Merlins Portal Closed Indefinitely

The once very popular community at Merlins Portal has certainly been through some ups and downs over the last couple years.  We weren’t along for the end of the ride but it sounds like things got pretty bad.  Now it appears the new owner of Merlins Portal is calling it quits.  Not to say there isn’t any hope since the site was revived once already.  Yet without m3rl1n it seems unlikely the site will ever return to the glory days of past.

In a moment we’ll post the message from SiD, the current owner of Merlins Portal.  Without any opinions of our own.  Since we weren’t around for the apparent implosion of the site it seems fitting to just share the outcome without comment.  Those looking for alternatives can compare several on our NZB sites page.  If you want immediate help finding Usenet content we suggest the Newshosting client with built-in search.

Here is the letter posted on the Merlins-Portal homepage from SiD:

This site is closed indefinitely.

Due to my failure to keep on top of things & monitor more what was going on & the failure of spinout as the working administrator & spinouts actions that forced many members away from the site because of his unprovoked behaviour & attacks since I took over the site back in February , refusal to add content to the members needs, refusal to add content relevant to an English site. Worse of all spinouts actions forcing off the site 2 of Usenet’s most prolific content gathers & the founder of the site robodog & m3rl1n & the fact I sat back an let it happen.

I was stupid, naive & foolish to think I could fill such large shoes as m3rl1ns. I was stupid, naive & foolish to put spinout in charge. I was stupid, naive & foolish to think members were loyal to the site & have found out now it is the person (m3rl1n) they were loyal too. Between myself & spinout in the last few months we have ruined a great Usenet institution & numbers fell from around 800 or more members online at any given point to less than a 50 & fell over 89 percent of our daily traffic for this a blame spinout who looked out for his own needs & not mine, other staff, the members or the site as a whole to the point the site is a shadow of its former self & after a lot of soul searching I see no point keeping a site going for a small handful of die hard members.

I will however thank whttrsh for his dedication as I am sure this must have been hard gathering content in the atmosphere created on the site. I will openly apologize to robodog & m3rl1n & those members spinout attacked & for sitting back & letting spinout carry on as he did & for undoing all the great work everyone had put in making this great institution. Advice to the Usenet community if you have spinout on your site do not allow him any position of power, like me you will regret it.

I had contacted m3rl1n to take the site back a few days ago but his reply is unrepeatable & really who can blame him after what has happened & my own failure to deal with the situation & take that spinouts version as true. One old staff member told me to be wary of my new administrator but once again it was my own failure to see & listen to what him & what was going on.

Ultimately it stops at my feet for it all going wrong & my own lack of time with a family of 4 young children & that said I am sorry whttrsh, robodog, m3rl1n, members & to all who were involved building this great Usenet institution & community & thank the people that made me feel welcome back in February. If anyone wish to take on the site I will give it too them as it was given to me & can contact me & I will respond in due course & I am very hopeful someone will come forward

Sorry

SiD

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

Newzbin.com Down : Site Moved to Newzbin2.es

For those who enjoy Newzbin but perhaps don’t use it that frequently or haven’t read the news you will want to pay close attention to their latest message.  As Newsbin has decided to close Newsbin.com.  More specifically they have decided to change domains and leave the .com domain behind.  The transition is expected to take a couple weeks.  Once completed Newsbin.com will no longer be available. Members will need to access Newzbin at their new URL – newzbin2.es.  When the .es site launches the .com URL will not be redirected.

In case the image isn’t clear enough here’s the Newzbin news post from Mr White:

Newzbin is leaving the American Internet. In a couple of weeks we will cease to use the newzbin.com domain and move to newzbin2.es.

We regret the need to do this but, thanks to the retards in the US Government and the MPA, a ‘.com’ address is no longer viable. Really, any domain controlled by the US government proxy Verisign isn’t viable.

For the next couple of weeks we are undertaking preparations for the move. We will switch shortly after that. For legal reasons the defunct ‘newzbin.com’ page will not do any redirects or give links to the new sites. If you wish you can start using the .es domain straight away.

As you may know we rent the domain name rather than own it. What the owners will do with it when we are gone is out of our control, but we will pay the rent for a few more months.

It sounds like members can start using Newzbin2.es right away.  Though we’re not sure if the site is 100% functional yet.  When you notice newzbin.com is down just point your browser to newzbin2.es.

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

Newzbin Christmas Sale : Save 50% off Newzbin

December 21st update:  the Newzbin Christmas sale is officially underway.  Enjoy 50% by topping off your Newzbin account between now and January 4th.  Visit Newzbin.com for more details.

Newzbin will be offering their annual Christmas sale again this year.  This time around the sale will last 14 days.  Beginning on December 21st and ending January 4th.  So for those interested in topping off their Newzbin accounts this is the time to purchase.  As the price will be 50% off the normal fee.  Which works out to £0.15 a week.  Previous xmas promotions have allowed users to purchase up to 12 months of premium credits.

The normal cost for Newzbin is £0.30 a week plus s £0.50 transaction fee per purchase.  So those wanting to save the most will want to pick up a year of premium access during the Newzbin Christmas sale.  Bringing the total cost to £8.30 for the year.  At £0.15 a week * 52 weeks plus a £0.50 transaction fee.  Of course as always you can also make a donation.  As we’re sure many Newzbin users will do to help support their efforts.

Read our Newzbin review to learn more about the Usenet search engine or visit Newzbin.com between December 21st, 2011 and January 4th, 2012 to take advantage of this year’s 50% off Christmas sale.

NZBMatrix Site Down : Find Temporary Alternatives

November 28, 2011 – NZBMatrix is currently down.  Right now the site is timing out.  NZBMatrix.info shows the site is offline but doesn’t give a reason so we’re not sure how long they’ll down.  In the meantime here’s a list of alternative NZB sites to consider.  You can also sign up for the Newshosting $9.99 deal which includes the Newshosting Usenet client with built-in search.

November 21, 2011 – The NZBMatrix site is currently down.  Same ‘Database Server: Connection Error‘ as we’ve seen in the past.  Not likely a simple database fix given the recurrence.  Hopefully the NZBMatrix team will find a long-term solution.

November 19, 2011 – NZBMatrix was hit with a DDOS (distributed denial of service) attack.  They are working through the issue and hope to have the site along with API and RSS bookmarks up soon.

November 15, 2011 – The NZBMatrix site is currently down.  Visitors are seeing a message stating ‘Database Server: Connection Error‘.   Hopefully they will have the site back up soon.

November 11, 2011 – The NZBMatrix site is currently down.  Visitors are seeing a message stating ‘Database Server: MySQL Connection Error: Too many connections‘.  Same issue they had earlier in the week.

November 9, 2011 – The NZBMatrix site is currently down.  Visitors are seeing a message stating ‘Database Server: MySQL Connection Error: Too many connections‘.  According to NzbMatrix.info the site is offline as they look into the SQL issues.

November 1, 2011 update – Nzbmatrix is currently down as they work to transition to new servers.  So if you see the ‘Doing some upgrades, back soon… message don’t worry.  According to nzbmatrix,info the update should be complete sometime tomorrow.

October 7, 2011 – NZBMatrix is having some issues.  The message being displayed for users is “dbconn: mysql_connect: Host ‘nzbmatrix.com’ is blocked because of many connection errors; unblock with ‘mysqladmin flush-hosts'”.  The Nzbmatrix.info site shows the current status as ‘issues’ with no ETA on the fix.

August 24, 2011 – NZBMatrix is currently down due to a fiber cut near their hosting provider.  All servers remain online so once the fiber is fixed the site will be back up.

July 1 ,2011 update: NZBMatrix experienced another outage today.  As we understand it was caused by their host performing emergency maintenance.  The site is back online but as of 5:30 PM EST NZBxxx is still down.

June 20, 2011 update: NZBMatrix is experiencing an outage.  Their service status page (nzbmatrix.info) shows that all sites and services are “Offline” due to a router failure at the hosts site.  The fix is estimated to take an hour.  In the meantime here is a list of alternate NZB sites.

February 5, 2011 update: one of our favorite NZB sites – NZBMatrix – is down at the moment.  Their service status page (nzbmatrix.info) shows the site as “Online” but nzbmatrix.com is currently down.  We will let you know as any further updates are released.  In the meantime if you need an alternative Usenet search engine visit NewsgroupReviews.com.

NZBMatrix Target of Denial of Service (DDOS) Attack

NZBMatrix is working through the results of a denial of service (DDOS) attack.  There have been several such attacks this year in the Usenet space.  Something that we didn’t see much of prior to 2011.  We’re pleased to see NZBMatrix.com is up and running.  They’re still working on the RSS and API bookmarks.  As always for the latest updates visit nzbmatrix.info.  We wish the NZBMatrix team the best as they recover from the DDOS attack.

The NZBMatrix team has been very busy lately.  Earlier this month they put in new servers to better handle the load.  Being popular has it’s advantages but also required more horsepower than the original single core servers could handle.  So they brought in new hardware.  The new servers have been performing well except for a nagging MySQL error.  The good news is the hardware can handle more connections.  The NZBMatrix team has been tweaking the database to allow for more users.  As a result this week saw fewer issues.

The denial of service attack is completely separate from the new hardware and associated issues.  It was outside of their control and is being dealt with.  We’re happy to see Nzbmtrix.com up and running with good performance.  The NZBMatrix team continues to be diligent in working to improve the site.  The results are showing as search results and overall site performance is much improved.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet.  Follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest deals.

Alternative Usenet Search Engines

What happens when your favorite Usenet search engine or NZB site goes down?  Where do you turn?  Over the last few days a lot of Usenet fans have been discussing where to find newsgroup content when leading sites like NZBMatrix are down.  Whether down indefinitely like Newzleech or temporarily as was the case when NZBMatrix recently upgraded servers.  Either way users are left seeking alternatives.

We’re not suggesting you turn away from sites like Binsearch, NZBMatrix and Mysterbin.  As we enjoy them as well.  Instead these alternatives are great to have when your favorite site is down.  Luckily there are some pretty good options available.  In fact we’ve been enjoying the Usenet search feature inside of the Newshosting client along with Newsbin and the NewsLeecher SuperSearch feature.  Integrated search is definitely convenient.

Newshosting Client with Built-In Usenet Search

Newshosting is our favorite alternative to sites like Binsearch and NZBMatrix.  Why?  Because they have a number of search engines built into the free Usenet client.  Including Binsearch, Nzbindex and Nfonews.  Along with their own Newshosting search engine.  Giving you the flexibility to find Usenet content through different sources.  Then you can let the Newshosting Usenet browser download, repair and extract the content.  Newshoting includes the newsreader free along with unlimited Usenet access for $9.99 a month or $99 a year.  We highly recommend their service.

Newsbin Pro with the Usenet Search Feature

Newsbin Pro has been one of our favorite newsreaders for many years now.  Part of the reason is their Newsbin Internet Search feature.  Which is a built-in Usenet search engine.  You can filter by newsgroup, file size and age just to name a few.  The search feature is an additional cost.  With two options to choose from.  They have a Standard search package which includes 500 searches a month for $2.50 along with an unlimited option which costs $5 a month.  New users can download a free trial of Newsbin Pro which will also allow you to test the Newsbin search functionality.

Newsleecher with the SuperSearch Feature

We’ve been using Newsleecher with the SuperSearch feature for a long time as well.  It has some newer advanced features like ‘SuperSearch It’ which is great for finding content in a specific groups or even browse through the group without downloading headers.  Newsleecher is similar to Newsbin in that the search feature costs extra.  New users can purchase Newsleecher along with the SuperSearch feature for $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year.  That includes all future releases and beta downloads.  You can also download a free trial of Newsleecher to test the reader.

The Newshosting client with built-in Usenet search is our favorite because it’s free to members and offers multiple engines.  You really can’t go wrong with any of the options listed above.  Especially when your favorite site is down or you just want the convenience of searching and downloading within the newsreader.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to compare Usenet search engines and follow us @NewsgroupRevs.

Nzbmatrix Server Upgrades Completed

November 11 update: NZBMatrix has been down a few times since the new servers were put in place.  They appear to be having database issues.  With users receiving “Database Server: MySQL Connection Error: Too many connections” messages.  Here’s a list of Usenet search sites if you need a temporary alternative.  Also Newshosting offers unlimited Usenet and a free newsreader with built-in search for $9.99 a month.

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Nzbmatrix has completed their recent site upgrade.  The update wasn’t a site redesign but rather new hardware to address performance issues.  As mentioned by the Nzbmatrix team their 6 year old single core servers weren’t up to the task anymore.  So they replaced them with new servers.  We tried a few searches and the site was very responsive.  It will be interesting to see how the site performs later as their traffic increases.

As always you can visit http://www.nzbmatrix.info/ to see the current status for NZBMatrix and NZBxxx.  Along with their RSS feeds, API’s and payment gateways.  As you can see above all systems are go.  The next few days will be telling.  Our 10 minutes of testing went very well.  I’m sure the site was under less load than normal but the search results were nearly instantaneous.  Way to go guys!  Looks like the upgrades went smoothly.

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

Nzbmatrix Site Performance Update

November 21, 2011 update – Nzbmatrix has continued to have frequent outages since the new servers were put into place.  We’re hopeful they can work out the bugs soon.  In the meantime here’s are a few alternative NZB sites to consider.  You can also sign up for the Newshosting $9.99 deal which includes the Newshosting Usenet client with built-in search.

November 1, 2011 update – Nzbmatrix is currently down as they transition to new servers.  So if you see the ‘Doing some upgrades, back soon…’ message don’t get too concerned.  According to nzbmatrix.info the migration should be complete sometime tomorrow.

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It’s no surprise that Nzbmatrix has been experiencing performance issues over the last few months.  We’ve noted a few occasions this year when the Nzbmatrix site was down all together.  More often the site is just slow.  We were happy to see the performance update message recently on the homepage of Nzbmatrix.com.

According to the site performance update:

We know you are all aware the site has been having some performance issues in the last few months.  We have worked to resolve these as best as possible within our current hardware setup.  Unfortunately the hardware is just not up to it, and our 6 year old single core servers with little RAM need to be replaced.  We placed a order for new hardware a few weeks ago, the hardware has arrived and is currently being setup.  We dont have an eta when the data will be moved to the new hardware but we will let you know.  For now the RSS Bookmarks are offline and we advidse you bookmark the service status page http://nzbmatrix.info

We are very happy to hear that Nzbmatrix is adding new hardware.  Aside from the performance issues the Nzbmatrix site is definitely one of our favorites for searching Usenet.  The comments save so much time.  Those new to Nzbmatrix can try it free.  For higher retention and more features you can sign up for a premium account for $10.  The lifetime account is definitely worth the cost.  Especially after the performance issues are resolved.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet.  Follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest specials.

UK-NZBs Site Outage : Why is UK-NZBs.com Down?

We’ve noticed that UK-NZBs has been down for awhile now.  Unfortunately we’ve not been able to ascertain the reason for the site outage.  Only that UK-NZBs.com is currently inaccessible.  We’ve checked the UK-NZBs Twitter page but there isn’t any update there.  We’ve also spoken with friends in the industry but the cause of the outage is still unknown.  If you have any info please share the details – feedback (at) newsgroupreviews.com.

We’ve enjoyed UK-NZBs and hope the site returns in the near future.  While they aren’t the size of some others like Binsearch and Nzbmatrix, UK-NZBs does a good job and has a nice community feel to the site.  We hope that uk-nzbs.com is back up and live soon.  Once again please let us know if you have any more information regarding the site.  So we can share with others who are wondering as well.

For those seeking temporary UK-NZBs alternatives you might consider these sites: Binsearch, NZB.cc, Nzbmatrix and NZBIndex.  For more options visit our Usenet search section and compare NZB sites.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet.  Including hands-on reviews of leading newsgroup providers, guides, free trials and special offers.  Follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest Usenet news.

Usenet Made Simple : Guide to Easy Usenet Access

Who says Usenet has to be difficult to access?  Granted, back in the day it took some technical know how.  Now a days though Usenet is simple to use.  With a few leading Usenet providers making it easier than ever to access newsgroups.  Whether you want to browse Usenet via web browser or newsreader software they have you covered.  Without the need to find a provider, Usenet client, NZB search engine and newsgroup utilities.  Because services like Newshosting, Easynews and Binverse take care of it all for you.

Josh, an NGR regular suggested we start including some ‘fine tail’ with our blog posts.  Here you go Josh!  Not quite what you had in mind?  We’ll see what we can do…in the meantime browse Usenet.

Not too long ago this guide would have included sections on Usenet providers, newsreaders, Usenet search engines and helpful tools.  All of these are still available.  With some excellent options to choose from.  However, those new to Usenet or who would rather save the time and energy can use an all-in-one Usenet service to handle searching, previewing, streaming, downloading, repairing and extracting files.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet.  Compare all the providers, newsreaders, NZB sites and utilities.  With helpful guides for setting up third-party newsreaders.  This guide is meant to skip all of that.  Without further delay here are some great options to quickly and easily access Usenet.

#1 Newshosting : Newsgroup Client + Usenet Search

Newshosting recently launched their own newsreader.  New members can download and install the free client for Windows, Mac or Linux.  The Newshosting client has everything you need to easily access newsgroups.  Starting with a selection of built-in Usenet search engines (Newshosting, Binsearch.info, Nzbindex.nl and Nfonews.com).  Once you find the desired Usenet content the Newshosting newsreader makes it simple to preview and download.  No need for additional file utilities as the Newshosting client will repair (if necessary) and extract the resulting files.

Newshosting is the best all-in-one Usenet solution.  We prefer their newsgroup client over several more expensive alternatives.  Plus the Newshosting client comes pre-configured.  With Newshosting you can enjoy unlimited Usenet downloads, the Newshosting client, free SSL and high-speed access to servers in the US and Europe for $9.99 a month or $99 a year.

#2 Easynews : Web Interface + Usenet Search

There is no other Usenet provider to compare to Easynews.  They were the first service to offer web Usenet access and continue to offer the only full-featured web interface.  Members simply visit the Easynews site, sign in and enjoy the advantages of Usenet.  Search for content, preview, stream audio and video files, queue downloads and much more.  Try Easynews for yourself to see how simple it is to use.  Enjoy a 14 day free trial which is plenty of time to test the web interface.

Easynews web access plans range from $9.98 to $29.94 a month based on how much you want to download.  The Big Gig account is a nice value because it includes unlimited NNTP access on top of 150 GB of web downloads.  For those interested in NNTP access (non-web downloads, use a newsreader) Easynews offers an excellent value at $9.95 a month for unlimited NNTP downloads.

#3 Binverse : Newsgroup Client + Usenet Search

Binverse is another good all-in-one Usenet provider that offers a nice Usenet client.  The Binverse newsreader allows you to easily search for content, preview and download from Usenet.  All without having to configure a third-party client.  With additional features to automatically repair and extract downloads.  The service is quite a bit more expensice than Newshosting though.  Running $29.98 a month for unlimited Usenet.  They also offer 35 GB a month for $13.98 and term discounts.

We have tested the Binverse Usenet client on both Windows and Mac.  Both versions work quite well.  They include access to multiple Usenet search engines in the newsreader (Bintube, Binsearch, Newzleech, NZBMatrix).  New members have the opportunity to try the service for free.  Give Binverse a free test drive with their 3 day, 60 GB free trial.

We find Newshosting, Easynews and Binverse the easiest all-in-one Usenet services.  In addition there are a few other services including NewsDemon, ThunderNews, NewsgroupDirect, Unliminews, Giganews and Bintube that offer all-in-one or free third-party newsgroup readers with their service.  NewsDemon and Newsgroupdirect also provide free online storage.  Visit our Usenet providers section to learn more about any of these services and to save on unlimited Usenet access.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet.  Including hands-on reviews of leading providers, guides, free trials and special offers.  Follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest Usenet news.