Newshosting Fresh New Site Design : Unlimited Special

Newshosting recently launched a new site design along with a $12.95 unlimited Usenet special.  Let’s take a look at the latest edition of Newshosting.com.

The site is appealing.  First highlighting the Newshosting 14 day free Usenet trial and $12.95 a month for a year unlimited special.  In addition the homepage points out the advantages of the Newshosting service in an easy to read manner along with some nice eye candy.

It appears that high retention, 256-bit SSL encryption and unlimited speed are now included with all Newshosting Usenet plans.  For our money we would choose the Unlimited account as 30 connections is plenty.   Unlimited speed means Newhosting doesn’t cap download speeds.  For those new to Usenet the site also offers helpful features including step-by-step videos to help learn more about newsgroups, configure a newsreader, search, download and post to Usenet.

To learn more read our Newshosting review or sign up for a 14 day free trial.

Newsgroups.com Offering Usenet Access

Newsgroups.com is offering Usenet service.  Prices include $10.95 unlimited, $7.95 for 25 GB/mo. and $2.95 for 3 GB/mo.  Along with an option for a 7 day, 3 GB free trial.

We don’t know much about the new service but will bring you more information in the weeks ahead.  For now here are a few points of interest.

Newsgroups.com Usenet service details:
- Over 600 days of binary retention
- Over two years of text retention
- Up to 50 connections
- 256-bit SSL included with all accounts
- Launch special – $10.95 unlimited
- Free trial – 7 days, up to 3 GB of downloads

Visit Newsgroups.com to learn more.

EFF Helps Protect iPhone Jailbreakers From DMCA

Congratulations to the Electronic Frontier Foundation who succeeded in gaining legal protection from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for iPhone jailbreakers.  The Copyright Office recognizing the purpose of locking cell phones is to bind you to a specific carrier network rather than protect copyrights.  Might this open up the opportunity to transfer iPhones to other carriers or at least add pressure on Apple to give customers additional network options?  Quite a few people are waiting for Verizon to offer iPhone access.  Perhaps this is a step in that direction.

Here is the press release from the EFF site:

EFF Wins New Legal Protections for Video Artists, Cell Phone Jailbreakers, and Unlockers

Rulemaking Fixes Critical DMCA Wrongs

San Francisco – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) won three critical exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) anticircumvention provisions today, carving out new legal protections for consumers who modify their cell phones and artists who remix videos — people who, until now, could have been sued for their non-infringing or fair use activities.

“By granting all of EFF’s applications, the Copyright Office and Librarian of Congress have taken three important steps today to mitigate some of the harms caused by the DMCA,” said Jennifer Granick, EFF’s Civil Liberties Director. “We are thrilled to have helped free jailbreakers, unlockers and vidders from this law’s overbroad reach.”

The exemptions were granted as part of a statutorily prescribed rulemaking process, conducted every three years to mitigate the danger the DMCA poses to legitimate, non-infringing uses of copyrighted materials. The DMCA prohibits “circumventing” digital rights management (DRM) and “other technical protection measures” used to control access to copyrighted works. While the DMCA still chills competition, free speech, and fair use, today’s exemptions take unprecedented new strides towards protecting more consumers and artists from its extensive reach.

The first of EFF’s three successful requests clarifies the legality of cell phone “jailbreaking” — software modifications that liberate iPhones and other handsets to run applications from sources other than those approved by the phone maker. More than a million iPhone owners are said to have “jailbroken” their handsets in order to change wireless providers or use applications obtained from sources other than Apple’s own iTunes “App Store,” and many more have expressed a desire to do so. But the threat of DMCA liability had previously endangered these customers and alternate applications stores.

In its reasoning in favor of EFF’s jailbreaking exemption, the Copyright Office rejected Apple’s claim that copyright law prevents people from installing unapproved programs on iPhones: “When one jailbreaks a smartphone in order to make the operating system on that phone interoperable with an independently created application that has not been approved by the maker of the smartphone or the maker of its operating system, the modifications that are made purely for the purpose of such interoperability are fair uses.”

“Copyright law has long held that making programs interoperable is fair use,” confirmed Corynne McSherry, EFF’s Senior Staff Attorney. “It’s gratifying that the Copyright Office acknowledges this right and agrees that the anticircumvention laws should not interfere with interoperability.”

EFF also won a groundbreaking new protection for video remix artists currently thriving on Internet sites like YouTube. The new rule holds that amateur creators do not violate the DMCA when they use short excerpts from DVDs in order to create new, noncommercial works for purposes of criticism or comment if they believe that circumvention is necessary to fulfill that purpose. Hollywood has historically taken the view that “ripping” DVDs is always a violation of the DMCA, no matter the purpose.

“Noncommercial videos are a powerful art form online, and many use short clips from popular movies. Finally the creative people that make those videos won’t have to worry that they are breaking the law in the process, even though their works are clearly fair uses. That benefits everyone — from the artists themselves to those of us who enjoy watching the amazing works they create,” added McSherry.

On EFF’s request, the Librarian of Congress renewed a 2006 rule exempting cell phone unlocking so handsets can be used with other telecommunications carriers. Cell phone unlockers have been successfully sued under the DMCA, even though there is no copyright infringement involved in the unlocking. Digital locks on cell phones make it harder to resell, reuse, or recycle the handset, prompting EFF to ask for renewal of this rule on behalf of our clients, The Wireless Alliance, ReCellular and Flipswap. However, the 2009 rule has been modified so that it only applies to used mobile phones, not new ones.

“The Copyright Office recognizes that the primary purpose of the locks on cell phones is to bind customers to their existing networks, rather than to protect copyrights,” said Granick. “The Copyright Office agrees with EFF that the DMCA shouldn’t be used as a barrier to prevent people who purchase phones from keeping those phones when they change carriers. The DMCA also shouldn’t be used to interfere with recyclers who want to extend the useful life of a handset.”

Along with the exemptions that EFF championed, several other DMCA exemptions were expanded, granted or narrowed including one for documentary filmmakers and college-level educators, as well as some for security researchers.

NewsDemon Usenet + Free Secure Online Storage

NewsDemon now offers 30 GB of free online storage with their Unlimited Plus account.  They are currently including the file storage with the Demon Deal – $10.95 unlimited Usenet with 50 SSL connections, free newsreader and 30GB secure online storage.

We had an opportunity to test out the storage feature and were pleased with the results.  The site is very easy to use.  There is no software to setup.  Files are uploaded and downloaded directly from the site.  Simply log in and view your library.  Store files in the default “home” folder or create additional folders.

We uploaded a couple files without issue.  Remember that most Internet connections are capped lower for uploads than downloads.  In our case we have 25 mbps downstream but only 1 mbps upstream.  For now you have to upload individual files.  That could be a drawback for some but you can always zip files prior to uploading them.  StorageNinja is working to add functionality for concurrent file uploads.

If you’ve used services like Carbonite or Mozy in the past don’t expect the same from NewsDemon storage.  It isn’t meant as a PC backup solution.  You don’t set folders or files to automatically sync.  In the same note you don’t have to download or configure a client.  Instead you simply log in anytime to upload or access files.  With up to 30 GB of free storage you can protect a lot of important files.

Read our NewsDemon review to learn more or sign up for the Demon Deal and enjoy the new secure online storage feature.

VyprVPN Setup : Windows 7, Mac OS X, iPhone, iPad

We recently added VyprVPN setup guides to NGR.  They include step by step instructions along with screenshots for setting up a PPTP VPN connection to any Vypr server (US, Europe, Asia) in either Windows 7 or Mac OS X.  For those who would like to use Vypr VPN on your mobile devices we also added iPhone and iPad guides.  Read our review of VyprVPN to learn more about the service.

For those more adventurous here is a summary of each guide without the screen captures:

Windows 7 Setup – (full VyprVPN Windows 7 setup guide)

1.  Click Windows Menu then Control Panel

2.  Click Network and Internet

3.  Click Network and Sharing Center

4.  Click Setup a new connection or network

5.  Click Connect to a workplace

6.  Click Use my Internet connection (VPN)

7.  Enter a VyprVPN server address and VyprVPN as the description

8.  Check Don’t connect now and click Next

9.  Enter your Username and Password

10.  Check Remember this password and click Create

To connect go to the Windows Taskbar and click the network icon.  Click on VyprVPN and then Connect.  To end your session click on VyprVPN and Disconnect.

MAC OS X Setup – (full VyprVPN Mac OS X setup guide)

1.  Click Apple and then System Preferences

2.  Click Network

3.  Click the (+) icon to add a connection

4.  Choose VPN, PPTP, set service name to VyprVPN and click Create

5.  Highlight VyprVPN on the left

8.  Enter the VyprVPN server address and your username

9.  Click Authentication Settings, enter your password and click OK

10.  Click Advanced and choose Send all traffic over VPN connection, Ok, Apply

To connect via Mac OS X click on Apple – system preferences – network – VyprVPN – Connect.   To end your session click Disconnect.

Apple iPhone Setup – (full VyprVPN iPhone setup guide)

1.  Tap Settings – General – Network – VPN

2.  Tap Add VPN Configuration

3.  Choose PPTP and enter VyprVPN in the description

4.  Enter a VyprVPN server address

5.  Enter the Username and Password

To connect to VyprVPN via iPhone toggle the VPN setting to ON.  To disconnect toggle the VPN setting to OFF

Apple iPad Setup – (full VyprVPN iPad setup guide)

1.  Tap Settings – General – Network – VPN

2.  Tap Add VPN Configuration

3.  Choose PPTP and enter VyprVPN in the description

4.  Enter a VyprVPN server address

5.  Enter the Username and Password

To connect to via iPad VyprVPN toggle the VPN setting to ON.  To disconnect toggle the VPN setting to OFF

Astraweb Hits 700 Days Binary Retention

Congratulations to Astraweb who just reached 700 days of binary retention.

Astraweb continues to offer $11 unlimited Usenet access.  Visit our Astraweb $11 special page for more details.

Here are some highlights of the Astraweb Unlimied DSL account:
- $11/mo. unlimited Usenet access for life!
- server farms in the US and Europe
- 700 days binary retention
- 1,095 days text retention
- 99% completion rate
- 20 connections
- free SSL encryption

To learn more read our Astraweb review or sign up and start downloading in minutes.

Steve Jobs Apple iPhone 4 Antenna Gate : Free Case

July 23rd Update:  The iPhone 4 free case program is up and running.  To claim your free bumper visit the app store and download the “iPhone 4 Case Program”.  You will then log into the app with your iTunes or Apple id and choose from a number of free cases.  They range from bumpers to skins to cases.  Each offers multiple images so you can take a closer look.  We just ordered a case and all of the free options were showing 3-5 weeks for delivery.  Thee is no cost for the case and also free shipping.

Early iPhone 4 customers will want to order their free cases before August 22nd.  Here is an additional eligibility note from Apple:

For iPhone 4 purchases made before July 23, 2010, you must apply no later than August 22, 2010; otherwise, you must apply within 30 days of your iPhone 4 purchase. To qualify for this program, you must purchase your iPhone 4 by September 30, 2010.

———————

Steve Jobs interrupted his vacation in Hawaii to hold a press conference at Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California earlier today.  The topic of the latest announcement was the iPhone 4 antenna issue, dubbed “Antenna Gate” by the media.  In short Jobs responded by saying that all smartphones have weak spots, the issue has affected a minimal percentage of users and that Apple will offer free cases for all iPhone 4 users through September 30th.  Those who bought bumpers will receive a full refund.

Steve started out his presentation by pointing out that phones aren’t perfect.  All smartphones have weak spots.  In particular they tested the Blackberry Bold 9700, HTC Driod Eris and Samsung Omnia II.  When gripped or touched a certain way each phone lost signal strength.

Here are the results of Apple’s signal strength test:

• Blackberry Bold 9700 (RIM OS) – signal bars go from 5 down to 1
• HTC Droid Eris (Android OS) – signal bars go from 4 down to 0
• Samsung Omnia II (Windows Mobile OS) – signal bars go from 4 down to 1

Interesting point.  We didn’t realize the antenna issue spanned across all smartphones.  Why so much attention to the iPhone 4 issue then?  Later in the Q&A session Jobs compared Apple haters to those hating on Google.  That comment along with some others directed at the press (Gizmodo, Bloomberg, Engadget, NY Times, etc.) showed that while Jobs was controlled in the presentation he was definitely also pissed off at the media for the circus atmosphere over the last few weeks.

Jobs mentioned that Apple released IOS 4.0.1 yesterday which includes a fix to the algorithm used to calculate the number of signal bars shown.  Along with a fix for an Exchange issue.

Steve went over a number of stats to point out the antenna gate issue was blown well out of proportion.  Stating that only .55% of Apple Care calls were related to the iPhone 4 antenna problem.  Also showing AT&T data that showed the iPohone 4 drops less than 1 more call per 100 over the iPhone 3GS.  We were actually surprised by that number as those of us with iPhone 4′s have seen a marked improvement in reception and fewer dropped calls.

Other information included white iPhone 4′s to start shipping in late July and the release of iPhones to several more countries on July 30th.  The list includes Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxenburg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.  With South Korea trailing behind as Apple is working to get government approval there.

Toward the end of the presentation Jobs detailed what Apple’s plans for iPhone 4 customers.  Starting next week customers will be able apply for a free case on the Apple web site.  Not to be confused with the Apple bumpers as they can not produce them fast enough.  There will be a number of case options available and each will be free.  Those who have purchsed bumpers will receive a full refund.  However, third party iPhone cases will not be refunded.  In addition any customers who are unhappy with their iPhone 4 for the antenna issue or any other reason can return it within 30 days for a full refund, no restocking fee.

Next week when Apple adds the order form we will place a direct link at the top of this post.  If you have already purchased an iPhone 4 or plan to do so the cases will be available for free to anyone who buys an iPhone 4 through September 30th.

Usenet Provider Comparison : Server Ratings

New to Usenet?  If so visit our Usenet provider area to compare all the current options, trials, specials, etc.  The rest of this post is meant more for those who have been around newsgroups for awhile.  Perhaps have tried a few providers or been happy for years with their current service.  In either situation we want to know what features you expect in a Usenet provider and other factors that make a difference when comparing services.

When Newsgroup Reviews started out we had to decide how to rate and compare providers.  Binary retention was a clear factor at the time.  With Giganews in the lead at 120 days.  There were a few other differentiating factors between providers like Easynews web interface but for the most part the focus was on retention.

Roll forward a few years.  As storage costs went down retention skyrocketed and continues to rise.  Instead of talking about which provider’s are moving past a month or even 100 days of retention we now see services like Giganews and Astraweb around 700 days and several others between 400 and 600 days.  All of the top Usenet providers listed on NGR offer over a year of binary retention.

At what point does retention become less of a factor?  Never?  Or has it already?  We plan to ask the question soon in a new Usenet poll.  Before doing so we need your help.

The poll will present a list of Usenet provider features and ask which is most important to you.  Here are the general factors we are considering:

• Binary Retention
• Completion
• Performance (speed)
• Price
• Reliability (uptime)
• Support

A few providers have started offering extra features like VPN access and online storage.  We would like to know which of these features appeal to you when choosing a provider:

• Mobile Access
• Newsreader
• Online Storage
• Usenet Search
• VPN Access
• Web Interface

Can you think of anything we’ve missed on either list?  If so please email your suggestions to feedback (at) newsgroupreviews.com by July 23rd so we can finalize the new Usenet polls.  Then come back and cast your vote.  Thanks to everyone who has voted in our current polls and those who have shared additional feedback.

Merlins Portal Down – Merlins Farewell Letter

Like many others we miss Merlins Portal.  The site was more than just a place to find NZB files.  It was a social community where users would go to chat, listen to music, play games and of course grab the latest NZBs.  What happened?  We’ve read lots of theories around the Web over the last few weeks.  The server and/or database went belly up.  The site was hacked.  The Portal was forced to shut down.  Merlin took the donation money and ran for the hills.  So which is it?  Since none of us personally know Merlin we can’t say for sure.  Instead we have done our best to pull together the timeline and provide links to related discussions.  The end of our post includes Merlins farewell letter.

For those seeking alternatives to Merlins visit the Usenet search section of NGR.

The latest and perhaps last chapter of Merlins-Portal.net started around the first of May.  Discussions started on DSL Reports on May 4th with users asking why Merlins was down.  The site was to be down a couple hours for optimization.  After some downtime and MySQL errors site functionality was restored but with a hitch.  Merlins Portal came up without the last three months or so of NZB’s.  Not an optimal result but at least the site was up right?  Not for long.

After the data loss users started in with the normal questions.  What happened to the lost data?  Was there no backup performed?  We still don’t have that answer but it appears the issue went beyond just data loss as the site was never the same again.

Merlins-Protal.net had issues and outages for the following few weeks until eventually the dreaded “Server not found” message was all that was left.  Users tried to email Merlin at both his portal and gmail addresses but both were dead.  What happened to Merlins Portal and to Merlin in those few short weeks?

This is where the farewell letter from Merlin comes in.  First let us say that we have no way to confirm its validity.  A number of NGR visitors directed us to the letter but since we don’t know Merlin we can’t validate the post.

Here is the Merlins farewell message posted on Cable Forum July 4th:

For The Record

Thought as always i would break the mold like most owners of a site that just vanish.

Most important thing and first thing is to say thankyou to all merlins portal staff past and present, mostly past as without them and there hard work in the early days merlins portal would not have became the site it did, the present site staff at time off going for there unselfish and dedicated work.

Reasons Why?
As zing mentioned above most of the reasons but the final nail was indeed the constant abuse daily for a service we all worked hard at to make it work, database was the major issue in the end and it finally went tits up after throwing massive amount of my own money, countless sleepless nights the decision had to be made to close it. This decison did not come lighlty and after much sole searching and a few chats with trusted friends and staff i let what has my baby go.

I put my life and sole and in the end almost put my marriage of 24 years at risk as did others into merlins portal for almost 5 years and it was time to move on.

In the final days i did transfer money from my own bank account and returned 100+ donations going back as far as six weeks but with all the expenses involved trying to save the site even i have limited personal funds but as a person i felt it was my duty to the members to return as many as i financially could, if i missed you i am sorry but the nature of how the site was financed to keep it free for the mass.

Merlins Portal was a unique site with some unique and fantastic members and i met some fantastic friends whom i will be catching up with sooner or later.

Yes i took 2/3 weeks out to clear my head as it hurt to close the site i loved so much and anyone that actually knew me would not deny me that.

Will i be opening a NZB site again? NO but i may join the new new site as a member and make myself known to Terminator, pnp spreader and co and may help and assist them if required or indeed if they want my help.

I hope this puts to bed the rumours i ran with the money (i wish) in fact the site owed me in the end and 1 month on i am still paying bills for the site but thankfully almost all taken care off now.

Owning and running merlins portal was a blast and will forever hold a special place with myself as will the majority of good members.

Assuming the message is legit we wish Merlin the best and hope he can enjoy life to its fullest.  The NZB site referenced in his letter appears to be http://jfen.co.uk/.  For more information on search sites or Usenet in general visit Newsgroup Reviews.

Mimo Usenet Browser : Giganews Technology Preview

Giganews has teamed up with Golden Frog to bring Diamond customers Mimo and Golden Frog Usenet Search.  The Mimo Usenet browser is currently being offered free of charge to a select group of loyal Diamond customers as a technology preview meaning that Mimo is still in the development stage.  The preview is meant for functionality testing and to gather user feedback.

We don’t know that much about Mimo or the related Usenet search engine yet but Giganews has a page available for those included in the Mimo preview and others who would like a future invite.

From previewing the Mimo page we can see that Golden Frog has packed some nice features into their Usenet client.  They mention its optimized for faster downloads, browsing and searches.  The client includes Giganews accelerator technology.  It supports thumbnail images, includes search functionality and allows you to filter based on binaries, text and images.  Auto unRAR and PAR features are also part of Mimo.

The Golden Frog Usenet search engine supports searching binaries across all groups.  Since Giganews is offering the technology preview we assume it can handle their industry leading 700+ days of retention.

Were you invited to the Mimo technology preview?  If so let us know what you think of the new Usenet browser.  Better yet let Golden Frog know as I’m sure they’d appreciate the user feedback.

If you would like to receive a future invite to test Mimo then click the “Request an invite” link at the top of the Mimo preview page.  It will direct you to login to your Diamond account via a special invite page.  Doing so will automatically add you too the Mimo tech preview waiting list as shown below.

Read our Giganews review to learn more about their Usenet services or sign up for a Giganews Diamond account and request an invitation to test Mimo.  Assuming they send out future invitations based on request date you might want to sign up soon!