont have any issues pulling 2MB/s (yes megabytes not bits) but sporadically I'm getting only 800KB/s sometimes with astra when speedtest shows full line speed. I know others on astra with similar experiences. It seems very random as one minute it will be slow, and then I'll check an hour later and its full speed again. Time of day doesn't seem to mean much either, ie peak times vs 2am in the morning.

Seems a bit better lately.

[kamran]

I agree the speed has been slower however I still find it's still great value, the retention and completion rates are amazing.


YES! I typically dont have any issues pulling 2MB/s (yes megabytes not bits) but sporadically I'm getting only 800KB/s sometimes with astra when speedtest shows full line speed. I know others on astra with similar experiences. It seems very random as one minute it will be slow, and then I'll check an hour later and its full speed again. Time of day doesn't seem to mean much either, ie peak times vs 2am in the morning.

Seems a bit better lately.

[bellamr]

you can put your tinfoil hat away. usenet servers dont contain copywrite material per se. Its simply text broken into chunks that are meaningless on their own. Thats the beauty of it. Its been around far longer than torrents and p2p. If they could stopped usenet it would have happened long ago.

"They" did a pretty good job of shutting down the Wolverine "work print" this spring. If "they" wanted to shut down copywrong infringement, I suspect they could (with a lot of effort) shut down infringement on Usenet in the US and other copywrong friendly countries. That would mean the servers would have to move offshore and then the country in question would have to legislate the ISP to block the IP address of the offshore Usenet servers (like China currently does to it's citizens for political content, etc, etc.)

Right now I think "they" figure Usenet is not too popular and if "they" go after Usenet that action might draw more attention to Usenet and make it more popular. The difference between Usenet and torrents is that the premium Usenet providers make money and can relocate off shore and torrents are peer to peer thus can only relocate when the user relocates. Also torrent users have their IP addresses broadcast while Usenet users can have a encrypted direct connection to the server. As for encrypted torrents, as far as I know encryption is for bypassing deep packet inspection and not to hide your IP address.

[Emancipated]

Anyone else getting speed problems with Astraweb the past few weeks?

I'm with Rogers with 10meg download, speedtest shows me getting almost that

Always have got around 6-7meg down with Astraweb, but recently I'm barely peaking 4meg and is never stable.. drops quite a bit almost like I'm getting throttled

I'm on Extreme as well and speed has been atrocious.

[EGee6]

I'm on Extreme as well and speed has been atrocious.

On Shaw Extreme and I've been consistently downloading at 1.6mb/sec or above for awhile now. I get my tv shows in a few minutes. It's awesome.

[JustinZ]

ive notice some speed fluctuations but i think its mostly roger's fault

[scouzer]

On Shaw Extreme and I've been consistently downloading at 1.6mb/sec or above for awhile now. I get my tv shows in a few minutes. It's awesome.

I'm having no speed problems on Shaw either. Strangely though even when I set it manually to connect to the US server it'll connect to the European server. I can't get it to connect to the US server no matter what I do. It doesn't seem to matter though, it maxxes out my 15mbps connection either way.

[flyingking]

thanks for replies

[scouzer]

thanks for replies

this isnt an isp. you dont access the internet with this.

[Eldorado]

Guys, no need to get picky on MB vs Mb.. I think you guys know what I meant when I said 10meg connection..

Anyhoo, I just fixed my problem last night.. I was downloading away only hitting as high as 4.1Mbps which is what 500Kbps.. my usual as of late

Thought I'd take a look around at my settings in Newzbin, I was set to use only 2 connections on the server... bumped that up to 4 and now cruising along and hitting as high as 9.1Mbps.. not sure how it changed, or if I was always using 2 connections.. but she's good now!

[jackie999]

Good to hear you're back up to speed. I know astraweb claims '20 connections' and I always set to that. I have to do some reading to see if that's recommended or if I should drop it down a few notches...

[gmcq]

I am on shaw extreme and my speed starts out really high like up to 4MBsp
then it stays steady at 2 MBps all the time ..astraweb speeds for me are stable

http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/uu48/gilbuilt/downloadspeed.jpg

[zod]

"They" did a pretty good job of shutting down the Wolverine "work print" this spring. If "they" wanted to shut down copywrong infringement, I suspect they could (with a lot of effort) shut down infringement on Usenet in the US and other copywrong friendly countries. That would mean the servers would have to move offshore and then the country in question would have to legislate the ISP to block the IP address of the offshore Usenet servers (like China currently does to it's citizens for political content, etc, etc.)

Right now I think "they" figure Usenet is not too popular and if "they" go after Usenet that action might draw more attention to Usenet and make it more popular. The difference between Usenet and torrents is that the premium Usenet providers make money and can relocate off shore and torrents are peer to peer thus can only relocate when the user relocates. Also torrent users have their IP addresses broadcast while Usenet users can have a encrypted direct connection to the server. As for encrypted torrents, as far as I know encryption is for bypassing deep packet inspection and not to hide your IP address.

not to mention most of the torrent related lawsuits in the US stem from uploading. Usenet for the most part is downloading, one person uploads, many download, could make it harder to prosecute.

[Pavel]

I am on shaw extreme and my speed starts out really high like up to 4MBsp
then it stays steady at 2 MBps all the time ..astraweb speeds for me are stable
My speeds suck the last few days. On average, I get with Extreme of 1.5 MBps. However, lately, it's been around 600 KB/sec or .6 MBps. I sent a ticket to Astra News.

[G77]

I am on shaw extreme and my speed starts out really high like up to 4MBsp
then it stays steady at 2 MBps all the time ..astraweb speeds for me are stable

http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/uu48/gilbuilt/downloadspeed.jpg

What client is that?

[qafyg]

That's newsbin.

www.newsbin.com

[G77]

That's newsbin.

www.newsbin.com

I use http://www.altbinz.net/ how do they compare?

[Cercopitheque]

Does anyone have xperience with Supernews? Another one with a special promotion: $12/m.

http://www.supernews.com/?a=newsgroupservers:toplist

UNS also has a promo of $10/m., but most people don't seem too satisfy with their service.

Is Astraweb the best choice out there for now? My ISP just dropped their newsgroup service. Retention was OK (60 days more or less and I never really needed more), completion was great, but speed was capped at 60MB/s. (ISP claimed it wasn't them... maybe Bell was involved?), but it's gone now so I have to move on. What pissed me off is that they didn't bother to let their customer know of the change, they just cut off the service one morning.

I apreciate people sharing their experience. It often makes decision making a lot easier.

Thanks.

[loybond]

I'm having no trouble, maxing out at 3.1 MB/s (Rogers).

[marcopolo85]

Signed up yesterday for the $10 unlimited plan. Going great so far getting 1200kbps download.

[Eldorado]

Good to hear you're back up to speed. I know astraweb claims '20 connections' and I always set to that. I have to do some reading to see if that's recommended or if I should drop it down a few notches...

A bit of googling I found 4-5 connections is tops for what you need to fill your full connection speed

No need for 20

[Eldorado]

Does anyone have xperience with Supernews? Another one with a special promotion: $12/m.

http://www.supernews.com/?a=newsgroupservers:toplist

UNS also has a promo of $10/m., but most people don't seem too satisfy with their service.

Is Astraweb the best choice out there for now? My ISP just dropped their newsgroup service. Retention was OK (60 days more or less and I never really needed more), completion was great, but speed was capped at 60MB/s. (ISP claimed it wasn't them... maybe Bell was involved?), but it's gone now so I have to move on. What pissed me off is that they didn't bother to let their customer know of the change, they just cut off the service one morning.

I apreciate people sharing their experience. It often makes decision making a lot easier.

Thanks.

For this price with their speed, retention and completion.. Astraweb has to be the best deal going right now

[Rockstead]

Astraweb currently has a special plan for usenet usage. I signed up to it yesterday and it maxes out my connection of 10mbit. I dont know about how it handles faster connections.

This is what it offers:


UPDATE 2:
Astraweb have upgraded (https://helpdesk.astraweb.com/index.php?_m=news&_a=viewnews&newsid=20) servers to support 365 days retention capacity.

Please note that obviously retention will not be 365 days as of today. Each day, retention increases by one day and at this moment is around 210 days and will continue to grow until 365 days.


UPDATE:
Astraweb upgraded (http://helpdesk.astraweb.com/index.php?_m=news&_a=viewnews&newsid=12) retention to 270 days on Dec 31

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/kleverig-11.html


Credit goes to jbloggs @ fatwallet


OP,

You really need to update this first page to include the $96/year package they now have available, saves an additional $36. Include these instructions.

Here are the instructions on how to upgrade:

If you would like to upgrade your account, please signup again for your new account on our website for the special:

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/voucher.cgi?t=b8gruazjrk0uyll

Select a payment method, and make payment for the account.

When prompted for your username/password, do not proceed. Instead, email us your new order number and username and we will convert your account. A pro-rated refund will be issued on your previous order.

You will be billed $96 immediately. A refund will be issued for the unused time from your most recent rebilling.

Email us using the Helpdesk at: http://helpdesk.astraweb.com

[baumann93]

A bit of googling I found 4-5 connections is tops for what you need to fill your full connection speed

No need for 20

it depends on the connection you have. I sometimes download at > 7 MBytes per second - it takes a hard drive a couple of minutes to process what I downloaded in less than a minute :-)

[marcopolo85]

Can you use multiple IP addresses at once with astraweb?

[madhater]

Does anyone have xperience with Supernews? Another one with a special promotion: $12/m.

http://www.supernews.com/?a=newsgroupservers:toplist

UNS also has a promo of $10/m., but most people don't seem too satisfy with their service.

Is Astraweb the best choice out there for now? My ISP just dropped their newsgroup service. Retention was OK (60 days more or less and I never really needed more), completion was great, but speed was capped at 60MB/s. (ISP claimed it wasn't them... maybe Bell was involved?), but it's gone now so I have to move on. What pissed me off is that they didn't bother to let their customer know of the change, they just cut off the service one morning.

I apreciate people sharing their experience. It often makes decision making a lot easier.

Thanks.


Supernews is actually 9.99$/mth
http://www.supernews.com/superspecial.html

I use it but I think Astraweb at 11$/mth is probably a better deal. I've
had some completion problems lately with supernews that I never had
with astraweb.

will probably switch back soon.

[cruisx]

FRIckkkk I am stupid... I accidently clicked the paypal agreement on the super news site and now it charged me 10$..... I thought it would at least show the total and all before i confirmed -_-

you think if i e-mailed billing@supernews.com they will refund me as i havent used their service yet?

Stupid move on my part.

[ASharp]

Supernews is actually 9.99$/mth
http://www.supernews.com/superspecial.html

When Cercopitheque initially posted, it was $11.99 a month...as you can see by the struck out price. Anyway, I've been on Astraweb for a few days now and it's been quite good. Speeds are great and availability of files is quite good as well. It's a nice venture away from the violent streams of water.

[[H]ackerK]

Supernews is actually 9.99$/mth
http://www.supernews.com/superspecial.html

I use it but I think Astraweb at 11$/mth is probably a better deal. I've
had some completion problems lately with supernews that I never had
with astraweb.

will probably switch back soon.

Isn't post 849 (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/astraweb-usenet-unlimited-456-days-retention-20-connection-625243/57/#post9804809) worked out to be $8/mo even a better deal than 9.99/mo?

[madhater]

FRIckkkk I am stupid... I accidently clicked the paypal agreement on the super news site and now it charged me 10$..... I thought it would at least show the total and all before i confirmed -_-

you think if i e-mailed billing@supernews.com they will refund me as i havent used their service yet?

Stupid move on my part.


Maybe. but if you had to go ahead and use the service for a month it wouldnt be the worst thing :) I may have been unfair in my comments about the completion. I have downloaded hundreds of GB worth of stuff and only had problems getting a few things.

[madhater]

ackerK;9806626']Isn't post 849 (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/astraweb-usenet-unlimited-456-days-retention-20-connection-625243/57/#post9804809) worked out to be $8/mo even a better deal than 9.99/mo?

That is true but there are people that wont want to pay 96$ upfront and be locked in for a year. I for instance would rather pay the extra 2$ a month and be able to walk away if there is problems.

[madhater]

When Cercopitheque initially posted, it was $11.99 a month...as you can see by the struck out price. Anyway, I've been on Astraweb for a few days now and it's been quite good. Speeds are great and availability of files is quite good as well. It's a nice venture away from the violent streams of water.

The 9.99 price has been available for months its just hidden. And I agree, it is way more convenient than torrents. My fave part is that its always full speed and I dont have to bog my connection down with seeding all the time to try and keep a ratio up.

[ktokes12]

Hm thinking about getting this, I got the NewsDemon unlimited plus for $1.00 for the first two months (basically a free trial) and I'm loving it. if Astraweb is as good as NewsDemon I'm all for it.


Never mind found out it was a one day deal.
Do you have a link to this deal, I can't find it on their website.

[Pavel]

OP,

You really need to update this first page to include the $96/year package they now have available, saves an additional $36. Include these instructions.

Here are the instructions on how to upgrade:

If you would like to upgrade your account, please signup again for your new account on our website for the special:

http://www.news.astraweb.com/specials/voucher.cgi?t=b8gruazjrk0uyll

Select a payment method, and make payment for the account.

When prompted for your username/password, do not proceed. Instead, email us your new order number and username and we will convert your account. A pro-rated refund will be issued on your previous order.

You will be billed $96 immediately. A refund will be issued for the unused time from your most recent rebilling.

Email us using the Helpdesk at: http://helpdesk.astraweb.com
where does it mention (on their website) that if you cancel, the $96 will be prorated?

[Bioflare]

the 25$ for 180GB is good for anyone who going to dl less than 80GB /month from usenet.

At least it works for me on rogers extreme, below my cap and still cheaper than the unlimited plan.

[jackie999]

I just changed over my astraweb from the $11 per month to the $96 per year thanks to information in this post. The changeover was smooth and I got an $8 credit on the monthly fee I'd paid.
I've been with astraweb for over a year now and have no complaints.

[wiebecj]

On Shaw Extreme and I've been consistently downloading at 1.6mb/sec or above for awhile now. I get my tv shows in a few minutes. It's awesome.

I'm on Shaw Extreme in Winnipeg and get betwee 2.2-2.5MB/s at all times.

[ortofon]

Never mind found out it was a one day deal.
Do you have a link to this deal, I can't find it on their website.

Yeah it was a one day deal like 2 weeks ago.

[wiebecj]

I just changed over my astraweb from the $11 per month to the $96 per year thanks to information in this post. The changeover was smooth and I got an $8 credit on the monthly fee I'd paid.
I've been with astraweb for over a year now and have no complaints.

Did you just switch over today? I'd like to do this too - how did you go about doing it?

[jackie999]

It was mentioned earlier in the thread how to switch over from the $11pm to the $96 per year - it's also detailed in post #860.
I did it about a week ago.

[wiebecj]

It was mentioned earlier in the thread how to switch over from the $11pm to the $96 per year - it's also detailed in post #860.
I did it about a week ago.

ah thanks... don't know how i missed that! :mad:

[Rockstead]

Guys, in terms of paying for this in US or Canadian currency, what is the best method?

I'm using a currency converter and I find that it should be about $5 cheaper than what they are asking for, by default they are charging min Canadian dollars against my credit card.


What's the best way to do this?

1. Have them charge my paypal account?
2. Have them charge My creidt card in US dollars?
3. Have them charge my creidt card in Canadian dollars?

[zod]

Guys, in terms of paying for this in US or Canadian currency, what is the best method?

I'm using a currency converter and I find that it should be about $5 cheaper than what they are asking for, by default they are charging min Canadian dollars against my credit card.


What's the best way to do this?

1. Have them charge my paypal account?
2. Have them charge My creidt card in US dollars?
3. Have them charge my creidt card in Canadian dollars?

I have them charge in CDN dollars, but I think the FX spread's a little large, my gut is it it might be slightly better to have them charge your credit card in US dollars. Then again credit card spreads aren't very good either. I don't think one is really signifigant over the other. BTW i'm not sure if they accept paypal?

[Rockstead]

I'm trying to sig-up again for the full year (currently on monthly) and I'm using my Mastercard, towards the final processing step I get prompted to sign-up with Mastercard Securcode and it is not giving me the choice to opt out.

Is this normal? I can only complete this transaction if I sign-up for Securcode?

[Digital_Domain]

I have them charge in CDN dollars, but I think the FX spread's a little large, my gut is it it might be slightly better to have them charge your credit card in US dollars. Then again credit card spreads aren't very good either. I don't think one is really signifigant over the other.
I've got a TD Visa (in CAD) and when I did monthly, I looked at the numbers and found it slightly cheaper to get billed in USD. I think on my yearly account I saved maybe like $2-3 CAD, but that's it. If possible, I'd get charged directly in USD as then you wouldn't lose money in the conversation.

For monthly...
(Base) XE.com -> $11 USD = $11.6519 CAD

Checkout -> $11 USD/month = $12.18CAD
TD Visa bill -> $11 USD * 1.0837 (current TD buy rate) = $11.9207
Difference of -> 12.18-11.9207 = $0.26

Not much, but being RFD, I know people will look at that and go "I save $3!".

[cynan]

I'm trying to sig-up again for the full year (currently on monthly) and I'm using my Mastercard, towards the final processing step I get prompted to sign-up with Mastercard Securcode and it is not giving me the choice to opt out.

Is this normal? I can only complete this transaction if I sign-up for Securcode?

Yes, this is normal. Apparently this is prompted by Mastercard for certain merchants.

When I ordered, I had to call in to MBNA (my CC company) because I was having a problem with my securecode. MBNA had to go through Mastercard to reset it or something.

And on my CC statement, I see that Mastercard charged my accoutn $1.00 USD to reset the secure code! I know $1 is peanuts, but the principle of having a large company like Mastercard CHARGE you for something so minor without even telling you beforehand... Just because they can (as they have complete access to your account) is quite irking...

[Rockstead]

Yes, this is normal. Apparently this is prompted by Mastercard for certain merchants.

When I ordered, I had to call in to MBNA (my CC company) because I was having a problem with my securecode. MBNA had to go through Mastercard to reset it or something.

And on my CC statement, I see that Mastercard charged my accoutn $1.00 USD to reset the secure code! I know $1 is peanuts, but the principle of having a large company like Mastercard CHARGE you for something so minor without even telling you beforehand... Just because they can (as they have complete access to your account) is quite irking...

Here's the part I don't understand, I used American express instead since I was getting that mastercard Securecode prompt, and even after using my American Express it still prompts me to use the Mastercard Securecode...don't know what to do here.

[cruisx]

This is does not look good, someguy mentioned supernews a few posts ago so i accidentally confirmed the payment for it. So i filed a dispute and asked for a refund and they locked my supernews account......they raised the dispute to a claim and i lost...Ok so i was like what ever i will just try the service out and accept the charge. Well....now i e-mailed them to unlock the account and they have yet to respond....so did i pretty much loose 9.99$? this sucks if i accepted the charges and still cant use the service this is gonna such X_X

[Xon]

What's the best way to do this?

1. Have them charge my paypal account?
2. Have them charge My creidt card in US dollars?
3. Have them charge my creidt card in Canadian dollars?

I find Paypal's exchange rates better than my CC's, but my case may be different than yours. Best thing to do is to check the CC exchange rate and compare it with Paypal's rate on their respective websites.

[zabuza]

Just wanted to chime in and say I've been subscribed to Astraweb for a year now and am 100% satisfied with the service. Retention is amazing, and my bandwidth is always maxed out.

I think my subscription just expired because I got an e-mail from Paypal saying it was cancelled, but I'm just going to re-subscribe. Can't go without it, now.

[jackie999]

The astraweb $96 per year will renew itself in a years time (from what I read)..so you don't loose out on the good price. I just need to remember to notify them if my CC info (expiry date) changes.

[shepd]

This is does not look good, someguy mentioned supernews a few posts ago so i accidentally confirmed the payment for it. So i filed a dispute and asked for a refund and they locked my supernews account......they raised the dispute to a claim and i lost...Ok so i was like what ever i will just try the service out and accept the charge. Well....now i e-mailed them to unlock the account and they have yet to respond....so did i pretty much loose 9.99$? this sucks if i accepted the charges and still cant use the service this is gonna such X_X

Contact your CC and tell them that the company is now playing unfairly because they feel winning the dispute lets them keep your money and not give you service. Prove to them your account is locked.

If the CC company won't do anything, contact the AG in wherever supernews is (I'm assuming it's a US company) and ask them to file charges. You never know, weirder things can work.

[Pavel]

I'm on Shaw Extreme in Winnipeg and get betwee 2.2-2.5MB/s at all times.
Hmm. I dont get these speeds at all with Shaw Extreme in Metro Vancouver. Maybe it's time I switched to Telus turbo!? BTW, what servers do u use and what client?

[death_hawk]

For "poops and laughs" I decided to install a usenet client onto one of my GBit VPSes.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1372521/astra.JPG

13.666MB/s works out to about 109MBit.

I've seen it up to 14.5MB/s before.


Needless to say... I'm quite happy with Astra. Especially for $96USD per year.


EDIT: That screenie was taken literally minutes ago.

[dmdsoftware2]

I've been with these guys for many months. I buy the pay-as-you-go, to compliment the unlimited 30-day retention that I get with TekSavvy.

[flaming homer]

I've been with these guys for many months. I buy the pay-as-you-go, to compliment the unlimited 30-day retention that I get with TekSavvy.Really ? With Teksavvy you get unlimited (not counting towards your cap) of Usenet download from them ? Sounds like they're getting their services from UNS

http://www.teksavvy.com/en/news.asp?ID=7&mID=4

[dmdsoftware2]

Really ? With Teksavvy you get unlimited (not counting towards your cap) of Usenet download from them ? Sounds like they're getting their services from UNS

http://www.teksavvy.com/en/news.asp?ID=7&mID=4

Remember it is only 30-day retention. Often I download only when I go searching for something, and often it is > 30 days old unless it is something that just came out or was recently reuploaded. It's perfect for those who watch what is new on a regular basis, and download as things become available.

With retention periods breaking the 1 year mark, probably less people will be reuploading.

With that said, I still have a big chunk of my initial pay-as-you-go GB from astraweb that I bought last spring.

Astraweb is a great deal for those who don't load tons and could make due with an allotment of GB that can be used over time (vs monthly fee).

[juno1st]

currency - use paypal

...or get a US$ BOM Mastercard to dodge the 6% fee added to CDN credit cards


have to pay the bill in real us $ but

[busakap]

what does everybody use to search for nzb's?
just getting started with usenet, sorry if its answered but this thread is 50+ pages

is a site like nzbmatrix sufficient?

should i pay for newzbins? its private now, anybody have an invite they can send me?

newsleecher looks like it has search built in that you have to pay for, is this something i should pay for?

[mythos1453]

Really ? With Teksavvy you get unlimited (not counting towards your cap) of Usenet download from them ? Sounds like they're getting their services from UNS

http://www.teksavvy.com/en/news.asp?ID=7&mID=4

Teksavvy limits usenet speed to 1mbps which kinda ruins the deal for me.

[Bioflare]

Teksavvy limits usenet speed to 1mbps which kinda ruins the deal for me.

Well u can just leave it on in the background. It's not like you're missing a lot of bandwidth anyways. 5Megabit max, 4.6-4.8 in reality with overhead. Unless you're downloading huge 1080p movies I wouldn't see a problem. At least its included in your internet.

[g00f]

Teksavvy limits usenet speed to 1mbps which kinda ruins the deal for me.

I get free newsgroup thru Teksavvy...? I have never heard this before, and i've been with them for 2 years now. I just searched their site but didnt find any info on this, do you have any url to show me this free offering? Mucho Gracias :) .

I'm quite happy with astraweb, but know I will be hitting the 200GB cap soon after I cancel my rogers cable TV services soon, so having FREE source that doenst add to my cap would be prefect.

Thanks

[duckdown]

Is anyone else noticing major file completion issues on Astraweb now?

Mainly from the x264 binary groups; even posts around 100 days old or 200 days old are highly incomplete and unrepairable after grabbing all PAR sets.. I've noticed a few others in the IRC channel complain about this as well.

Sent their "support team" an e-mail message and the douches never even bothered responding.. Anyone know whats up?

[jackie999]

I get free newsgroup thru Teksavvy...?

It isn't free...as far as I remember it's an extra $4 a month for a static IP you use to access their newsgroup account....your speed is throttled, as noted above. I think downloads also count against your existing limits as well.

I decided to go with astraweb, but did consider teksavvys deal. You can find out more in the dslreports teksavvy forum. You can also post there in the private 'direct' forum for support.

Teksavvy RULES :)

[Jman]

Is anyone else noticing major file completion issues on Astraweb now?

No.

[TeamVII]

Is anyone else noticing major file completion issues on Astraweb now?

Mainly from the x264 binary groups; even posts around 100 days old or 200 days old are highly incomplete and unrepairable after grabbing all PAR sets.. I've noticed a few others in the IRC channel complain about this as well.

Sent their "support team" an e-mail message and the douches never even bothered responding.. Anyone know whats up?

Same here. I almost don't try downloading files older than 100 days anymore.

[JustinZ]

Is anyone else noticing major file completion issues on Astraweb now?

Mainly from the x264 binary groups; even posts around 100 days old or 200 days old are highly incomplete and unrepairable after grabbing all PAR sets.. I've noticed a few others in the IRC channel complain about this as well.

Sent their "support team" an e-mail message and the douches never even bothered responding.. Anyone know whats up?

Ive noticed some -- maybe 1/10 releases are incomplete

you can try switching to the European servers to download the incompletes

[jackie999]

No problems here with the regular avi/iso downloads. I got some old tv series, about 300+ days old (6 dvd's worth) and not a problem. In fact newzbin warned me there may be some incompletes, but the pars must have fixed them.

[FlyingElvi]

i don't have problem either, recently i download old stuff, i don't know which groups they were coming from, i'm using NZB files

[mythos1453]

I get free newsgroup thru Teksavvy...? I have never heard this before, and i've been with them for 2 years now. I just searched their site but didnt find any info on this, do you have any url to show me this free offering? Mucho Gracias :) .

I'm quite happy with astraweb, but know I will be hitting the 200GB cap soon after I cancel my rogers cable TV services soon, so having FREE source that doenst add to my cap would be prefect.

Thanks

I didn't say it's free, some people in this thread were saying it's a very good deal at $4. My argument was that although it's unlimited (I think it doesn't count in your bandwidth usage if they are your ISP) the 1mpbs limit, ruins it.

I find that the biggest advantage of usenet is speed. That's a personal opinion don't start bashing me :D

[TOPDAWG]

I've been using Astraweb for months now with tek as my ISP I'm on the no cap plan with tek. I'm pretty happy with it I never have issues.

[setTopbox]

Ive noticed some -- maybe 1/10 releases are incomplete

you can try switching to the European servers to download the incompletes

yeah, I just had one rar corrupted on a 145 day old set, in the x264 groups.
It was never an issue.

[zod]

Is anyone else noticing major file completion issues on Astraweb now?

Mainly from the x264 binary groups; even posts around 100 days old or 200 days old are highly incomplete and unrepairable after grabbing all PAR sets.. I've noticed a few others in the IRC channel complain about this as well.

Sent their "support team" an e-mail message and the douches never even bothered responding.. Anyone know whats up?

no problems for me. I get the odd rar that's missing a block and easily repairable with pars. Nothing remotely unsalvagabe.

I'd say 8/10 old downloads, download fine, 2/10 are maybe missing 1 or 2 blocks. That's pretty solid in my books.

[busakap]

with astraweb i'm getting around 1200 KB/s, is this about normal? i'm on rogers express with all 20 connections going

[mythos1453]

with astraweb i'm getting around 1200 KB/s, is this about normal? i'm on rogers express with all 20 connections going

Whats your connection?

[CenturyBreak]

with astraweb i'm getting around 1200 KB/s, is this about normal? i'm on rogers express with all 20 connections going

I'm on Cogeco, but I've noticed crappy speed with Astra as well: each connection is a max of about 40 KB/s... good thing I only have to use Astra as a backup, as I'd go nuts if it was my primary! :mad:

[da_hool]

I'm using Shaw Xtreme-I and I get a blazing 1.75 MB/sec all the time. Very happy with the speeds here!

[Mauk]

Been using Astra for two years now and I get great speeds with Express. Maxes out my connection so I had to turn on QoS so I don't take all the bandwidth.

[hyperactiveme]

Is anyone else noticing major file completion issues on Astraweb now?

Mainly from the x264 binary groups; even posts around 100 days old or 200 days old...

yep >:( regular files no probs just x264, think i'll switch to usenext for a month or so till it gets sorted out. So many dead downloads from different us/eu servers ssl and not.

[kamran]

I'm with primus and get approximately 4MB/sec with Astra using a single thread, if I increase to 2 or 3 threads I get closer to 5MB/sec but then my family complain about slow Internet browsing.

[juggie]

yep >:( regular files no probs just x264, think i'll switch to usenext for a month or so till it gets sorted out. So many dead downloads from different us/eu servers ssl and not.

maybe pick up a block account somewhere else and set it as your #2 server in your client so it will use that block account only when a post is missing?

[dpolites]

Don't regular ISP caps apply when using newsgroups? What is the advantage of this versus other sources that are free?

[Star*]

with astraweb i'm getting around 1200 KB/s, is this about normal? i'm on rogers express with all 20 connections going

Your rogers express published max of 10Mbps = 1280 KB/s so you got full download speed.
BTW, you really don't need 20 connections, 6 -8 connections can max out the speed.

[Yankees 1903]

Don't regular ISP caps apply when using newsgroups? What is the advantage of this versus other sources that are free?

Rogers has a max charge of $25 if you go over your cap so if your going to go over you might as well do it big. You can use 500GB in a month and still only pay $25 extra. The advantage is no waiting for people to seed anything, most free sites like the pirate bay are a pain to use with the speeds. Other places like private sites require upload minimums and ratios in order to not get kicked off. I tried a private site but with Rogers express there was no way I would be able to keep a decent ratio since uploading was so slow.

[JustinZ]

Just so you guys know

Starting March 1st Rogers is upping the bandwidth overage limit from $25 to $50

[yuiou]

Just so you guys know

Starting March 1st Rogers is upping the bandwidth overage limit from $25 to $50

These guys are crooks.
I wish there was another alternative....DSL is too slow.

[JustinZ]

These guys are crooks.
I wish there was another alternative....DSL is too slow.

I agree

teksavvy is only a measly 5mbit

[Yankees 1903]

Just so you guys know

Starting March 1st Rogers is upping the bandwidth overage limit from $25 to $50

Just as I mention the $25 max charge, not surprising coming from Rogers. I love how people in the States were bitching when Comcast put in place a 250GB cap. My cousin thought it was horrible.

[duckdown]

yep >:( regular files no probs just x264, think i'll switch to usenext for a month or so till it gets sorted out. So many dead downloads from different us/eu servers ssl and not.


Agreed.

The people in this thread saying "No" and "No, my AstraWeb is fine" are clearly downloading recent posts, or ********ting and not downloading x264 at all. The x264 groups are a nightmare

Here's one I just checked, for instance... badly incomplete and unrepairable
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/3876/scr1262895933.png





<tangx> did anyoen find out why astra was really having retention probs in the 160-190 range?




<ChkNpIMP> i noticed issues with astra starting 2 weeks ago
<ChkNpIMP> i loved astra but that love affair stopped 2 weeks ago




<+pcmike> something smells fishy about this.... .31GB @ 150d to complete something on astra
<+pcmike> it smells like astra is playing dirty on that particular post, doesn't it?
<+pcmike> but I just started w/ giga to fill in the **** astra is ****ing up on




<klever> Undownloadable parts: 12919
<klever> 33.71% of the data can't be downloaded!





<+pcmike> the best idea is to realize that astra isn't as great as we think and just also consider getting a bronze acct @ giga




They're going downhill, none of these quotes are from me but from #a.b.hdtv.x264 on EFnet


456 days retention of some groups maybe. not even 150 from others it seems like

[Roconne]

Just so you guys know

Starting March 1st Rogers is upping the bandwidth overage limit from $25 to $50

Holy **** are you serious? Can you provide a source for this? That is pretty crazy if true :mad:

[duckdown]

Just so you guys know

Starting March 1st Rogers is upping the bandwidth overage limit from $25 to $50


Wow.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'm going to abuse the living **** out of my cap now until March 1st... Seriously, what a bunch of jackasses. I absolutely DESPISE rogers

[Roconne]

Found an article talking about it the increased fee. http://www.digitalhome.ca/2010/01/rogers-cable-to-hike-internet-overage-fees-by-100/

This is pretty ridiculous. Might be time to switch to tekksavy, but even that who knows how long it will stay 'unlimited' because of Bell... I hate canadian ISPs.

[a2vr6]

What a bunch of pieces of garbage...not only is there cap a joke (60 GB for Express???) Total BS, going to start looking elsewhere. Costs of networking equipment/infrastructure has gotten MUCH cheaper than it was 10 years ago, and with record subscribers for there service they are rolling in it. Frigin Robbers...

[Yankees 1903]

I wouldn't mind the $50 charge if Rogers had a more reasonable cap like Comcast. 250GB would be much more understandable in this age of the internet with YouTube, iTunes, Torrents, Hulu, and streaming video. Comcast understood that and set it at 250GB and people in the States still bitched at them. Rogers is stuck in 2001 and thinks their caps are great. Funny how if Rogers introduced a 250GB cap they would be praised here unlike Comcast in the US.

[kamran]

I only had a problem download batman in x264 the pars could not repair, all others were ok.


Agreed.

The people in this thread saying "No" and "No, my AstraWeb is fine" are clearly downloading recent posts, or ********ting and not downloading x264 at all. The x264 groups are a nightmare

Here's one I just checked, for instance... badly incomplete and unrepairable
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/3876/scr1262895933.png
















They're going downhill, none of these quotes are from me but from #a.b.hdtv.x264 on EFnet


456 days retention of some groups maybe. not even 150 from others it seems like

[busakap]

rogers express is 10mbps


Whats your connection?

[busakap]

so 1200kb/s on a 10mbps connection is crappy?



I'm on Cogeco, but I've noticed crappy speed with Astra as well: each connection is a max of about 40 KB/s... good thing I only have to use Astra as a backup, as I'd go nuts if it was my primary! :mad:

[busakap]

thank you!


Your rogers express published max of 10Mbps = 1280 KB/s so you got full download speed.
BTW, you really don't need 20 connections, 6 -8 connections can max out the speed.

[baz5]

Anyone know the monthly limit on Shaw? I remember them phoning me one time but I can't remember what I was at.

[adamm]

Found an article talking about it the increased fee. http://www.digitalhome.ca/2010/01/rogers-cable-to-hike-internet-overage-fees-by-100/

WHAT THE EFFING EFF!!! It's bad enough the 60gb cap is ridiculously small, now they're gonna rape us even more with double to overage max?!?!

How can they get away with this with Bell's new 30mbps service. They have a 60gb cap as well, but they charge $30 extra for unlimited. As soon as Bell's new service is available in my area I'm switching without a second thought.

[Teioh]

Anyone know the monthly limit on Shaw? I remember them phoning me one time but I can't remember what I was at.

the 15mb package is 100gb/month. However it's very rare for shaw to do anything for going over the limit via downloading.

when you start uploading they get really pissed. I routinely do 200+ gb a month on shaw but I don't upload at all and I've never had them contact me.

[G77]

I'm on Cogeco, but I've noticed crappy speed with Astra as well: each connection is a max of about 40 KB/s... good thing I only have to use Astra as a backup, as I'd go nuts if it was my primary! :mad:

20 connections maxes out my Cogeco 14Mb connection.

How much over the Cocego cap are you going? I hit 180GB last month and they called me to try and get me to upgrade to 16Mb with 120GB cap.... Told them to stuff it as that would work out more expensive once I go over 120GB!

[busakap]

i'm using sabnzbd, if i have something i was downloading and it failed, sabnzbd puts it in failed folder, i guess the par files were not good enough at reconstructing it

how do i go about fixing this? can i try their euro servers? what do i do? load up the nzb again?

[$lacker]

Astraweb down for anyone else? I can't log in to their website or using Usenet, but they last took a monthly payment from me a week ago

[my2sense]

Astraweb down for anyone else? I can't log in to their website or using Usenet, but they last took a monthly payment from me a week ago

Works fine for me.

[heimdal]

Wow Rogers is a leech

guess I'll have to go crazy on downloading this month; probably leave my comp on 24/7

[bitsdoo]

Well I'm ready to jump into newsgroups (at least want to give it a try and see how it works).

It's a toss up between teksavvy's $4/month package and Astrawebs 25GB package. Any recommendations?

Also I set up SABnzbd+ but I need an indexing site, anyone have an invite to Newsbin they can send my way?;)

Cheers.

[kamran]

for indexing, I use http://nzbmatrix.com/index.php - $10 lifetime
despite what others have said, I like astraweb great performance and completion rates. I used teksavvy for DSL not newsgroups so I can't comment.


Well I'm ready to jump into newsgroups (at least want to give it a try and see how it works).

It's a toss up between teksavvy's $4/month package and Astrawebs 25GB package. Any recommendations?

Also I set up SABnzbd+ but I need an indexing site, anyone have an invite to Newsbin they can send my way?;)

Cheers.

[busakap]

what do you do in this case? you just can't download it from astraweb? what if this is the only download you can find? would the euro servers make a difference?

i have a problem where something errored, now have of it is sitting on my hard drive, how can i get the rest?

do i need another provider? is there anyway to "resume", i'm using sabnzbd


Agreed.

The people in this thread saying "No" and "No, my AstraWeb is fine" are clearly downloading recent posts, or ********ting and not downloading x264 at all. The x264 groups are a nightmare

Here's one I just checked, for instance... badly incomplete and unrepairable
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/3876/scr1262895933.png
















They're going downhill, none of these quotes are from me but from #a.b.hdtv.x264 on EFnet


456 days retention of some groups maybe. not even 150 from others it seems like

[jackie999]

It's a toss up between teksavvy's $4/month package and Astrawebs 25GB package. Any recommendations?

If it were me, I'd jump on the $11 per month unlimited (as linked in first post of this thread). Try it for a few months, once you've used it and find you can't live without it...then email and ask astraweb to switch you to the $96 per year.
I agree with the other poster who recommended nzbmatrix for your searches. I also have newzbin, but lately find it's falling behind nzbmatrix. I don't want to start any rumours ..but I *think* newzbin is under some sort of investigation so perhaps their service is suffereing for it.


i have a problem where something errored, now have of it is sitting on my hard drive, how can i get the rest?
busakap, you should ask your questions in a usenet forum, I don't think you're going to find too much help here in hotdeals.

[duckdown]

what do you do in this case? you just can't download it from astraweb? what if this is the only download you can find? would the euro servers make a difference?

i have a problem where something errored, now have of it is sitting on my hard drive, how can i get the rest?

do i need another provider? is there anyway to "resume", i'm using sabnzbd


I have no idea why people are giving false hope to potential new customers in here, I get a kick out of the people in here saying "I have no problems with file completion on Astra"

There's really nothing you can do other than leech the damaged files from another news provider. Here is what the operator of #alt.binaries.hdtv.x264 was saying last night:




[02:46] <@CJ|> for all you people that use astra that get broken posts a lot, id recommeng getting a block account from somewhere like newsdemon as a backup
[03:00] <McDuck> lots of crap with astraweb lately
[03:00] <McDuck> like speed on older posts
[03:10] <@CJ|> i just got one of newsdemons cheap block plans ($5/10GB) to help fill in some of the broken posts in the 120d range, and since im using a client that will only leech from newsdemon if astra doesnt have it, ive only used about 100MB so far



So yeah, you can try out that $5 plan that CJ| was talking about to fill in the missing blocks. Switching to a euro server, SSL server, etc. is not going to work as long as its on AstraWeb.. They seriously need to get their **** together

Good luck!

[Star*]

If it were me, I'd jump on the $11 per month unlimited (as linked in first post of this thread). Try it for a few months, once you've used it and find you can't live without it...then email and ask astraweb to switch you to the $96 per year.
I agree with the other poster who recommended nzbmatrix for your searches. I also have newzbin, but lately find it's falling behind nzbmatrix. I don't want to start any rumours ..but I *think* newzbin is under some sort of investigation so perhaps their service is suffereing for it.


busakap, you should ask your questions in a usenet forum, I don't think you're going to find too much help here in hotdeals.

when you say newzbin is behind nzbmatrix now, any facts? I just topupped my account for whole year.

[jackie999]

when you say newzbin is behind nzbmatrix now, any facts?

No, no facts...just my opinion and what I noticed over the holidays when I was grabbing stuff. I could see things were released on nzbmatrix where I didn't have a membership. I would then jump over to grab the nzb on newzbin and they weren't there. They did show up later though, and I heard the rumor about the investigation, and the info on on the newzbin portal:
Clearly the current and future climate are going to be rather more turbulent than the economic boom we've all enjoyed for the past decade. No company can guarantee they're going to exist in the years to come and sadly Newzbin is no exception. However, we're still here now, and we have every intention of that remaining the case for the forseeable future.
I signed up for another year on newzbin as well...I was just recommending to the poster that nzbmatrix is a good choice, and you can join without invite.

[Star*]

No, no facts...just my opinion and what I noticed over the holidays when I was grabbing stuff. I could see things were released on nzbmatrix where I didn't have a membership. I would then jump over to grab the nzb on newzbin and they weren't there. They did show up later though, and I heard the rumor about the investigation, and the info on on the newzbin portal:
I signed up for another year on newzbin as well...I was just recommending to the poster that nzbmatrix is a good choice, and you can join without invite.

That' true I noticed it too sometimes.
thanks for the info.

[busakap]

hey there, could you point me to a good usenet forum?

thank you




busakap, you should ask your questions in a usenet forum, I don't think you're going to find too much help here in hotdeals.

[busakap]

i will try that, do you know which client he is referring to?

does sabnzbd support this? (leeching off newsdemon only if astra doesn't have it?


[03:10] <@CJ|> i just got one of newsdemons cheap block plans ($5/10GB) to help fill in some of the broken posts in the 120d range, and since im using a client that will only leech from newsdemon if astra doesnt have it, ive only used about 100MB so far

Good luck!

[Star*]

I have no idea why people are giving false hope to potential new customers in here, I get a kick out of the people in here saying "I have no problems with file completion on Astra"

There's really nothing you can do other than leech the damaged files from another news provider. Here is what the operator of #alt.binaries.hdtv.x264 was saying last night:



So yeah, you can try out that $5 plan that CJ| was talking about to fill in the missing blocks. Switching to a euro server, SSL server, etc. is not going to work as long as its on AstraWeb.. They seriously need to get their **** together

Good luck!
Try SuperNews but newsdemons, newsdemons is a joke.

[duckdown]

Try SuperNews but newsdemons, newsdemons is a joke.

cool, i actually didn't sign up anywhere yet (other than astra), just was repeating what the op in the channel said..

I will check into SuperNews, thanks!

[busakap]

hey cool but i dont' see a by the gb package, only unlimited with them

anybody you can recommend where i can guy like 10gb or something, just need it to fill in what astraweb doesn't have

thank you


Try SuperNews but newsdemons, newsdemons is a joke.

[Star*]

True supernews doesn't have block plans. If you only want to have 10GB downloads try one of these free trials.

http://www.newsgroupreviews.com/free-newsgroups.html

I tried Binverse last month and it was OK. Some of them need your CC for sign up but you can cancel your accout any time before they start to charge you.

If you don't like to give them your CC data you may want to try to register with UseNeXT and don't finish the registration process (eg, stop at the payment info step) after few days you will get an email from them with a free 14 day user id and password no CC or cancellation needed.
Here is the info from the email:

"You can test UseNeXT for 14 days WITHOUT ENTERING YOUR CREDIT CARD DATA ABSOLUTELY FOR FREE. Your free trial ends automatically after 14 days, an additional cancellation is not necessary.
During your trial period you can download up to 1000 MB in highspeed mode.
"
they said 1000 MB in highspeed mode but I believe you can download unlimited with low speed (around 1Mbps).

[Star*]

cool, i actually didn't sign up anywhere yet (other than astra), just was repeating what the op in the channel said..

I will check into SuperNews, thanks!

no problem. I have accounts with both astra and supernews, I don't have any problem with astra but I like supernews better for only one reason.

[-=MK=-]

IMHO....The AstraWeb newhosting service works fine. I've DL'd over 110Gig in the last 2 months and have encountered 1 bad post. The dates ranged anywhere from <1 day old to >300days - with little problems aside from the usual PARs.

The majority of DL's came from the x.264 group as well so if there is a problem - I don't see it.

[delavoie]

I'm starting to really get fed up with Astraweb.. last week i downloaded 10 wii games, out of the 10, only 4 finished without errors.
The rest were all incomplete, even tough it said 100% complete when i grabbed the nzb's. Even the par's were no help.
I'm back on torrents now, atleast i'll know the files will be complete even if they take way longer to finish.
I can cancel at any month on Astraweb.. just wondering if there's a better service out there?

[Star*]

I'm starting to really get fed up with Astraweb.. last week i downloaded 10 wii games, out of the 10, only 4 finished without errors.
The rest were all incomplete, even tough it said 100% complete when i grabbed the nzb's. Even the par's were no help.
I'm back on torrents now, atleast i'll know the files will be complete even if they take way longer to finish.
I can cancel at any month on Astraweb.. just wondering if there's a better service out there?

from Dec 24 - 31 I downloaded 500+ GB (all are x.246 1080p) from supernews (the indexes are from newzbin) and all were good.

[jackie999]

I was having problems with bad files a few months back. Downloads wouldn't unrar due to corrupt files and some downloads insisted that they were password protected..which was incorrect. My speedtest was okay but at certain times of the day seemed to drop and was sporatic just surfing. Teksavvy put in a ticket for me and the service guy came and said my line was terrible, he spent a few hours changing my line outside and now I am faster than before and no more errors.
I'm not discounting the problems the others are having with astraweb, but I'm just throwing in that it could be bad lines, noise etc that's part of the problem.

[busakap]

thank you i will take a look

anybody use blocknews.net as a backup server, looks like 2.75 for 5gb, doesn't expire


True supernews doesn't have block plans. If you only want to have 10GB downloads try one of these free trials.

http://www.newsgroupreviews.com/free-newsgroups.html

I tried Binverse last month and it was OK. Some of them need your CC for sign up but you can cancel your accout any time before they start to charge you.

If you don't like to give them your CC data you may want to try to register with UseNeXT and don't finish the registration process (eg, stop at the payment info step) after few days you will get an email from them with a free 14 day user id and password no CC or cancellation needed.
Here is the info from the email:

"You can test UseNeXT for 14 days WITHOUT ENTERING YOUR CREDIT CARD DATA ABSOLUTELY FOR FREE. Your free trial ends automatically after 14 days, an additional cancellation is not necessary.
During your trial period you can download up to 1000 MB in highspeed mode.
"
they said 1000 MB in highspeed mode but I believe you can download unlimited with low speed (around 1Mbps).

[Star*]

thank you i will take a look

do you se sabnzbd? do you know to set it up to do all my downloading from astra but if something isn't there to switch to my backup? i only want the backup used if not on astra because astra is unlimited

I am using Sabnzbd as well but I don't think you can set up a backup for the thingy that you wanted to do. Set backup server(s) with Sabnzbd means when the main server connections are not available it will switch to the backup server.

[busakap]

do you know any software that supports what i am looking for?


thank you i will take a look

anybody use blocknews.net as a backup server, looks like 2.75 for 5gb, doesn't expire


I am using Sabnzbd as well but I don't think you can set up a backup for the thingy that you wanted to do. Set backup server(s) with Sabnzbd means when the main server connections are not available it will switch to the backup server.

[Star*]

do you know any software that supports what i am looking for?

No, I don't know but I think you will need to do it manually.

[baz5]

the 15mb package is 100gb/month. However it's very rare for shaw to do anything for going over the limit via downloading.

when you start uploading they get really pissed. I routinely do 200+ gb a month on shaw but I don't upload at all and I've never had them contact me.

Great, thanks.

[ieGod]

^ok, looks like I don't need to do any changes to my isp account...


What news readers are good to use and FREE? Since my Mom likes to stream Chinese dramas to watch, I'd probably need to be able to set a download speed limiter. Is this option available in newsreaders? I can't remember...

Few yrs ago since I've newsgroups, I used NewsBin Pro. Is that any good still? How about alt.binz, newsleecher?

Forget about newsreaders, they're more or less useless now. Grab SabNZBD+ and go to town with either (http://tinyurl.com/o9nnn)of these (http://nzbmatrix.com)sites.

[busakap]

i think this person is setting sabnzbd's backup server to another provider and it only uses it when the main server can't complete it

http://forums.sabnzbd.org/index.php?topic=3266.0

am i reading it right?

quote:

I have been having the exact same issue with them. I didn't want to jump ship as they are so cheap.

What I did was subscribe to blocknews, you can buy 5GB for $2.75 and it doesn't expire so you can take as long as you need. I then used Sabnzbd to set it as a backup server.

The thing is since I did this I have had not one failed download and most don't need repaired. Also I have used 0.15103GB of my 5GB allowance since the 1st Dec. I have downloaded around a TB from astraweb in that time so it shows you how little of the data astraweb is missing.

also taken from sabnzbd site:

Backup Server: If you want this server to only be used when something cannot be found on your main server select yes. Otherwise leave it as "No"




No, I don't know but I think you will need to do it manually.

[Star*]

i think this person is setting sabnzbd's backup server to another provider and it only uses it when the main server can't complete it

http://forums.sabnzbd.org/index.php?topic=3266.0

am i reading it right?

quote:

I have been having the exact same issue with them. I didn't want to jump ship as they are so cheap.

What I did was subscribe to blocknews, you can buy 5GB for $2.75 and it doesn't expire so you can take as long as you need. I then used Sabnzbd to set it as a backup server.

The thing is since I did this I have had not one failed download and most don't need repaired. Also I have used 0.15103GB of my 5GB allowance since the 1st Dec. I have downloaded around a TB from astraweb in that time so it shows you how little of the data astraweb is missing.

also taken from sabnzbd site:

Backup Server: If you want this server to only be used when something cannot be found on your main server select yes. Otherwise leave it as "No"

Yup, I was wrong. Just checked Sabnzbd's help page and it says
" You can specify additional servers, marked as backup that are only used when the main server(s) cannot download a piece of data. Sometimes it is useful to specify a primary server that SABnbzd should try to get its data from first, often this is a free server. A pay-per-GB server is the typical fill server. Note: you should at least have one primary (non-backup) server for downloading to start. "
http://sabnzbd.wikidot.com/Configure+Servers/

[busakap]

Star* thanks for all your input

so the good news is, i tried this last night and it worked, i went to blocknews and bought a 5gb block for 2.75 (doesn't expire, i can take forever to use it), i than added them as the backup server, went and downloaded all the stuff that was failing before and it worked perfectly, it looks like astraweb isn't missing a whole lot, just enough to screw up the completion

i had 3 seasons of tv shows that errored (about 6 gb each) and 3 x264's, about 38 gigs between all 3 so about 56 gigs total, after i redownloaded them

my blocknews account shows:

You Have Used 0.11812 GBs Of Your 5 GBs Purchased

so ya it sucks i had to spend 2.75, but it looks like it will last me a while, and i can definitely live with that since now all my downloads are completing

i would suggest the above to anybody who is having completion problems




Yup, I was wrong. Just checked Sabnzbd's help page and it says
" You can specify additional servers, marked as backup that are only used when the main server(s) cannot download a piece of data. Sometimes it is useful to specify a primary server that SABnbzd should try to get its data from first, often this is a free server. A pay-per-GB server is the typical fill server. Note: you should at least have one primary (non-backup) server for downloading to start. "
http://sabnzbd.wikidot.com/Configure+Servers/

[Star*]

glad to know you got what you wanted!
enjoy

[juggie]

do you know any software that supports what i am looking for?

Newsleecher lets you set server priorities. So, if you set your block account as #2, it will only connect to that server if your first account returns a missing post message. Other softwares do this as well.

[azn_pnoy]

does astraweb allow multiple ips? i want to split with my brother...

[duckdown]

does astraweb allow multiple ips? i want to split with my brother...

Nope, they're super anal about it.

Will even show the IP that's already connected to the account in the error message if you try to double connect :/

I've tried :/

[azn_pnoy]

hmmmmm i guess i gotta switch to usenet server then. i am currently with giganews and just passed the 2 months half price, about to start paying 25 US dollars...

[hades]

Star* thanks for all your input

so the good news is, i tried this last night and it worked, i went to blocknews and bought a 5gb block for 2.75 (doesn't expire, i can take forever to use it), i than added them as the backup server, went and downloaded all the stuff that was failing before and it worked perfectly, it looks like astraweb isn't missing a whole lot, just enough to screw up the completion

i had 3 seasons of tv shows that errored (about 6 gb each) and 3 x264's, about 38 gigs between all 3 so about 56 gigs total, after i redownloaded them

my blocknews account shows:

You Have Used 0.11812 GBs Of Your 5 GBs Purchased

so ya it sucks i had to spend 2.75, but it looks like it will last me a while, and i can definitely live with that since now all my downloads are completing

i would suggest the above to anybody who is having completion problems

Obvious question, but have you tried to repair the bad RAR files with PAR files?

Errors do happen. That's why PAR was invented.

Have used Astraweb a LONG time, they are a great service.

hades

[Star*]

Obvious question, but have you tried to repair the bad RAR files with PAR files?

Errors do happen. That's why PAR was invented.

Have used Astraweb a LONG time, they are a great service.

hades

He is using Sabnzbd, it does take care everything even don't bother to download par files when repairs are not needed.

[fjanicki]

Aren't filehosters (ex: rapidshare) services better than newsgroups?

[dighn]

Is anyone else noticing major file completion issues on Astraweb now?

Mainly from the x264 binary groups; even posts around 100 days old or 200 days old are highly incomplete and unrepairable after grabbing all PAR sets.. I've noticed a few others in the IRC channel complain about this as well.

Sent their "support team" an e-mail message and the douches never even bothered responding.. Anyone know whats up?

Yes it's gotten so bad that I've switched to newsdemon. No more problems. Some of the 200+days old stuff I tried to download had like 50% of the articles missing.

It's too bad because I'd been satisfied with them to that point.

[tacom8]

Nope, they're super anal about it.

Will even show the IP that's already connected to the account in the error message if you try to double connect :/

I've tried :/

Sure at the same time it will block one of you. I've been sharing with a coworker forever now, and as long as you setup downloads at different times or just wait a few minutes on an error its ok. Unless you are both doing serious leeching 24/7 its not really an issue.

i don't know if its been discussed, but i think astraweb has reseller accounts, offering multiple connections, has anyone ever worked the numbers on getting a pool on a shared reseller account to see if its cheaper?

[scouzer]

Aren't filehosters (ex: rapidshare) services better than newsgroups?

Are you insane? No way!!!!!

[JustinZ]

Aren't filehosters (ex: rapidshare) services better than newsgroups?

the people that upload those files prolly get their stuff from usenet

[busakap]

He is using Sabnzbd, it does take care everything even don't bother to download par files when repairs are not needed.

exactly

[Qube]

20 connections maxes out my Cogeco 14Mb connection.

How much over the Cocego cap are you going? I hit 180GB last month and they called me to try and get me to upgrade to 16Mb with 120GB cap.... Told them to stuff it as that would work out more expensive once I go over 120GB!

+1 Have a ~20mbit (possible) connection here (per Speakeasy test to NY). Shared connection. Going to my laptop connected 100mbit LAN writing to 120GB OCZ Vertex SSD.

Speedtest Last Result:
Download Speed: 16551 kbps (2068.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 15331 kbps (1916.4 KB/sec transfer rate)

Here's a stat from just before lunch:


Top.Gear.14x05.720p.HDTV.x264-FoV 1.52 GB Completed

Download
Downloaded in 14 minutes 19 seconds at an average of 1.82 MB/s

Repair
[top_gear.14x05.720p_hdtv_x264-fov] Quick Check OK

Unpack
[top_gear.14x05.720p_hdtv_x264-fov] Unpacked 1 file/folder in 35 seconds

[RASHID007]

Thanks, OP! Just signed up for $96/year.

Now I need a newsreader. Windows seems to have lots of options but what about OSX for my macbook? Any recommendation on the best (free) newsreader for OSX?

[jackie999]

Any recommendation on the best (free) newsreader for OSX?

Not sure if it's the best ..but SABnzbd is good. I've used it on windows and linux....google tells me it also runs on mac OSX

[mark_in_2k]

Not sure if it's the best ..but SABnzbd is good. I've used it on windows and linux....google tells me it also runs on mac OSXIt is the best, and free, and multi-platform, but a little scary at first as it's an app that runs in a browser window. Once you've configured it though, it's amazing as it becomes hands off; it only downloads the files you need from an nzb file, will auto download par files if it needs them, auto extracts the file from the rars, and puts it into a folder of your choosing. Very efficient.

[fjanicki]

Are you insane? No way!!!!!

Well I used both, and I really think that it's easier, more reliable and there is a lot more content on filehosters. When choices were torrents vs newsgroups, of course, newsgroups were a lot better then torrents but I don't know, I really prefer rapidshare/etc... right now.

[busakap]

definitely agree with everything stated here

+1 for sabnzbd


It is the best, and free, and multi-platform, but a little scary at first as it's an app that runs in a browser window. Once you've configured it though, it's amazing as it becomes hands off; it only downloads the files you need from an nzb file, will auto download par files if it needs them, auto extracts the file from the rars, and puts it into a folder of your choosing. Very efficient.

[Digital_Domain]

OP should be updated, they're currently at 515 days of retention. Almost a year and 5 months of retention... crazy.

http://www.news.astraweb.com/tools/stats.html

Also, +1 for sabnzbd.

[smokieboy]

people still use newsgroups these days?
i thought it was only for illegal activities:lol:


i got caught up in the hype last year and joined one of these newsgroups and it was a total waste of time. Download speeds were crap, I'd estimate less than 250kbps a 700mb avi file(dvdrip in case you couldn't figure that out) took 25 minutes....OUCH!
That's what I get for 20.00/month, are you joking?
It really doesn't matter which news reader you use either, the only difference was with grabit and it downloaded at 22 minutes.

Keep in mind that I changed the port numerous times, had no firewall running and had ROGERS EXTREME 10MBPS.

I opened up my flashgot/flashget extensions for firefox, login to my rapidshare account and downloaded the file in less than 10 minutes.

[Logos88]

people still use newsgroups these days?
i thought it was only for illegal activities:lol:
Hey... we've got Linux ISOs to download. ;) Ahem.

i got caught up in the hype last year and joined one of these newsgroups and it was a total waste of time. Download speeds were crap, I'd estimate less than 250kbps a 700mb avi file(dvdrip in case you couldn't figure that out) took 25 minutes....OUCH!
That's what I get for 20.00/month, are you joking?
It really doesn't matter which news reader you use either, the only difference was with grabit and it downloaded at 22 minutes.

Keep in mind that I changed the port numerous times, had no firewall running and had ROGERS EXTREME 10MBPS.

I opened up my flashgot/flashget extensions for firefox, login to my rapidshare account and downloaded the file in less than 10 minutes.
That is definitely not normal. I always get max speed from Astraweb on my Rogers Express (10 Mbps, or 1+ MB/s). You may have to increase the number of concurrent connections to 2 or 3 though.

[smokieboy]

Hey... we've got Linux ISOs to download. ;) Ahem.

That is definitely not normal. I always get max speed from Astraweb on my Rogers Express (10 Mbps, or 1+ MB/s). You may have to increase the number of concurrent connections to 2 or 3 though.


I wish they made Linux more user friendly, great system though.
I increased it to 5 and still nothing. I've found that even the newsgroups throttle their own connections because at exactly 1:30pm est everyday the speed would just drop and that's not a registered peak time for rogers throttling.

I guess you are lucky to be getting your speeds, you should play some lottery some time you have luck on your side:cheesygri

[milhaus]

people still use newsgroups these days?
i thought it was only for illegal activities:lol:


i got caught up in the hype last year and joined one of these newsgroups and it was a total waste of time. Download speeds were crap, I'd estimate less than 250kbps a 700mb avi file(dvdrip in case you couldn't figure that out) took 25 minutes....OUCH!
That's what I get for 20.00/month, are you joking?
It really doesn't matter which news reader you use either, the only difference was with grabit and it downloaded at 22 minutes.

Keep in mind that I changed the port numerous times, had no firewall running and had ROGERS EXTREME 10MBPS.

I opened up my flashgot/flashget extensions for firefox, login to my rapidshare account and downloaded the file in less than 10 minutes.User error.

[BobSagget]

User error.

100% user error. This guy probably had it set up with 1 single connection.

Anyone who thinks Rapidshare or MegaUpload or any of that file hosting stuff is better than a premium newsgroup provider is obviously uneducated on the subject.

I also agree with SABnzbd. After finding out about it at least 3-4 years ago now I've been using it ever since.

Configuring it to watch your download folder for new nzbs
Having it set up to always automatically download->verify->download required par2 files (if needed)->repair->extract to folder->move to another location->delete remaining rar/par2/nfo/sfv files->run user scripts(optional) is beautiful.

Wouldn't have it any other way.

[brownstein]

If you like SABnzbd+ then I recommend a program called sickbeard for organizing and grabbing your TV shows, it has a similar interface to SAB as I think it is based off of it. I also use the nzbdstatus firefox extension, on newzbin it will convert all the green arrows for downloading nzbs into orange ones that will send the download straight to SAB.

Sickbeard (http://code.google.com/p/sickbeard/)

nzbdstatus (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7617)

[Rudy]

I think I might just go with the 180GB for $25 and see how long it will last me.... I have a stupid 60GB limit with my ISP anyways :(

Are there better deals for data packages like that?

[joey003]

If you like SABnzbd+ then I recommend a program called sickbeard for organizing and grabbing your TV shows, it has a similar interface to SAB as I think it is based off of it. I also use the nzbdstatus firefox extension, on newzbin it will convert all the green arrows for downloading nzbs into orange ones that will send the download straight to SAB.

Sickbeard (http://code.google.com/p/sickbeard/)

nzbdstatus (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7617)

awesome, love the idea behind sickbeard, thanks for the heads up on that one

[smokieboy]

100% user error. This guy probably had it set up with 1 single connection.

Anyone who thinks Rapidshare or MegaUpload or any of that file hosting stuff is better than a premium newsgroup provider is obviously uneducated on the subject.

I also agree with SABnzbd. After finding out about it at least 3-4 years ago now I've been using it ever since.

Configuring it to watch your download folder for new nzbs
Having it set up to always automatically download->verify->download required par2 files (if needed)->repair->extract to folder->move to another location->delete remaining rar/par2/nfo/sfv files->run user scripts(optional) is beautiful.

Wouldn't have it any other way.



How could it user error when I did everything possible, plus I guess you missed my post where I wrote I had [5] connections set up not [1].

Bottom line is that none of those newsgroup ever give you the speed they tell you and since newsgroups and readers are kinda like p2p sharing ROGERS(who booted newsgroups long ago) is always looking for one of those ports that "shares" large data packets, UNLIKE when you download via a website which never get throttled.

Bottomline is that I could get a 700mb file in under 10 minutes, the majority of newsgroups users can't regardless of you not downloading the backup par2 files. I can get a 4.30gb file in LESS than 35 minutes can you? No you can't because you'll get throttled via your isp and their service first.

If you had bothered to do some research on the subject you would have read about how MUCH faster Rapidshare and MEGAUPLOAD servers are in comparrison with ANY claims by newsgroups.
There are no throttling by any isp because you are masking your downloads by http, and newsgroup servers have always throttled their own speeds at certain times to help ease traffic, RAPIDSHARE/MEGAUPLOAD does not.

Do some research before you start calling anyone unedcated junior.

[brownstein]

why not use the full 20 connections with astraweb? I do, I max out my rogers extreme connection no matter what time of day it is. Astraweb supplies alternate server addresses, in SAbnzbd I setup two different servers (both astraweb ssl ones) and made them 10 connections each.

[smokieboy]

why not use the full 20 connections with astraweb? I do, I max out my rogers extreme connection no matter what time of day it is. Astraweb supplies alternate server addresses, in SAbnzbd I setup two different servers (both astraweb ssl ones) and made them 10 connections each.

I get throttled big time if I do that, Rogers catches on after an hour for me, it took me 40 minutes for a 712mb file when I opened up my connection to [10] only works for [5] and up if you do it on non-peak times but that's like at 2am est here. That's the time most of the downloads went fastest, but the window is too small 2am-5am. Thanks for the help though maybe it'll help someone else who has been having problems with connections.

Overall I think if you are happy using newsgroups then use them, for me I never got anything fast from them and I got tons of viruses from the music section which almost no one posted anything about them having viruses.
Since i moved to warez links haven't had one issue with speed, viruses, downloading or uploading. So I just wanted to pass along my experiences with newsgroups and offer anyone else a cheaper solution because I know for sure that I am not the only one that has problems downloading via newsgroups.

[TLSRULZ]

I get throttled big time if I do that, Rogers catches on after an hour for me, it took me 40 minutes for a 712mb file when I opened up my connection to [10] only works for [5] and up if you do it on non-peak times but that's like at 2am est here. That's the time most of the downloads went fastest, but the window is too small 2am-5am. Thanks for the help though maybe it'll help someone else who has been having problems with connections.

Overall I think if you are happy using newsgroups then use them, for me I never got anything fast from them and I got tons of viruses from the music section which almost no one posted anything about them having viruses.
Since i moved to warez links haven't had one issue with speed, viruses, downloading or uploading. So I just wanted to pass along my experiences with newsgroups and offer anyone else a cheaper solution because I know for sure that I am not the only one that has problems downloading via newsgroups.

Something is definitely wrong here.. I use 2 connections with Astraweb, using Rogers Express and I can easly get 1.0-1.2MB down (consistantly).. I have been using Giganews, Astraweb and now Blocknews with Rogers, (and now Teksavvy) no issues whatsoever, allways max out with just 2 connections.

[smokieboy]

Something is definitely wrong here.. I use 2 connections with Astraweb, using Rogers Express and I can easly get 1.0-1.2MB down (consistantly).. I have been using Giganews, Astraweb and now Blocknews with Rogers, (and now Teksavvy) no issues whatsoever, allways max out with just 2 connections.

If you are outside the GTA then you'll have better luck with speed than if you are downtown. Rogers and Bell both throttle traffic based more on location than anything else. That being said, if you are having this much success with nhewsgroups then start posting a tut or a video tut on it because I can send you too 4 other forums where lots of people are having issues with Rogers and newgroups.

So write up something to help everyone else:cheesygri

[BobSagget]

How could it user error when I did everything possible, plus I guess you missed my post where I wrote I had [5] connections set up not [1].

Bottom line is that none of those newsgroup ever give you the speed they tell you and since newsgroups and readers are kinda like p2p sharing ROGERS(who booted newsgroups long ago) is always looking for one of those ports that "shares" large data packets, UNLIKE when you download via a website which never get throttled.

Bottomline is that I could get a 700mb file in under 10 minutes, the majority of newsgroups users can't regardless of you not downloading the backup par2 files. I can get a 4.30gb file in LESS than 35 minutes can you? No you can't because you'll get throttled via your isp and their service first.

If you had bothered to do some research on the subject you would have read about how MUCH faster Rapidshare and MEGAUPLOAD servers are in comparrison with ANY claims by newsgroups.
There are no throttling by any isp because you are masking your downloads by http, and newsgroup servers have always throttled their own speeds at certain times to help ease traffic, RAPIDSHARE/MEGAUPLOAD does not.

Do some research before you start calling anyone unedcated junior.

Is anyone else reading this and laughing? This guy is so uneducated I feel sorry. Please stick to your RapidShare. Usenet needs less people like you anyways.

[Logos88]

Bottom line is that none of those newsgroup ever give you the speed they tell you and since newsgroups and readers are kinda like p2p sharing ROGERS(who booted newsgroups long ago) is always looking for one of those ports that "shares" large data packets, UNLIKE when you download via a website which never get throttled.
Well that analogy totally doesn't work. Newsgroups is the polar opposite to P2P. With the former you download from one host, on commercial/business lines; the latter from multiple hosts, often on residential lines.

Bottomline is that I could get a 700mb file in under 10 minutes, the majority of newsgroups users can't regardless of you not downloading the backup par2 files. I can get a 4.30gb file in LESS than 35 minutes can you? No you can't because you'll get throttled via your isp and their service first.
For most users, even on Rogers, there's no throttling on newsgroups, for now. So yes, we can download at max speed.

If you had bothered to do some research on the subject you would have read about how MUCH faster Rapidshare and MEGAUPLOAD servers are in comparrison with ANY claims by newsgroups.
There are no throttling by any isp because you are masking your downloads by http, and newsgroup servers have always throttled their own speeds at certain times to help ease traffic, RAPIDSHARE/MEGAUPLOAD does not.
Regarding connections, newsgroups and Rapidshare/MegaUpload are actually very similar! They all download from a single host, with fixed (range of) IP address(es), on a fixed port (80 for RS/MU; 119/563/433 for newsgroups). There's no "masking" involved.

ISPs could've easily (and equally easily) throttle connections to newsgroups and RS and MU. But as of now, they don't, at least on most users.

[TripleHelix]

How could it user error when I did everything possible, plus I guess you missed my post where I wrote I had [5] connections set up not [1].

Bottom line is that none of those newsgroup ever give you the speed they tell you and since newsgroups and readers are kinda like p2p sharing ROGERS(who booted newsgroups long ago) is always looking for one of those ports that "shares" large data packets, UNLIKE when you download via a website which never get throttled.

Bottomline is that I could get a 700mb file in under 10 minutes, the majority of newsgroups users can't regardless of you not downloading the backup par2 files. I can get a 4.30gb file in LESS than 35 minutes can you? No you can't because you'll get throttled via your isp and their service first.

If you had bothered to do some research on the subject you would have read about how MUCH faster Rapidshare and MEGAUPLOAD servers are in comparrison with ANY claims by newsgroups.
There are no throttling by any isp because you are masking your downloads by http, and newsgroup servers have always throttled their own speeds at certain times to help ease traffic, RAPIDSHARE/MEGAUPLOAD does not.

Do some research before you start calling anyone unedcated junior.

I max out my Rogers connections using astraweb newsgroup, so yea, I'm pretty sure you are wrong... I can't see how RAPIDSHARE or MEGAUPLOAD would be faster than the maximum connection speed I can get through rogers...

[CenturyBreak]

Something is definitely wrong here.. I use 2 connections with Astraweb, using Rogers Express and I can easly get 1.0-1.2MB down (consistantly).. I have been using Giganews, Astraweb and now Blocknews with Rogers, (and now Teksavvy) no issues whatsoever, allways max out with just 2 connections.

Astraweb is also painfully slow, dial-up speeds, here on Cogeco in Burlington: 40-50kB/s per connection... good thing I only use it as a backup to other providers! :|

[QuickSurfer]

I have serious speed issues with Astraweb on Cogeco as well. During the day I seem to be able to get about 500KB/s MAX. During the morning and night I can max my line out with 1.7MB/s

[P10n33R]

How could it user error when I did everything possible, plus I guess you missed my post where I wrote I had [5] connections set up not [1].

Bottom line is that none of those newsgroup ever give you the speed they tell you and since newsgroups and readers are kinda like p2p sharing ROGERS(who booted newsgroups long ago) is always looking for one of those ports that "shares" large data packets, UNLIKE when you download via a website which never get throttled.

Bottomline is that I could get a 700mb file in under 10 minutes, the majority of newsgroups users can't regardless of you not downloading the backup par2 files. I can get a 4.30gb file in LESS than 35 minutes can you? No you can't because you'll get throttled via your isp and their service first.

If you had bothered to do some research on the subject you would have read about how MUCH faster Rapidshare and MEGAUPLOAD servers are in comparrison with ANY claims by newsgroups.
There are no throttling by any isp because you are masking your downloads by http, and newsgroup servers have always throttled their own speeds at certain times to help ease traffic, RAPIDSHARE/MEGAUPLOAD does not.

Do some research before you start calling anyone unedcated junior.

I always get the speeds I am told by my newsgroup companies. I can download a 4.3GB file in less than 35 minutes. I am not throttled by my ISP.

Before you start with your wild claims I would suggest maybe doing some research.

[smokieboy]

Is anyone else reading this and laughing? This guy is so uneducated I feel sorry. Please stick to your RapidShare. Usenet needs less people like you anyways.

Yeah "BOB", I'm laughing at you too because you haven't offered anything but complaints which means you know nothing, glad you are on newsgroups stay there.

Rogers throttles large packet sharing as in when you are constantly downloading via newsgroups/torrents. So say you are downloading your m**** file most of the time it's 47.6mb correct?
You are constantly downloading this size for hours a day correct?
That's a dead giveaway to rogers that it's either newsgroups/torrents.

Rapidshare works differently in that there are 200mb/100mb file packages that get downloaded at a time and since it's fast you are looking at less than 4 minutes per file so even if you constantly download stuff via Rapidshare they'll never throttle the speed since it's not a constant sharing of packets.

The throttling is all done automatically, not by users, so once they've programmed the parameters on what types of bandwidth usage to look for, ie large sharing packets or constant sharing of packets, that's what they will throttle. They haven't and would never throttle http packet travers because it's not consistant enough and would be a pain to program for.

"Wild claims" P10n33R?
So you've been to my house and seen the downloads then?
What are you a peeping tom............
Before you go on about "wild claims" first learn two things:

1: Rogers booted newgroups long ago because of all the sharing and that they claimed it cost too much bandwidth to keep up.

2: Rogers also put out an unofficial statment that any p2p and newgroup services would be subject to throttling as they consume too much bandwidth.

Try going to dslreports and looking some stuff up sometime before you make "wild claims".

[TripleHelix]

Yeah "BOB", I'm laughing at you too because you haven't offered anything but complaints which means you know nothing, glad you are on newsgroups stay there.

Rogers throttles large packet sharing as in when you are constantly downloading via newsgroups/torrents. So say you are downloading your m**** file most of the time it's 47.6mb correct?
You are constantly downloading this size for hours a day correct?
That's a dead giveaway to rogers that it's either newsgroups/torrents.

Rapidshare works differently in that there are 200mb/100mb file packages that get downloaded at a time and since it's fast you are looking at less than 4 minutes per file so even if you constantly download stuff via Rapidshare they'll never throttle the speed since it's not a constant sharing of packets.

The throttling is all done automatically, not by users, so once they've programmed the parameters on what types of bandwidth usage to look for, ie large sharing packets or constant sharing of packets, that's what they will throttle. They haven't and would never throttle http packet travers because it's not consistant enough and would be a pain to program for.

"Wild claims" P10n33R?
So you've been to my house and seen the downloads then?
What are you a peeping tom............
Before you go on about "wild claims" first learn two things:

1: Rogers booted newgroups long ago because of all the sharing and that they claimed it cost too much bandwidth to keep up.

2: Rogers also put out an unofficial statment that any p2p and newgroup services would be subject to throttling as they consume too much bandwidth.

Try going to dslreports and looking some stuff up sometime before you make "wild claims".

You keep saying "Since it's fast", for many people, it is not "faster" so I dont get your point.

I have never been throttled on astra by ROGERS so maybe these "throttles" are not applicable to everyone??

[joey003]

smokieboy: out of curiousity, how is it that rogers could be throttling newsgroup downloads? arent these downloads ssl and on a common port like 443 or 563? would that screw up any other ssl traffic?

i've used astraweb on several different ISPs, and a few connections always maxes out the speed.

[Mendes]

Yeah "BOB", I'm laughing at you too because you haven't offered anything but complaints which means you know nothing, glad you are on newsgroups stay there.

Rogers throttles large packet sharing as in when you are constantly downloading via newsgroups/torrents. So say you are downloading your m**** file most of the time it's 47.6mb correct?
You are constantly downloading this size for hours a day correct?
That's a dead giveaway to rogers that it's either newsgroups/torrents.

Rapidshare works differently in that there are 200mb/100mb file packages that get downloaded at a time and since it's fast you are looking at less than 4 minutes per file so even if you constantly download stuff via Rapidshare they'll never throttle the speed since it's not a constant sharing of packets.

The throttling is all done automatically, not by users, so once they've programmed the parameters on what types of bandwidth usage to look for, ie large sharing packets or constant sharing of packets, that's what they will throttle. They haven't and would never throttle http packet travers because it's not consistant enough and would be a pain to program for.

"Wild claims" P10n33R?
So you've been to my house and seen the downloads then?
What are you a peeping tom............
Before you go on about "wild claims" first learn two things:

1: Rogers booted newgroups long ago because of all the sharing and that they claimed it cost too much bandwidth to keep up.

2: Rogers also put out an unofficial statment that any p2p and newgroup services would be subject to throttling as they consume too much bandwidth.

Try going to dslreports and looking some stuff up sometime before you make "wild claims".

Dude stop, you have no idea what you're talking about.

[Star*]

You keep saying "Since it's fast", for many people, it is not "faster" so I dont get your point.

I have never been throttled on astra by ROGERS so maybe these "throttles" are not applicable to everyone??

+1, I dont' get throttled on any newsgroups I had by Rogers.

[milhaus]

Yeah "BOB", I'm laughing at you too because you haven't offered anything but complaints which means you know nothing, glad you are on newsgroups stay there.

Rogers throttles large packet sharing as in when you are constantly downloading via newsgroups/torrents. So say you are downloading your m**** file most of the time it's 47.6mb correct?
You are constantly downloading this size for hours a day correct?
That's a dead giveaway to rogers that it's either newsgroups/torrents.

Rapidshare works differently in that there are 200mb/100mb file packages that get downloaded at a time and since it's fast you are looking at less than 4 minutes per file so even if you constantly download stuff via Rapidshare they'll never throttle the speed since it's not a constant sharing of packets.

The throttling is all done automatically, not by users, so once they've programmed the parameters on what types of bandwidth usage to look for, ie large sharing packets or constant sharing of packets, that's what they will throttle. They haven't and would never throttle http packet travers because it's not consistant enough and would be a pain to program for.

"Wild claims" P10n33R?
So you've been to my house and seen the downloads then?
What are you a peeping tom............
Before you go on about "wild claims" first learn two things:

1: Rogers booted newgroups long ago because of all the sharing and that they claimed it cost too much bandwidth to keep up.

2: Rogers also put out an unofficial statment that any p2p and newgroup services would be subject to throttling as they consume too much bandwidth.

Try going to dslreports and looking some stuff up sometime before you make "wild claims".
I'll say it again. User error. Lots of peoples' direct evidence contradicts yours. I'm sorry about your ignorance about your own user error.

[smokieboy]

You keep saying "Since it's fast", for many people, it is not "faster" so I dont get your point.

I have never been throttled on astra by ROGERS so maybe these "throttles" are not applicable to everyone??

that could be true as I sit and wrote many of those posts I noticed that many of you guys that DON'T have issues are outside the GTA?
For years many people have been convinced that ISP'S have been throttling based on two principles:

1: The area in which some people are located and how much traffic that area consumes.

2: The bandwidth of each individual customer.

Now while #2 has been proven time and again on here and other forums, no one has actually been able to prove theory #1. So it could be possible that many of you DON'T get throttled because you are outside the gta.

I mean I can't see Ottawa using as much bandwidth as a city than Toronto.
As far as speed goes mine is always maxed out with Rapidshare and never get any throttling either so I don't see all of you guys points on how fast newsgroups are.

I see a lot of push for newsgroups but very little intell on actual speeds which doesn't help. Many of you do the set it and forget it thing so how would you know if you get throttled in the first place?

If you want to know if you are getting throttled then pick 3 700mb file packages, then download these packages at different times everyday.
If the download times are off by anything more than 1 minute the you are getting throttled and I am betting that they will be off by way more than a minute. That never happens with Rapidshare, I get 10 different servers to download from and have never experienced any throttling going on the 3rd year today.

All in all because it's worthless to argue with FANBOYS of anything I save 10 more a month, than you guys and isn't saving money what this website is all about?:lol:


@joey003,
I just wrote on how it's done in my previous postings.

@milhaus, Mendes,
user error?
you complain I have NO IDEA what I am talking about but NONE of you have offered anything but "my speeds are not throttled" which means nothing.
You all remind me of the xbox360 fanboys that claim xbox has a better fail rate than ps3 but it doesn't.

As far as soooo many people have different views than me, well same could be said about nazi germany in the 1940's , the majority had different view points on their experiences with certain races, did it make them right? No.

Try going to dslreports.com sometime and LOOK up all the issues regarding newsgroups/ontario isps, you'll read what rogers and bell's "unofficial" stands are on the issue. If they are saying you are getting throttled then odds are you are getting throttled. Understand everyone?

Open your minds, now stop answeing my posts and go talk amongst yourselves.:lol:

[Mendes]

that could be true as I sit and wrote many of those posts I noticed that many of you guys that DON'T have issues are outside the GTA?
For years many people have been convinced that ISP'S have been throttling based on two principles:

1: The area in which some people are located and how much traffic that area consumes.

2: The bandwidth of each individual customer.

Now while #2 has been proven time and again on here and other forums, no one has actually been able to prove theory #1. So it could be possible that many of you DON'T get throttled because you are outside the gta.

I mean I can't see Ottawa using as much bandwidth as a city than Toronto.
As far as speed goes mine is always maxed out with Rapidshare and never get any throttling either so I don't see all of you guys points on how fast newsgroups are.

I see a lot of push for newsgroups but very little intell on actual speeds which doesn't help. Many of you do the set it and forget it thing so how would you know if you get throttled in the first place?

If you want to know if you are getting throttled then pick 3 700mb file packages, then download these packages at different times everyday.
If the download times are off by anything more than 1 minute the you are getting throttled and I am betting that they will be off by way more than a minute. That never happens with Rapidshare, I get 10 different servers to download from and have never experienced any throttling going on the 3rd year today.

All in all because it's worthless to argue with FANBOYS of anything I save 10 more a month, than you guys and isn't saving money what this website is all about?:lol:


@joey003,
I just wrote on how it's done in my previous postings.

@milhaus, Mendes,
user error?
you complain I have NO IDEA what I am talking about but NONE of you have offered anything but "my speeds are not throttled" which means nothing.
You all remind me of the xbox360 fanboys that claim xbox has a better fail rate than ps3 but it doesn't.

Try going to dslreports.com sometime and LOOK up all the issues regarding newsgroups/ontario isps, you'll read what rogers and bell's "unofficial" stands are on the issue. If they are saying you are getting throttled then odds are you are getting throttled. Understand everyone?

Open your minds, now stop answeing my posts and go talk amongst yourselves.:lol:

If i post my last 6 months of bandwidth + show you this post

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/7207002-post56/

will you stop posting?

I've been using Astra & Usenetserver for 5+ years. Newgroups are not throttled in any way shape or form.

Torrents are. They are completely different beasts. Files are transferred in completely different ways.

Rogers doesnt have the bottle necks it used to where people would complain and they would wheen your line down. Rogers offers 50Mbps lines now. If you think that your 1.5mbps(10Mbps) is causing other rogers customers grief, i have some magic beans to sell you.