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Eweka King’s Day Special

April 25, 2018 by

The team at Eweka is celebrating King’s Day with a special discount. The offer includes a 7-day free trial with unlimited Usenet access, download speeds of 300 Mbps, 256-bit SSL connections, and over 3,535 days of binary retention. That’s almost 10 years of binaries from a leading Usenet provider in the Netherlands. Best of all, the price of a subscription during the King’s Day promotion is just €5 a month. That’s a savings of 48% off the full retail price. Visit the Eweka King’s Day Sale page to take advantage of the offer.

Eweka King's Day Sale

Everyone is eligible for the promotion. Even if you live in the United States and aren’t sure what King’s Day is all about. You can still sign up for the savings. As the image above mentions, new membes save 48% off for life. That means you can enjoy unlimited Usenet access from just €5 a month as long as you keep the account active. The price is based on a annual subscription which works out to €60 a year. You will be hard pressed to find a better deal anywhere, not to mention from a leading Dutch Usenet provider.

Eweka offers the best of both worlds. You get fast newsgroup downloads with speeds up to 300 Mbps coupled with 256-bit SSL encryption for those who want secure connections. Eweka’s binary retention is the highest in the region and right in line with leading US providers. You can download a free copy of Newzlazer newsreader to find and download your favorite newsgroup content. The only option missing is a VPN for those who want the extra privacy protection. You won’t need it for Usenet but we highly recommend using a VPN for other online activities. All in all the Eweka King’s Day sale is one of the best deals we’ve seen so far this year.

Filed Under: Eweka, Usenet Providers

Free NCAA March Madness Apps

March 15, 2018 by

It’s that time of year again.  With day 1 of March Madness underway, hopefully your NCAA tourney bracket isn’t too beat up.  We also enjoy the surprises that come each year over the first weekend.  This might seem a little off topic since we normally cover Usenet but I know a lot of our blog readers will be enjoying the tournament along with us.  Here are some free March Madness apps for iOS and Android to help you enjoy the tourney.

If you plan to watch March Madness from outside the USA we suggest using a VPN service.

NCAA March Madness Live

Free March Madness Apps

This year you can stream every game shown on CBS for free using the NCAA March Madness Live app.  The app is available for iPhone and iPad via iTunes.  Android users can download it free from Google Play.  If you’ve cut the cord on cable you can still watch all the CBS games which include a lot of important games this weekend and all of the NCAA Sweet 16 and beyond.  TBS, TNT and truTV games are open to paid subscribers.

ESPN Bracket Bound

ESPN Bracket Bound App

Keep track of the NCAA tourney brackets with the ESPN bracket bound app.  The app is free and available for iPhone and iPad via iTunes.  Those with Android devices can download the app free from Google Play.

ESPN ScoreCenter

ESPN ScoreCenter App

Use ESPN’s free ScoreCenter app to view the latest scores, read news, and watch video highlights.  iPhone and iPad users can download it free from iTunes.  Android users can grab ScoreCenter from Google Play.

You can check out more free sports related apps in either app store.  Enjoy this year’s March Madness!

Filed Under: Personal VPN, Xtra Tagged With:

Newshosting Holiday Promotion

December 21, 2017 by

As we near closer to Christmas and New Year’s the team at Newshosting is giving everyone a gift.  They are giving all new members a chance to save 64% off and get 2 free months when you sign up for the deeply discounted annual plan.  That means you can enjoy unlimited Usenet + VPN access through the holidays and well beyond for just $7.14 if you sign up for the Newshosting Unlimited plan during the sale. The Newshosting Holiday Promotion is live so you can save now.

Newshosting Holiday Promotion

If you’re not currently using Newshosting then I strongly suggest you sign up for an account to see just how much they have to offer.  Even before the Christmas promotion Newshosting was the best value in Usenet.  Now they’ve stepped up their game including 2 free months of Usenet and privacy protection with the VPN. The VPN access alone is worth more than the price you’ll pay for Usenet and VPN combined.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the Newshosting holiday special:

  • Unlimited Usenet + VPN – $99,99 or 14 months which is just $7.14 a month.

As you can see the price of the holiday special is just $7.14 which is 64% below the retail price.  Those who sign up for the annual plan will enjoy a 2 free months of service. Pay just $99.99 for 14 months of unlimited Usenet access and receive full access to their network of 70 VPN servers across 17 countries free of charge.  That’s the best Usenet / VPN combo deal around.

On the Usenet side Newshosting was already the top listed Usenet service on our site.  They offer a lot of value with the free Newshosting Usenet client.  The new VPN offer sweetens the pot even more.  Newshosting offers over 3,400 days of binary retention and growing.  Along with NNTP servers in the United States and Europe.  You can use up to 30 connections but you won’t need that many.  Free 256-bit SSL will help secure your Usenet connections and using the VPN will help protect your privacy for other online activities.

Read our Newshosting review to learn more or sign up for the Newshosting Holiday Promotion and enjoy!

Filed Under: Newshosting, Usenet Providers

Easynews Black Friday Promotion

November 21, 2017 by

The Easynews team is jumping into the holiday season and getting our Black Friday Usenet deals started today. It’s one of the best deals we’ve ever seen from Easynews over the last 10 years. During their Black Friday special you can sign up for Easynews Big Gig plan for just $9.99 a month for the first 3 months. That’s 67% off the regular price of $29.94 a month. The Big Gig plan gives you 150 GB of web Usenet along with unlimited NNTP downloads. The plan also comes with free unlimited VPN service which makes it an even better value.

Easynews Black Friday promo

Those new to Usenet will find Easynews web interface to be the easiest way to get started.  You can browse over 3,000 days of binary retention through your web browser.  The web interface makes it easy to search for content, view images, preview and download from your favorite newsgroups.  This is all done without any software.  If you want to go beyond 150 GB of downloads a month, you can fire up your favorite newsreader and connect to their NNTP servers in the US or Europe for unlimited Usenet access.

Confused by web vs. NNTP retention?  If so here’s a quick explanation:

  • The web interface and web retention are unique to Easynews.  A great choice for those new to Usenet who don’t want to mess with installing a client.  Use the web interface to search for content, preview, stream and download.  Easynews also supports iOS and Android.  Big Gig members get 150 GB of web access.
  • NNTP retention uses newsgroup software like SABnzbd or NZBGet to browse and download from Usenet.  Easynews includes NNTP access with all their plans including unlimited NNTP with the Big Gig plan.

Cheers to the Easynews team as they spread the love this holiday season to bring in new Usenet fans.  With increased web retention and other enhancements, they continue to expand the service.  Remember to sign up during the Black Friday promotion to save 67% off the first 3 months of Easynews Big Gig.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet and follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest news.

Filed Under: Easynews, Usenet Providers

NZBCat and SimplyNZBs Summer Sale

August 18, 2017 by

Looking for an NZB sites to call home? If so this weekend may be the time to sign up as NZBCat and SimplyNZBs are both offering a promotion to celebrate the summer. Usenet fans in the United States are getting ready for the solar eclipse on Monday. That still leaves plenty of time to enjoy Usenet this weekend. Let”s take a quick look at each promotion. You can learn more about each site on our NZB sites page.

NZBCat

NZBCat is running a summer promotion through Sunday, August 20th. The deal gives users double VIP with any purchase. For example, you can sign up for 2 years of VIP access for $15. In the case of NZBCat, you can not register for a free account as registrations are currently invite only. However, if you try to register on the site it will give you the chance to donate for VIP status which includes the necessary invite. VIP members have access to 500 NZBs and 5k API calls a day. Here’s a summary of the promo:

  • $4 for 60 days (normally 30)
  • $6 for 180 days (normally 90 days)
  • $9 for 365 days (normally 180 days)
  • $15 for 720 days (normally 365 days)

The NZBCat sale will be active through Sunday, August 20th.

SimplyNZBs

SimplyNZBs is offering 50% off all VIP upgrades through the end of August. This gives you two weeks to sign up for a VIP account at 50% off. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the site yet then we recommend registering for a free account. You will find that free users are limited to 5 NZBs a day but it will give you a chance to test out the site. Upgrading to a VIP membership will get you access to 5k API calls a day. Here’s a list of pricing for VIP access during the summer sale:

  • 1 Year VIP – £2.50 GBP instead of £5.00 GBP
  • Lifetime VIP – £7.50 GBP instead of £15.00 GBP
  • Upgrade from 1 year to lifetime for £5.00 GBP until Aug. 31st

The SimplyNZBs summer promotion is active through Thursday, August 31st.

Filed Under: NZB Sites

UsenetBucket Reduces Max Connections

August 11, 2017 by

The UsenetBucket team recently reduced the number of maximum connections allowed with each plan. We understand that they may have switched backend providers which led to the change. While you can expect to achieve the same speeds from less connections, current UsenetBucket members are seeing “too many connections” errors while using the service. Of course the reason is the reduction in max connections. To fix the issue you simply need to reduce the number of connections set in your newsreader.

Usenet Bucket

Here’s a look at the updated connections for each UsenetBucket plan:

  • Basic Bucket – 10 connections (previously 25)
  • Comfort Bucket – 10 connections (previously 25)
  • Ultimate Bucket – 25 connections (previously 50)

The advertised speed cap for each plan has not changed. The backend provider simply allows more throughput per connection. You can select between buckets based on your speed needs.

  • Basic Bucket – 10 Mbit for € 2,95 a month
  • Comfort Bucket – 40 Mbit for € 4,95 a month
  • Ultimate Bucket – 400 Mbit for € 12,95 a month

Regardless of which plan you select, UsenetBucket members have unlimited access to 1,600 days of binary retention with SSL support. The only limiting factor is the number of connections and cap on download speeds. As you can see above, the prices vary quite a bit based on the speed cap. It’s hard to beat the value of the comfort bucket if 40 Mbit speeds are fast enough. We recommend the basic bucket or comfort bucket as a backup / fill server along with one of our top Usenet providers for the best experience. This will give you fast Usenet access with higher retention along with the advantages of UsenetBucket at a very reasonable price.

Filed Under: Usenet Providers, UsenetBucket

NZBGet 19.0 Adds Unpack During Download Feature

June 27, 2017 by

The latest version of NZBGet 19.0 was just released over the weekend. You will notice a number of new features and bug fixes. The most notable feature in NZBGet 19.0 will allow you to unpack files while still downloading. It will automatically unpack the files as soon as all the archive parts are completed. It will also let you start watching video files before the download completes. This is sure to be a popular addition for NZBGet. Grab the latest version directly from their website and let us know what you think of the new feature.

NZBGet

Here’s a look at the release notes for NZBGet 19.0:

  • unpack during downloading:
    • downloaded files can now be unpacked as soon as every archive part is downloaded;
    • new option DirectUnpack to activate direct unpacking;
    • direct unpack works even with obfuscated downloads; option DirectRename (see below) must be active for that;
    • option ReorderFiles (see below) should be also active for optimal file download order;
    • direct unpack works for rar-archives; 7-zip archives and simply splitted files are processed by default unpack module;
    • direct unpack obviously works only for healthy download; if download is damaged the direct unpack cancels and the download is unpacked during post-processing stage after files are repaired;
    • direct unpack reduces the time needed to complete download and post-processing;
    • it also allows to start watching of video files during download (requires compatible video player software);
    • see forum topic Unpack during downloading for more info;
  • renaming of obfuscated file names during downloading:
    • correct file names for obfuscated downloads are now determined during download stage (instead of post-processing stage);
    • downloaded files are saved into disk directly with correct names;
    • direct renaming uses par2-files to restore correct file names;
    • new option DirectRename to activate direct renaming;
    • new queue-event NZB_NAMED, sent after the inner files are renamed;
  • automatic reordering of files:
    • inner files within nzb reordered to ensure download of files in archive parts order;
    • the files are reordered when nzb is added to queue;
    • if direct renaming is active (option DirectRename) the files are reordered again after the correct names becomes known;
    • new option ReorderFiles;
    • new command GroupSortFiles in api-method editqueue;
    • new subcommand SF of remote command -E/–edit;
  • new option FileNaming to control how to name obfuscated files (before they get renamed by par-rename, rar-rename or direct-rename);
  • TLS certificate verification:
    • when connecting to a news server (for downloading) or a web server (for fetching of rss feeds and nzb-files) the authenticity of the server is validated using server security certificate. If the check fails that means the connection cannot be trusted and must be closed with an error message explaining the security issue;
    • new options CertCheck and CertStore;
    • official NZBGet packages come with activated certificate check;
    • when updating from an older NZBGet version the option CertCheck will be automatically activated when the settings is saved (switch to Settings page in web-interface and click Save all changed);
    • see Certificate verification for details;
  • authentication via form in web-interface as alternative to HTTP authentication:
    • that must help with password tools having issues with HTTP authentication dialog;
    • new option FormAuth;
  • drop-downs (context menus) for priority, category and status columns:
    • quicker changing of priority and category;
    • easier access to actions via drop-down (context menu) in status column;
  • extensions scripts can now be executed from settings page:
    • script authors define custom buttons;
    • when clicked the script is executed in a special mode and obtain extra parameters;
    • example script Email.py extended with button Send test e-mail;
    • for details see Extension scripts;
  • on Windows NZBGet can now associate itself with nzb-files:
    • use option in Windows installer to register NZBGet for nzb-files;
  • unrar shipped within Linux package is now compiled with fallocate option to improve compatibility with media players when watching videos during downloading and unpacking;
  • support for HTTP-header X-Forwarded-For in IP-logging;
  • improvements in RSS feed view in phone mode;
  • set name, password and dupe info when adding via URL by click on a button near URL field in web-interface;
  • backup-badge for items in history similar to downloads tab;
  • show backup icon in history in phone theme;
  • added support for ECC certificates in built-in web-server;
  • save changes before performing actions in history dialog;
  • proper exit code on client command success or failure.
  • added host name to all error messages regarding connection issues;
  • improved continuos integration with Travis CI:
    • added gcc 4.8 to test matrix;
    • installing unrar into test system to allow unit tests requiring unrar;
  • new button Volume Statistics in section News Servers of settings page; shows the same volume data as in global statistics dialog;
  • new option ServerX.Notes for user comments on news servers;
  • new parameters for api-method servervolumes as a performance optimization measure to reduce amount of transferred data;
  • new option to force connection to news servers via ipv4 or ipv6;
  • removed unnecessary requests to news servers;
  • updated unrar to v5.40;
  • clear script execution log before executing script;
  • added support for crash dumps on Windows:
    • renamed option DumpCore to CrashDump;
    • new option CrashTrace to make it possible to disable default printing of call stack in order to produce more relevant crash dumps;
  • fixed: startup scheduler tasks can be executed again;
  • fixed: fatal messages when compiling from sources.
  • fixed: per-nzb download statistics could be wrong if the program was reloaded during downloading.
  • fixed crash which may happen between post-processing steps;
  • fixed: asterix (*) was sometimes passed as parameter to extension scripts (Windows only);
  • fixed potential crash during update via web-interface.

You can read our NZBGet review to learn more about the popular open-source Usenet browser.

Filed Under: Newsreaders, NZBGet

DOGnzb Father’s Day Special

June 18, 2017 by

The team at DOGnzb is celebrating Father’s Day with a special. If you renew or extend your DOGnzb account before June 21st you can enjoy up to a year of additional access added to your account. We’ll share the forum post in a moment but to summarize, you get 1 year free with 3-5 years extensions or 6 months free with one year renewals. The site has open registration for those who don’t already have an account. Remember to sign up or renew your VIP status by June 21st to take advantage of the promotion.

Here’s the scoop taken directly from the announcement on the DOGnzb forum:

Renew (or extend) your VIP membership before June 21st and you will receive up to 365 extra days. If you renew for one year, you will get 6 additional months added to your membership. If you renew for 3 or 5 years, you will get an additional year added to your membership.

Please note, that the additional time will NOT be mentioned anywhere, but rest assured it will be automatically added when your payment is automatically processed.

If paying with Bitcoins, make sure to pay the suggested transaction fee, if not your payment could take hours, days or weeks to confirm properly.

(this offer can only be applied once. if you already received a free year from us during 2017, you cannot use this promotion again).

You will still need both a Usenet provider and client software to download your favorite newsgroup content. Don’t forget to check out the latest Usenet deals and special offers on our main Newsgroup Reviews site.

Filed Under: DOGnzb, NZB Sites

Famous Usenet Posts – WWW, Linux, Netscape

May 19, 2017 by

August will mark the 26th anniversary of Tim Berners Lee publishing a summary of the World Wide Web project to the alt.hypertext newsgroup.  In the beginning the WWW was a side project that Tim Berners-Lee worked on at CERN.  In 1991 he announced the WorldWideWeb project to the online community via Usenet.  The post was made in the alt.hypertext newsgroup on August 6th, 1991.  Since then several important announcements have come via Usenet but the WWW post is definitely one of our favorites.  Let’s take a look at the post.

Here’s Tim’s post from 1991:

WorldWideWeb: Summary

In article <64…@cernvax.cern.ch> I promised to post a short summary  of the
WorldWideWeb project.  Mail me with any queries.

WorldWideWeb – Executive Summary
The WWW project merges the techniques of information retrieval and hypertext to
make an easy but powerful global information system.

The project started with the philosophy that much academic information should
be freely available to anyone. It aims to allow information sharing within
internationally dispersed teams, and the dissemination of information by
support groups.

Reader view

The WWW world consists of documents, and links.  Indexes are special documents
which, rather than being read, may be searched. The result of such a search is
another (“virtual”) document containing links to the documents found.  A simple
protocol (“HTTP”) is used to allow a browser program to request a keyword
search by a remote information server.

The web contains documents in many formats. Those documents which are
hypertext,  (real or virtual) contain links to other documents, or places
within documents. All documents, whether real, virtual or indexes, look similar
to the reader and are contained within the same addressing scheme.

To follow a link,  a reader clicks with a mouse (or types in a number if he or
she has no mouse). To search and index, a reader gives keywords (or other
search criteria). These are the only operations  necessary to access the entire
world of data.

Information provider view

The WWW browsers can access many existing data systems via existing protocols
(FTP, NNTP) or via HTTP and a gateway. In this way, the critical mass of data
is quickly exceeded, and the increasing use of the system by readers and
information suppliers encourage each other.

Making a web is as simple as writing a few SGML files which point to your
existing data. Making it public involves running the FTP or HTTP daemon, and
making at least one link into your web from another. In fact,  any file
available by anonymous FTP can be immediately linked into a web. The very small
start-up effort is designed to allow small contributions.  At the other end of
the scale, large information providers may provide an HTTP server with full
text or keyword indexing.

The WWW model gets over the frustrating incompatibilities of data format
between suppliers and reader by allowing negotiation of format between a smart
browser and a smart server. This should provide a basis for extension into
multimedia, and allow those who share application standards to make full use of
them across the web.

This summary does not describe the many exciting possibilities opened up by the
WWW project, such as efficient document caching. the reduction of redundant
out-of-date copies, and the use of knowledge daemons.  There is more
information in the online project documentation, including some background on
hypertext and many technical notes.

Try it

A prototype (very alpha test) simple line mode browser is currently available
in source form from node  info.cern.ch [currently 128.141.201.74] as

/pub/WWW/WWWLineMode_0.9.tar.Z.

Also available is a hypertext editor for the NeXT using the NeXTStep graphical
user interface, and a skeleton server daemon.

Documentation is readable using www (Plain text of the instalation instructions
is included in the tar file!). Document

http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html

is as good a place to start as any. Note these coordinates may change with
later releases.

_________________________________________________________________

Tim Berners-Lee

     Tel:        +41(22)767 3755
WorldWideWeb project                Fax:        +41(22)767 7155
C.E.R.N.                        email:        t…@cernvax.cern.ch
1211 Geneva 23
Switzerland

Along with the Tim Berner’s Lee WWW announcement here are some other significant Usenet posts:

You will find that Google Groups is a good source for historical text posts like those listed above.  To learn more about binary newsgroup access visit the Usenet providers section of NewsgroupReviews.com.

Without a doubt we missed some famous / interesting Usenet posts.  The newsgroup articles mentioned above are some of our favorites.  Please share yours with us @NewsgroupRevs so we can add them to the list.

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

UsenetExpress Launches New Tier-1 Usenet Service

March 31, 2017 by

A new Usenet provider by the name of UsenetExpress launched earlier today. It is the first tier-1 Usenet provider to jump into the industry in a very long time. The founder of UsenetExpress is no rookie to the Usenet biz. Earlier today he shared his past history on the site’s blog. He founded a Usenet company in the early 2000s that gained popularity before he sold it in 2006. It has continued to grow into one of the most popular Usenet providers in the world. Back to UsenetExpress, their team is launching the new service to compete with the small number of tier-1 Usenet providers on the market. Time will tell whether or not their strategy will be a success, but in the meantime they are looking for some Usenet enthusiasts to help test the new service. The UsenetExpress team is offering a free month of service to users who help them stress test the service.

UsenetExpress

If you would like to help test the new UseneExpress service, their team has kindly shared a coupon code with us that will give you a free month of Usenet access. We want to note that you will need to sign up for an account and provide payment information to receive the free month of access. If you do not cancel your account during the first 30 days it will bill at their normal rate of $10 a month. Even so, the promotion is a great chance to test out a new tier-1 Usenet network free of charge. To do so you will want to visit their site and click on the blue Signup Now button. On the pricing screen that follows you will want to select the $10 monthly plan. At this point you can enter the coupon code goldenticket to receive the first month free. As of the time of our post there is no field for the code. Instead you can simply type goldenticket without clicking on anything else. As soon as you hit the last letter the screen will present you with a message stating the code is confirmed as shown below.

UsenetExpress goldenticket

Now that the coupon code is active, you can simply scroll down and enter an email address. From there you will choose between a number of payment methods. Regardless of which one you select, a message stating that “your coupon will be applied on the payment page.” will be presented. Then the payment page will show a message that let’s you know the subscription terms which include free service for the first month, then $10 for each month. Give UsenetExpress a test drive and let their team know what you think. As always we’re also interested in your impressions. Hit us up on Twitter and share your thoughts on the new Usenet service.

Filed Under: Usenet Providers
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