NewsDemon Usenet Block Accounts : Save Up to 60%

NewsDemon announced new pricing on all of their block Usenet accounts.  They recently reduced prices up to 60% on block plans ranging from 10 GB all the way up to 1,000 GB of newsgroup downloads.

The new block account prices have been discounted up to 60%.  Let’s take a look at the savings for each block plan:
- 1,000 GB – originally price: $130 – new price: $8733% discount
- 500 GB – originally price: 65 – new price: $5318% discount
- 200 GB – originally price: $32 – new price: $2221% discount
- 100 GB – originally price: $22 – new price: $1532% discount
- 75 GB – originally price: $20 – new price: $1240% discount
- 50 GB – originally price: $15 – new price: $1034% discount
- 25 GB – originally price: $10 – new price: $550% discount
- 10 GB – originally price: $5 – new price: $260% discount

NewsDemon blocks are as low as 9 cents a gig on a 1 TB account and 11 cents a gig on 200 gigs.  This favors them well in comparison to Astraweb who offers 180 gig for $25.  In comparison NewsDemon offers an extra 20 GB for $3 less.

Read our NewsDemon review to learn more about the service or visit our block Usenet accounts page to compare all the block Usenet vendors.

Easynews Site Update : Boosts Retention to 600 Days

Easynews.com just got a fresh new look and updates that give visitors a view into the web Usenet service.  Oh yeah…they also increased NNTP retention 50% to 600 days!

The new site certainly appeals to a male audience.  The swimsuit models made us consider signing up and we’re already members.

Beyond the hot new look for the site, Easynews brought some additional features and a major retention upgrade.  For starters NNTP retention was upgraded from 400 days up to 600 days of binaries and two years of text posts.  The new retention is available immediately without an increase in price. Making their $9.95 unlimited NNTP accounts a bargain.

Easynews is also offering visitors a chance to sample the service directly from the home page.  We stuck with the default search of “swimsuit model” on the homepage and were impressed with the speed and quality of the results.

Looking closer brought us to several new pages including helpful information on Easynews features like pre-assembled multipart binaries, Easynews Zip manager, roll over gigs (a great feature of the service), Easyboost (increased speed), NNTP header compression and support for mobile users.  In the coming months Easynews promises app-free support for mobile devices including iPhone and iPad’s.

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

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Official press release from Easynews:

EASYNEWS.COM ANNOUNCES 600 DAYS BINARY RETENTION, NEW WEBSITE

Phoenix, AZ – May 17, 2010 – Easynews.com, the world’s leading browser-based Usenet newsgroup provider, announces 600 days of binary NNTP retention with the launch of its brand new website at http://www.easynews.com.

As part of its continued commitment to improve service quality and value for its subscribers, Easynews has increased binary retention for all Easynews NNTP users to a full 600 days, with over 2 years of text retention, at no additional cost to Easynews customers.

The new Easynews site provides visitors with an easy to use, clean layout that features more comprehensive, streamlined content and FAQs as well as improved navigation for both current members and those looking to try Easynews’ free trial.

The centerpiece of the new website is the ability to demo the Easynews application with a preview search as well as highlighting the ability for users to access over 100,000 Usenet newsgroups from work, home or any other place a browser can be used. Visitors are also able to review the features of Easynews such as our proprietary Easyboost Web Accelerator, rollover gigs, web-based Usenet browsing, pre-assembled multi-part binaries and automatically PAR’ed and uncompressed archives. In addition, all Easynews visitors can review subscriber feedback in real-time surveys and testimonials.

In the coming months, more enhancements will expand the Easynews user experience. Look forward to app-free support for mobile devices such as the iPad, even longer binary retention over the current 600 days for NNTP and usability improvements to the Easynews browser application.

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Visit Easynews for more details.

Newsgroup Reviews Guide to Usenet Block Accounts

Understanding Usenet block accounts is no easy task as newsgroup providers market them differently.  Learn more about block plans and services that offer non-expiring, yearly and monthly blocks.

To us a block Usenet plan inherently includes a non-expiring block of gigs that you pay for once and use until it is gone.  Then if you choose to do so you can buy another block.  As you are about to see that isn’t always the case.  Some plans defined as “block accounts” expire in a year or even monthly.

When researching and planning for this post we were tempted to just say “don’t buy Usenet block accounts that expire” but we realize that everyone has their own individual needs and an expiring account from provider’s like NewsDemon or Newshosting might be your preference.  So our goal is simply to help you understand each provider’s meaning of a “block account”.

Let’s start with the meaning we think of for block Usenet access which is non-expiring blocks of downloads.  We’ve also seen them called pay-per-download plans.

Here are a few Usenet services that offer non-expiring Usenet block accounts:

Astraweb

Astraweb defines blocks as pay-by-download plans.  They clearly define them as having no expiration date.  They also don’t count headers toward your download limit and offer free posting.  Astraweb blocks include 633 days binary retention, 50 connections and free SSL encryption.  Astraweb block accounts options include 180 GB for $25 and 25 GB for $10.  Read our Astraweb review for more details.

BlockNews

BlockNews.net offers Usenet blocks with no expiration date and free posting.  The service boasts 610 days binary retention, 50 connections and free SSL encryption.  Block plans include 200 GB for $25 and 25 GB for $8.50.  Read our BlockNews review for more details.

Usenet-News

Usenet-News.net block accounts include no time limit and free posting.  The service offers 550 days binary retention and free SSL.  Usenet-News block account options include 200 GB for $27 and 30 GB for $10.  Read our Usenet-News review for more details.

Next comes Usenet block accounts that expire annually.  NewsDemon appears to be the only provider currently offering annual block plans.

NewsDemon offers yearly block accounts that automatically renew at the end of the year or when you hit the download limit based on the block purchased.  Depending on your needs you might also consider their NGR special which includes 150 GB of downloads a month for $8.95.

NewsDemon

NewsDemon block plans have a one year time limit and autorenew when either the year ends of downloads are used up.  The service offers 600 days binary retention and 50 connections with all block accounts.  SSL encryption is available for $2 with any block.  NewsDemon Usenet block accounts include 200 GB for $32.00 and 25 GB for $10.00.  Read our NewsDemon review for more details.

Other Usenet providers including Newshosting and Red Dot News advertise block accounts that expire monthly.  We would normally define these types of accounts as “metered Usenet plans” or “limited” accounts since they are limited to a specified number of GB each month.  One difference in the Newshosting BigBlock is the unused gigs are rolled over to the next month which is a nice feature.  Newshosting also offers a special on unlimited Usenet for $15.95.  We would suggest paying the extra $1 a month for unlimited Usenet over the BigBlock option.

Let’s take a closer look at some block accounts that are billed monthly:

Newshosting

The Newshosting BigBlock account renews monthly  The plan offers 600 days binary retention, 30 connections, free SSL encryption and rollover gigs.  Meaning any gigs you don’t use one month are added to the next months downloads.  The BigBlock account includes 125 GB for $14.95 a month.  Read our Newshosting review for more details.

Red Orb News

Red Orb News block accounts renew monthly.  They do not include a rollover option so you either use or lose the downloads each month.  Red Orb News offers 600 days binary retention, 20 connections and free  SSL encryption.  Monthly block plans include 75 GB for $12.99 and 30 GB for $8.99.  Read our Red Orb News review for more details.

In conclusion make sure to read the terms of any Usenet account.  Whether it’s a free trial, unlimited access, metered or block account.  Visit our Usenet block accounts page for a comprehensive list of block plans.

NewsServers.net NGR Special : $10.95 Unlimited

We would like to thank the guys over at NewsServers.net for offering NGR visitors a special discount on unlimited Usenet.  For a limited time sign up for News Servers access and enjoy unlimited newsgroups for $10.95 a month for the life of your account.

NewsServers.net unlimited accounts include:
- unlimited Usenet server access
- 550 days of binary retention
- 1,000+ days of text retention
- 99%+ completion rate
- 50 connections
- SSL encryption
- 24/7 tech support

Read our NewsServers.net profile for more information on the service or sign up and enjoy unlimited Usenet for $10.95 a month.

SABnzbd 0.5.2 Final Release : Download Available Now

On May 2nd SABnzbd version 0.5.2 final was released.  The web-based newsreader is open source and can be downloaded for free at SABnzbd.org.  If you enjoy the Usenet client please consider donating to the project either monetarily or by providing feedback for bug fixes or technical support.

Here are the SABnzbd 0.5.2 release notes directly from their forum post:

Changes:
- Add total-size fields to API-call History.
- Auto-search for free port when specified port is occupied
- Improve reporting of newzbin errors
- Keep trying when receiving garbage from nzbmatrix.com
- Remember end-of-queue action for next end-of-queue

Bug fixes:
- Large queue caused very slow UI and high memory usage
- Some very large rar sets failed to unpack
- garbled emails were sent
- Python user scripts now run properly on OSX
- SeasonSort could produce trailing spaces in paths, which fail on Windows
- Unpacking errors not properly reported to user script
- API: &nzbname= was ignored for some sites
- API: Server rename did not work properly
- Some updates to Danish texts

Already solved in 0.5.1 (never reached “Final”)

Changes:
- TV Season sort now has “affected categories” too.
- When detecting an unsupported unrar on Posix systems, drop unsupported features
(This may lead to files being lost when duplicate names exist.)
- When using only manual newzbin bookmark reading, allow automatic un-bookmarking
- Duplicate title checking in RSS is now done across all feeds
- Accept comma-separated list of recipients for email notifications
- Allow manual retry of URL-based NZB fetches when a bad NZB is received
- Add INI-file option “size_limit” that sets any oversized job to paused and low priority.
- Added French translation of email template
- Added Danish translation

Bug fixes:
- Fixed problems that could lead to an infinite unpacking loop
(when using a “sick” NZB and using +U instead of +D postprocessing)
- Fixed issues with accented characters in NZB names when using RSS
- Fixed issues with accented characters in category folder names when using RSS
- Plush: fix nzo range selection when clicking checkboxes
- Sorting examples were sometimes wrong
- Sorting couldn’t handle some pattern combinations
- Fixed priority handling for RSS feeds and newzbin bookmarks
- Fixed crash occuring when user profile contains characters outside ISO-8859-1
- Allow nzb-backup folder field to be cleared
- Fixed several translation errors and omissions
- Keep Windows awake during post-processing of last job (while queue is already empty)

Download location on SourceForge.net: https://sourceforge.net/projects/sabnzbdplus/files/

Take a look at our SABnzbd 0.5.0 post to learn more about the newsreader.

Giganews Unlimited Usenet + SSL = $19.99 For Life!

Last Fall Giganews promised game changing updates to come.  December marked the launch of VyprVPN.  Adding another premium feature to their Diamond account that no other Usenet provider offers.  Now they are bringing value to customers who want secure, reliable, unlimited Usenet access without the VPN option.

For a limited time Giganews is offering a new account and lifetime discount.  With their new Platinum Plus account you can enjoy unlimited Usenet access, free SSL and up to 50 connections for $19.99 a month for life! (Sign up here)

The Giganews Platinum Plus account includes:
- $19.99 lifetime discounted price
- Unlimited Usenet access
- 635+ days of binary retention
- 2,500+ days of text retention
- Up to 50 simultaneous connections
- 256-bit SSL encryption
- Access to over 100,000 newsgroups
- Full header retention across all groups
- Giganews accelerator (header compression)
- Very reliable (99.9%+ completion rate)
- Server farms in the US, Europe and Asia
- Speeds exceeding 50+ Mbps
- 24/7 tech support

If you would like to add unlimited VPN access then move up to the Giganews Diamond account for $29.99 a month.  It has all the same great features plus VyprVPN access.

Read our Giganews Platinum Plus review to learn more or sign up and enjoy!

Microsoft Cutting 4,200 Support Newsgroups In June

We have enjoyed using Microsoft’s newsgroups over the years.  Including technical newsgroups on topics like Windows, Office and SharePoint products.  It will be a shame to see them go.  According to Microsoft, this June they will shift from Usenet to online forums including Microsoft Answers, TechNet and MSDN.  They list centralized content, easier search and better spam management as advantages to the new method.

According to Microsoft:

Microsoft has a long history of establishing newsgroups that channel users and issues into the newsgroup (NNTP) space where information is shared and problems can be addressed by the community. Currently, Microsoft hosts more than 2000 public newsgroups that cover virtually all of our products, along with more than 2,200 private newsgroups that reach specific audiences including Certgen, SBSC, Partner Programs, MVPs and Direct Access, among others.

Meanwhile, customers are turning online more and more for information and help. Microsoft is revamping its communities to make it easy for customers to find help and information when they need it. Using forums as the online support strategy will reduce the number of redundant resources and centralize content, making community contributions more broadly available and impactful.

Beginning in June 2010, Microsoft will begin closing newsgroups and migrating users to Microsoft forums that include Microsoft Answers, TechNet and MSDN. This move will centralize content, make it easier for contributors to retain their influence, reduce redundancies and make content easier to find. Overall, forums offer a better spam management platform that will improve customer satisfaction by encouraging a healthy discussion space.

Instead of “Microsoft is cutting Usenet” or “Microsoft is discontinuing newsgroups” they went with “Microsoft responds to the evolution of communities” for the title.  Dress it up anyway you like.  Lots of us will miss the Microsoft newsgroups.

NewsDemon NGR Special: 150 GB a Month for $8.95

We would like to thank NewsDemon for offering NGR visitors a great value.  For those who download less than 150 Gigs a month you can now do so for only $8.95 a month!

This is an exceptional value as NewsDemon normally offers 75 GB of usage for $15.99 a month.  Meaning you get twice the downloads for almost half the price.  If you’re not sure whether or not 150 Gigs a month is enough then consider their Demon Deal which offers unlimited access for 50% off ($10.95 a month).  Both specials are lifetime discounts so enjoy the reduced price as long as your account is active.

Both the Unlimited Plus (Demon Deal) and 150 GB accounts include:
- 600 days of binary retention
- 1,265 days of text retention
- 99%+ completion rate
- 100,000+ newsgroups
- 50 concurrent connections
- Free SSL encryption
- Free newsreader (News Rover – $29.95 value)
- News servers in the US and Europe
- 24/7 tech support

Read our NewsDemon review to learn more about these specials and other NewsDemon Usenet offerings.

Newshosting Two Week Free Trial + Special Discounts

On April 23rd we posted on the newly released Newshosting specials which include NHXL access for $15.95 and NH Unlimited for $13.95 a month.  Today Newshosting added a two week free trial to the mix.  Sign up for either special and enjoy the first 14 days and up to 10 GB of downloads free of charge to test the service.

Who cares?  Hasn’t Newshosting been offering a free trial for a long time?  Why is this any different?  This is ALOT different.  Most providers who offer special pricing either do so without a free trial or end the trial with retail pricing.  Combining the free trial and special discount gives you an opportunity to test the service and still save 20% off unlimited Usenet access for life!  We think the new free trial + special will do quite well and look forward to your feedback.  Please send comments to feedback (at) newsgroupreviews.com.

Read our Newshosting review to learn more about the service or sign up for the new free trial + special and enjoy!

NZBVortex Version 0.7.0 Released for Mac OSX

For those who haven’t tried NZBVortex here is your chance.  The NZB Usenet downloader was first released on February 12th and has been updated several times since including the latest release – 0.7.0 on April 30th.

NZBVortex supports Mac OSX version 10.5.0 and later.  There are very few Mac newsreaders on the market (SABnzbd, Unison, Hogwasher, Hellanzb) so having another join the group is a nice addition.  NZBVortex offers a free version and a full featured version for $9 which includes support.

Here is the 0.7.0 release information from the NZBVortex site:

Version 0.7.0 released – April 30th, 2010


This version adds support for accented characters in filenames, Cleanup files after download, supports moving the completed files to another location (temp/complete folders) and the option for you to manually start postprocessing of downloads.

This release has a lot of other fixes and tweaks mainly for low occurance issues.

Thanks go out to Povilas Griskevicius and Mamahuhu for their thorough tests!

Other new features:

  • Make post processing optional/delayable
  • Ability to move completed downloads to another location
  • After completion cleanup: Make configurable which file types to auto cleanup
  • Incorrect parsing of yenc message with ‘special character’ filenames
  • Cleanup filenames in NZB’s which contain set numbers in the filename ” (1/79)”
  • One-article files use crc32 field instead of pcrc32
  • Make NZB parse routine more robuust to it will not add nzb’s twice or download in same folder
  • Article state repair after restart was causing downloading of skipped files
  • During prefs save: only reset current connections if connection prefs are changed
  • Save invalid yenc message to file in “Application support” folder
  • Gather anonymous system info during Sparkle update
  • Sleep button doesn’t work if there are paused download in the listing
  • NZB waiting in “saving/downloading” state after “Need additional blocks: .. 1..”
  • NZB download folder should not end in .nzb even when cleanup falls back to default
  • ‘Support’ filenames with an forward slash in it
  • Extra cleanup expressions
  • When reverting state of FileArticle to FileArticleStateWaiting also update File and NZBstate
  • Make sure a 0 bytes file will be saved if all articles are bad
  • Filename cleanup should accept accented chars
  • Increase max number of concurrent connections
  • Change button for Download location and NZB watch folder broke on 10.5
  • Incorrect display of total and nzb file size on large files

Read our NZBVortex profile to learn more about the newsreader.