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

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

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

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

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

Visit Newsgroups.com to learn more.

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

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

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

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

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

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

1.  Click Windows Menu then Control Panel

2.  Click Network and Internet

3.  Click Network and Sharing Center

4.  Click Setup a new connection or network

5.  Click Connect to a workplace

6.  Click Use my Internet connection (VPN)

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

8.  Check Don’t connect now and click Next

9.  Enter your Username and Password

10.  Check Remember this password and click Create

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

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

1.  Click Apple and then System Preferences

2.  Click Network

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

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

5.  Highlight VyprVPN on the left

8.  Enter the VyprVPN server address and your username

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

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

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

Apple iPhone Setup – (full VyprVPN iPhone setup guide)

1.  Tap Settings – General – Network – VPN

2.  Tap Add VPN Configuration

3.  Choose PPTP and enter VyprVPN in the description

4.  Enter a VyprVPN server address

5.  Enter the Username and Password

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

Apple iPad Setup – (full VyprVPN iPad setup guide)

1.  Tap Settings – General – Network – VPN

2.  Tap Add VPN Configuration

3.  Choose PPTP and enter VyprVPN in the description

4.  Enter a VyprVPN server address

5.  Enter the Username and Password

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Along with the pricing updates Usenet-News now offers 600+ days os binary retention and up to 50 connections.

Let’s take a look at Usenet News new pricing on block accounts ranging from 100 GB up to 500 GB.  Also keep in mind that their block accounts are non-expiring so the only limit is the download capacity associated with the block size chosen.

New Usenet-News block plan pricing:

• 500 GB Block – $52 (previously priced at $65)
• 200 GB block – $22 (previously priced at $27)
• 100 GB block – $12 (previously priced at $22)

For more information read our Usenet-News review or visit Usenet-News.net.

Your choices for best Usenet provider include (in alphabetical order):

• Astraweb
• BinTube
• BlockNews
• Easynews
• Eweka
• Giganews
• NewsDemon
• NewsgroupDirect
• Newsguy
• Newshosting
• NewsRazor
• Newsservers.net
• Power Usenet
• Red Orb News
• SimplyUsenet
• Supernews
• ThunderNews
• Usenet.net
• Usenet-news.net
• UseNetNow
• UseNetServer
• XLned

Visit our favorite Usenet provider poll on NewsgroupReviews.com to vote and see live results.  In addition we recently added favorite newsreader and favorite Usenet search engine polls with more to come.  As always we appreciate your input and look forward to bringing more interactive features to NGR.

How far will retention go and will Giganews continue to pull away from the competition?  One thing we do know – if the count continues to increase on a daily basis Giganews could hit 1,000 days of binary retention on May 4th of next year.  In 30 days they will be at two years of binary retention.  An amazing accomplishment considering they led the industry at 275 days last May.

Giganews has led the industry in binary retention for years now.  Those of us around awhile remember when getting access to a month of retention was a huge accomplishment.  Now the challenge is finding Usenet search engines that can handle 700 days.

Let’s look at some of the Giganews retention milestones along the road to 700 days:
- December 30, 2003 – 30 days binary retention
- August 8, 2005 – 50 days binary retention
- December 7, 2005 – 70 days binary retention
- April 3, 2006 – 1,000 days text retention
- September 19, 2006 – 90 days binary retention
- February 1, 2007 – 100 days binary retention
- April 12, 2007 – 120 days binary retention
- July 12, 2007 – 200 days binary retention
- September 19, 2008 – 240 days binary retention
- May 9, 2009 – 275 days binary retention
- June 3, 2009 – 300 days binary retention
- August 7, 2009 – 365 days binary retention
- September 11, 2009 – 400 days binary retention
- March 30, 2010 – 600 days binary retention
* click any link above to read the associated post on the Giganews blog.

According to the last slide on the Giganews home page they have more excitement coming this year.  To learn more about their Usenet services read our Giganews review or sign up for a 14 day free trial.