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Thanksgiving Usenet Specials – $5 Unlimited Access

November 25, 2009 By

Update – here are the links to each special.  The links will be active beginning at 5:00 AM EST Thursday morning. Until then you will see retail pricing.

Newshosting – $5 unlimited Usenet access
- unlimited downloads
- 450 days retention
- 60 connections
- free SSL

UseNetServer – $5 unlimited Usenet access
- unlimited downloads
- 450 days retention
- 20 connections
- global search
- free SSL

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If you’ve been following our Usenet Black Friday post then you know there are some great deals coming just around the corner.  We have been very happy with the response from Usenet providers this year and think everyone will enjoy the savings.

To get a jump start on the festivities Newshosting and UseNetServer are going to offer $5 unlimited Usenet accounts starting at 5:00 AM EST Thanksgiving day, November 26th.  Come back or visit Newsgroup Reviews in the morning to take advantage of either deal.

Here are the details of the Thanksgiving Day Usenet specials:
- Newshosting NHXL unlimited account – 60 connections, free SSL – $5 for the first month and then $19.95 a month thereafter.
- UseNetServer High Speed Plus unlimited – 20 connections, free SSL- $5 for the first month and then $17.95 thereafter.

Thanks to both Newshosting and UseNetServer for getting the weekend Usenet celebration started early.  Also make sure to visit Newsgroup Reviews at 12:01 GMT on Black Friday, November 27 for lots more deals!

Filed Under: Newshosting, Usenet Providers, UseNetServer Tagged With: , , ,

Usenet Black Friday Deals – Newsgroup Reviews (NGR)

November 24, 2009 By

It’s time to launch the Usenet Black Friday deals.  Enjoy some of the best deals of 2009 courtesy of several top Usenet providers.  We’ve got some great holiday specials along with a few NGR exclusives.

We will start from the top and cover the top 10 Black Friday Usenet deals of 2009.  Click on any provider below or visit the Newsgroup Reviews home page for sign up details.

1. NewsDemon – $9.95 unlimited Usenet access for life!

Enjoy a NewsDemon Unlimited Plus Usenet account for $9.95 a month for the life of your account.  No term commitments.  Pay monthly and keep the great price as long as your account is active.  This discount is over 55% off the normal retail price of $22.99.

The Unlimited Plus Newsdemon plan is their premier account.  It includes unlimited downloads from over 450 days of binary retention across some 107,000 newsgroups.  The plan includes all the extras – up to 20 connections, SSL encryption and a free newsreader.  They also offer news servers in both the US and Europe for the best speed and reliability.

2. Binverse – 155 GB Free Trial + 20% off your first month

Binverse is offering NGR customers a two part special.  First you will receive a 14 day free trial with up to 155 GB of downloads.  If you decide you like Binverse (and we think you will) they will also discount your first month of unlimited access by taking 20% off the price.  A win / win.

Binverse has a lot to offer newsgroup customers.  Especially those new to Usenet.  They include their own free newsreader which allows you to easily search for content, download, repair and extract.  The service boasts 400+ days of binary retention, thumbnail picture previews, Usenet search engine, file previews and SSL encryption.

3. Supernews – $9.99 unlimited Usenet

NGR visitors can enjoy unlimited Supernews Usenet access for $9.99 a month.  There is no long term commitment required for the discount.  Enjoy unlimited downloads from over 350 days of binary retention, 1,000 days of text posts, 99%+ completion rate, up to 30 connections and server farms in the United States, Europe and Asia for the best performance.

4. Thundernews – 50% off lifetime discount on any monthly plan

Thundernews is offering a great Black Friday Usenet special including 50% off all monthly accounts.  By monthly they mean accounts that are billed monthly with no long-term commitment.  That means you can enjoy unlimited Thundernews access for $10.99 a month or if you don’t need quite that much you can grab a 75 GB a month account for $8.50 a month which is a great deal.  Thundernews accounts offer 395 days retention, 20 connections, SSL encryption, free News Rover newsreader and 24/7 live chat support.

5. UseNetNow – $8.99 unlimited Usenet for life

UseNetNow is offering unlimited newsgroup accounts for $8.99.  While UseNetNow isn’t quite as well known as some of the others on our list we have had the opportunity to review the service and get to know a representative that frequents DSL Reports forums.  The service is fast, reliable and at $8.99 a great value.  Enjoy unlimited access to over 365 days of binary retention (growing to 400), 20 connections, free SSL and servers in both the US and Europe.

6. NewsgroupDirect – $1 unlimited Usenet for two months

We debated on where this deal would fall in the list.  NGD is letting new customers enjoy their first two months of unlimited Usenet access for only $1 a month.  Then the plan reverts back to regular price which is $20 a month.  It is a great deal.  Especially for those new to Usenet or to NewsgroupDirect that want time to try it out.  Otherwise we prefer the $9-$10 a month lifetime deals.  NewsgroupDirect is also offering $5 off all block accounts for Black Friday.

7. Newshosting – $5 unlimited Usenet for the first month

Newshosting is offering new customers a 75% discount off the first month of unlimited Usenet access.  Sign up for an NHXL account which includes unlimited downloads, 450 days of binary retention, up to 60 connections, free SSL and access to news servers in the US and Europe.  After the first month the account will revert to regular pricing which is $19.95 a month.

8. Alt.Binaries – 50% off all plans for first 6 months

AltBinaries offers some really good pricing on metered Usenet accounts.  Meaning a set amount of bandwidth each month.  With the 50% discount you can really save a lot.  For example 80 GB a month of downloads would only cost under $6.50 a month for the first 6 months.  AltBinaries offers customers 170 days of binary retention, 20 connections, SSL, free header downloads and web access to picture newsgroups.

9. UseNetServer – $5 unlimited Usenet for the first month

UseNetServer is offering new customers over 70% off the first month of unlimited Usenet access.  Sign up for a High-Speed Plus account which includes unlimited downloads, 450 days of binary retention, up to 20 connections, free SSL, global search and access to news servers in the US and Europe.  After the first month the account will revert to regular pricing which is $17.95 a month.

10. Newsguy – Buy One Get One (BOGO) Usenet Accounts

Newsguy just launched what they are calling their “Christmas Giveaway” which is basically a BOGO Usenet sale.  Buy any Newsguy account and get the second one free.  It applies to all accounts including annual terms which are already discounted quite a bit.  Newsguy offers 300 days of binary retention to some 107,000 newsgroups, web Usenet access, up to 32 connections, a newsgroup search engine and free SSL.

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A sincere thank you to all the Usenet providers for offering holiday specials.  We hope this will become a yearly tradition and appreciate your efforts and consideration in making the deals available.

To our NGR visitors we hope you enjoy the Black Friday Usenet specials.  Save some money and enjoy the newsgroup access.  For those new to Usenet we welcome you to the community – enjoy!

Filed Under: Alt Binaries, NewsDemon, NewsgroupDirect, Newsguy, Newshosting, Supernews, ThunderNews, Usenet Providers, UseNetNow, UseNetServer Tagged With: , , ,

Newsguy Doubles Retention and Offers a Free Month

November 23, 2009 By

Newsguy recently upgraded binary retention from 140 days up to 300.  The increase brings Newsguy close to a year of retention.

Along with the increased retention, Newsguy is offering a free month of Usenet access.  Anyone who signs up for a Basic or Extra account will receive their 2nd month free.  The BOGO Usenet deal.

Here is a breakdown of the accounts that are being offered as part of the special:

- Newsguy Basic – 15 GB a month for $8.95 (2nd month free)
- Newsguy Extra – 50 GB for $14.95 plus email & web hosting (2nd month free)

Newsguy also offers a web interface and carry over gigs.  Any unused downloads get rolled over to the next month.  Kind of like those unused cell minutes with some carriers.  Just don’t make me watch another AT&T commercial…

To learn more about the service read our Newsguy review or sign up for their BOGO free month offer.

Filed Under: Newsguy, Usenet Providers Tagged With: , ,

NewsDemon Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Usenet

November 22, 2009 By

NewsDemon helped celebrate the 30th anniversary of Usenet on November 10th, 2009.  The celebration included an interview with Brad Templeton and Tom Truscott.  They also managed to find the original memo announcing Usenet written at Duke University in November 1979.

The original idea for Usenet was to allow communication between University Unix systems.  The estimated cost would be $15 a month to connect daily and transfer around 3,000 bytes of data via 300 baud modem.

Here is our favorite part of the Usenet annoucement.  It is from a “questions answered section at the end of the memo:

This is a sloppy proposal. Let’s start a committee.
No thanks! Yes, there are problems. Several amateurs collaborated on this plan. But let’s get started now. Once the net is in place, we can start a committee. And they will actually use the net, so they will know what the real problems are.

So many people want to plan, plan, plan but never act.  Luckily the guys at Duke moved forward with Usenet recognizing problems would be worked out as members joined and made use of the network.

The interview with Tom Truscott and Brad Templeton is quite interesting as well.  NewsDemon gathered questions from the Usenet community and the results made for a good interview.

Brad Templeton mentions in the interview that he feels like Usenet will fade into oblivion unless the network is completely redesigned for our current always-on Internet.

I’ve had the opportunity to get to know many of the key players in the Usenet industry.  There are some very sharp people behind the scenes.  Will they reinvent Usenet?  Will companies that compete for customers come together to improve the network for everyone?  Hopefully the answer to all these questions is “Yes” and the Usenet community will continue to grow for decades to come.  It would be a real pleasure to write a post for the “50th anniversary of Usenet in 2029″.

To learn more Usenet providers take a look at our newsgroup tutorial including more information on the history of Usenet.

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Here is the official press release from PRWEB:

NewsDemon.com Newsgroups Celebrates the Thirtieth Anniversary of USENET

NewsDemon.com Newsgroups provider teams with a founder of USENET to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of USENET. An interview with one of the creators and a prominent USENET pioneer to go along with never before released memos detailing the initial existence of USENET. To end the celebration NewsDemon Newsgroups offers unheard of discounts on USENET access.

…the first online social network…

Anderson, SC (PRWEB) November 10, 2009 — NewsDemon.com Newsgroups celebrates the Thirtieth Anniversary of USENET. It was thirty years ago this month that USENET debuted and quickly became the largest online community channel on the planet. As the first online social network, USENET newsgroups continues to be a vital resource and destination to thousands of users after three decades.

USENET Anniversary Celebration
USENET Anniversary Celebration

In late 1979, Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis developed the foundation of what we know USENET to be today. Quickly outgrowing expectations, USENET exploded in popularity and became a daily destination for thousands to access a wide variety of newsgroups. Since then, USENET newsgroups have accumulated millions of subscribers over the last thirty years and continue to attract new ones every day. USENET also has been a vital online communication channel for amazing achievements, including the announcement of the launch of the World Wide Web in 1991.

To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary, on Wednesday, November 11th, all monthly USENET accounts will be offered for only $1.00 per month for the first two months of the membership term. This special applies to all premium USENET monthly plans, including the unlimited USENET newsgroup memberships.

Throughout the years, NewsDemon.com Newsgroups has been active in promoting the resources that the USENET newsgroup community provides. This year alone, they have hosted a number free USENET access offers to University and College campuses as well as media outlets to grow awareness and the overall USENET newsgroup participation.

NewsDemon.com Newsgroups has also put together an interview of two USENET pioneers: Tom Truscott, one of the founders of USENET and Brad Templeton, the originator of one of the most famous newsgroups, rec.humor funny. Both Truscott and Templeton share and discuss the past, present and future of the USENET phenomenon and offer their insight as well as a previously unreleased copy of the original memo announcing USENET.

USENET continues to grow the global community of users, developers and activists it has spawned since its creation. It’s expected that over the next thirty years, USENET will continue to evolve and innovate to better serve the community that has sustained it.

It’s no question that USENET is a unique place in the online world. After thirty years of being driven by its subscribers to improve upon it, the community fueled system is expected to sustain its growth for another thirty years to come. From all of us at NewsDemon.com Newsgroups, we wish a fond Happy Birthday, USENET!

Providing top-rated premium USENET access to both United States and Europe, NewsDemon.com Newsgroups is proud to participate in celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of USENET.

Filed Under: NewsDemon, Usenet History, Usenet Providers Tagged With: , , ,

Forte Agent 6.0 Newsreader Released

November 21, 2009 By

Forte has released version 6.0 of their popular Agent newsgroup reader.  The Usenet client has been around since 1995 and provides a number of premium features.  The latest iteration of Agent (6.0) supports the 32 and 64-bit versions of Windows 7.

Here are some of the enhancement in Agent version 6.0:

- Automatic server failover when downloading message bodies
- Faster Usenet header downloads (compressed headers)
- A new hide-quoted-text command
- Improved browser navigation
- New go-offline and retry-failed-tasks-now commands
- Improvements to searching

Forte offers a 30 day free trial of Agent.  The software costs $29 to purchase and then $19 for upgrades.  To learn more about the client read our Forte Agent 6.0 review or Agent setup guide.

Filed Under: Forge Agent, Newsreaders Tagged With: , , , ,

Giganews Customers Beta Testing VyprVPN Service

November 17, 2009 By

You may have seen discussions in Usenet forums and Twitter lately regarding a new VPN service from Giganews.  The VPN offering is called VyprVPN and is currently in beta.

According to the Giganews VyprVPN beta page the service offers the same privacy, security and speed you enjoy from Giganews Usenet access to the rest of your Internet experience.

The VyprVPN service allows you to privately and securely browse the web, e-mail, instant message, browse newsgroups and more by encrypting the traffic.  The process sounds pretty simple.  You replace your IP address with a VyprVPN IP and browse securely.

The VyprVPN service allows you to choose from a US or European IP address and switch between the server clusters at any time.  The applications for VPN services are varied.  Everything from providing security for hotspot users to enabling VOIP applications to unlocking websites overseas.

The VPN service supports multiple operating systems.  In fact VyprVPN is available for just about every platform including Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Windows Mobile and more.

The next question is price.  Here is an explanation from the beta page:

*VyprVPN, valued at $14.99 per month, is guaranteed free to Diamond customers until June 30, 2010. By then, Giganews & Golden Frog will determine if there will be a charge for this service and notify you to opt-in to continue using VyprVPN. Giganews values our loyal Diamond customers and will not charge for this service without your express consent.

It appears Giganews will be giving VyprVPN access to Diamond customers free of charge through at least June 30th of next year.   A good deal considering VyprVPN and similar services cost around $15 a month.

We look forward to bringing you more information in the near future.  In the meantime visit the VyprVPN beta page to find out more.  To learn about Giganews Usenet offerings read our Giganews review or sign up for a 14 day free trial.

Filed Under: Giganews, Usenet Providers Tagged With: , , , ,

Newshosting Offers NGR Visitors a Special Discount

November 5, 2009 By

We would like to thank Newshosting for offering NGR visitors a 25% discount off the first two months of unlimited Usenet access.

Save 25% off your first two months of Newshosting NHXL Powerpack access.  The account includes unlimited Usenet downloads, over 425 days of binary retention, 60 connections and free SSL.  Instead of paying full price ($19.95) you will only be charged $14.96/mo. for the first two months.

To sign up click on this Newshosting NGR special link or images above. Read our Newshosting review to learn more about their newsgroup services.

Filed Under: Newshosting, Usenet Providers Tagged With: , , ,

Slyck Video Tutorials

November 3, 2009 By

Slyck has been a trusted source for Usenet information for a long time.  We have enjoyed their featured articles and forum discussions.  Earlier this year Slyck released a series of video guides to help those new to Usenet learn the ropes. They are still in the process of adding new content and we will add videos as they become available.

So far Slyck has published 5 videos as follows:

Video 1 – Quickstart Tutorial (published July 2, 2009)

Video 2 – Introduction to the Newsgroups (published July 26, 2009)

Video 3 – How to Compare Premium News Server (published Aug. 22, 2009)

Video 4 – News Readers (published Oct. 9, 2009)

Video 5 – Common File Types (published Oct. 27, 2009)

Video 6 – NZB Files (published Jan. 20, 2010)

We look forward to future videos and will make sure to update the post as Slyck releases new tutorials.

Filed Under: Usenet Tutorials Tagged With: , , , ,

Newshosting Launches New Site with Video Tutorials

November 2, 2009 By

Earlier today Newshosting.com launched a new web site design and video tutorials.

The new design does a good job of highlighting the Newshosting service:

  • Free two week Usenet trial
  • 426 days of binary retention
  • Over two years of text retention
  • Access to 107,000+ newsgroups
  • Unlimited downloads (NHXL and NH accounts)
  • Up to 60 connections
  • Free SSL encryption

Here are the details for each of the Newshosting Usenet plans:

  • NHXL PowerPack – 60 connections, unlimited downloads – $19.95
  • NH Unlimited – 30 connections, unlimited downloads – $14.95
  • NH Lite – 20 GB/mo., 30 connections – $9.95

Along with the new look, Newshosting also added some helpful Usenet video tutorials:

The videos are good. Especially for those new to Usenet. We will cover them in more detail in a future post.

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

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Here is the official press release:

Newshosting Announces News Website, Video Series Launch

ASHBURN, Va. – Nov. 2, 2009 – Newshosting, the world’s premier provider of Usenet newsgroup access, today launched its new website as part of its continued commitment to provide online visitors with the absolute best service in the industry.

On the new Newshosting site, subscribers will find a comprehensive video tutorial series on topics designed to help them maximize all that Usenet has to offer.  The Newshosting video series presents an intuitive approach to accessing Usenet newsgroups.  Subscribers are shown how to configure and use a newsreader to browse, download, and post to newsgroups.  In a matter of minutes, Newshosting subscribers will be able to access, navigate, and enjoy the wealth of information available on the Usenet.

The new Newshosting website also offers subscribers easier navigation and more robust content than ever before.  There is a fully updated support page featuring expanded details about account, newsreader setup and usage, along with a traceroute tool to measure data traffic flow between Newshosting.com and the subscriber.

Newshosting invites all new subscribers to experience the industry’s best Usenet access with a 14 day/10GB free trial.

About Newshosting:

Newshosting is the world’s premier provider of Usenet newsgroup access.  As the industry-leader in service reliability, speed, and retention, Newshosting is committed to providing outstanding Usenet access to over 100,000 newsgroups from its servers in the United States and Europe.

For more information about Newshosting and its service, please visit www.Newshosting.com or contact support@newshosting.com.

Filed Under: Newshosting, Usenet Providers Tagged With: , ,

Giganews Crosses 450 Days of Binary Retention

November 1, 2009 By

Congratulations to Giganews for achieving 450 days of binary retention across all groups. The service now boasts over 450 days based on both message id (nzb) and header retention.

Giganews reached 400 days retention on September 11th and their press release included the following statement:

“It was fantastic to meet our goal of providing a full year of binary retention, and today’s announcement is even more rewarding,” said Philip Molter, CTO at Giganews. “Providing 400 days of binary retention across all newsgroups really shows that Giganews won’t ever stop pushing to exceed our customers’ expectations.”

Here we are a month and a half later and Giganews has exceeded 450 days of retention with no sign of slowing down.  At the current pace we will see 500 days of binary retention before the end of the year.

To find out more about the Usenet service read our Giganews review or sign up for a 14 day free trial.

Filed Under: Giganews, Usenet Providers Tagged With: , ,