- What is a Newsreader and why do you need
one?
- There are two ways to access files and
messages on Usenet. The first is through a web interface,
described below. The second is by using a program that connects to
the server at a more direct level and provides more flexibility and
control. If you have MS Outlook Express, you already have a
newsreader (there is newsreader functionality built into Netscape and
Mozilla as well). In Internet Explorer just go to Tools, Mail and News, Read News - and
there it is. It will let you connect to multiple servers,
download, and view files. But it's quite limited: it doesn't
always combine files correctly or understand compression formats, it
doesn't allow for any kind of automated download, its searching is
weak, and you have little control over its binary options. To
get these functions (and if you plan to download binaries very often, you
will see how quickly they become necessary), you must install a
dedicated newsreader program. Here are a few of the leading
products.
- PC:
- Agent
- Combines binary messages into files,
allows saving to different directories by newsgroup, powerful
search and exclude filters, kill and watch lists, allows marking
for batch downloading, email sending.
Full version 30 days try before buy
Free version (FreeAgent) has no timeout
- NewsRover
- Combines binary messages into files,
supports multiple server profiles, supports unattended
searches across newsgroups, logon scheduling, allows marking for
batch downloading, can save messages to Palm, built in picture
viewer and gallery, password protection, email
sending
30 days to try before buy.
- Binary
News Reaper 2
- This is THE reader to get if you are
somewhat techie and plan to use multiple news servers. It
lets you define multiple servers, then set priorities so you can
download all the parts of a file that are on your lower cost
server, and only pull files from the second (or third, fourth,
fifth, etc) that cannot be found on the lower priority
servers. Great for picking up pieces missing from your
ISP's servers, or on services such as Newsfeeds where you have
access to multiple servers and want to hop from one to the other
picking up where one server's daily limit custs you off.
Warning - the interface is a bit hard to figure out, but once
you get it - wow!
Oh, and it's free too.
- Grabit
- A cool little binary-oriented newsreader
with a simple interface. Allows for multiple server
definitions and assignment of folders for each newsgroup to
better manage your downloads. Does not include filters.
Freeware
- Xnews
- Another freeware newsreader. Very
powerful with complete control over what and when to reload
headers, set filters, etc - but interface takes a bit to
master. Multi-window approach means you must remember to
re-open windows that cover others. Good for power users.
- Newsbin
Pro
- Generally considered the best tool for the
superuser. Tracks multi-part messages across multiple servers,
multi-part joining and extensive filter capabilities. Well
worth the registration for advanced downloading features.
10 day trial.
- Mac:
- Hogwasher
- Combines binary messages into files,
supports multiple server profiles, supports unattended
searches across newsgroups, logon scheduling, allows marking for
batch downloading, can save messages to Palm, built in picture
viewer and gallery, password protection, email
sending
60 days to try before buy.
- Palm:
-
Yanoff
- Yes, you heard us right. A
newsreader for the Palm OS! It is available in a free lite
version, and a full version for $24. Obviously it is best
suited for text groups. Note that even on color Palm
devices, the interface is still Black and White.
- Web:
- The typical web-based usenet newsreader
acts much like a PC based reader, except it includes very few
automation features. Some of the sites with online
newsreaders allow you to select a number of images from a list
and have them grouped into a ZIP file that you can download
easily, but most simply display a list of the message headers,
let you click on them, and display the content.
- Thumbnail newsgroup access:
- This
pretty cool, and can save you bandwidth too. Instead of
having to download thousands of headers, then blindly pick a few (and
hope that there are some indexes of the image files for you to check
out first), and use up bandwidth downloading images or
multi-media files you don't want; thumbnail services collect all
the messages, decode them into images on the server, and display thumbnails
on web pages for you to choose from. This approach not only saves you
from using up your daily bandwidth downloading messages you
don't want, but it also saves time by only showing the files
that all the parts were found and saved as a single file.
Our favorite choice for this type of service is SkinVideo.
Back to the newsgroup server list
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