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Microsoft Cuts Price on Xbox 360 Console

May 17, 2012 By

Microsoft has cut the price of their Xbox 360 250 GB console by $50.  Taking the price from $299 down to $249.  We were hoping they would also reduce the price on the 4 GB system but it doesn’t appear that happened.  Making the choice between versions a more difficult decision.  With the 250 GB a much better value in comparison to the 4 GB.  You can visit the Microsoft Store to buy the 250 GB Xbox 360 for $249.99.

Here’s a list of the items that come with the Xbox 360 250 GB console:

  • Xbox 360 250 GB S console
  • 250 GB removable hard drive
  • Xbox 360 headset
  • Wireless headset
  • Composite A/V cable
  • One-year limited warranty
  • One-month Xbox Live Gold membership

Those interested in Kinnect will end up paying $149 for the addition.  We looked to see if bundles were less but the Xbox 360 250 GB with Kinnect is priced at $399.99.  Meaning whether you buy in bundle or separate the price is the same.  You might keep an eye on vendors like Amazon and Best Buy for special offers.

Update: Amazon is offering the Kinnect sensor with Kinnect Adventures game for $136.99.  A better price that that offered directly from Microsoft.

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

Filed Under: Xtra Tagged With:

Free Online Storage for Usenet Downloads

May 3, 2012 By

Last week’s launch of Google Drive got us thinking about online storage for Usenet.  A topic we’ve written about in the past as providers like NewsDemon, NewsgroupDirect and Giganews offer storage as part of their Usenet packages.  Now a days though it’s getting easier to find free online storage in larger amounts.  With services like Google, Mocrosoft, Apple, Amazon, Dropbox, Mozy and SugarSync offering free online backup space.

If your Usenet provider offers secure online storage then by all means take advantage of that first.  Some might also consider backing up their content to Usenet.  While that is certainly an option we prefer these solutions.  As they allow you to store your Usenet downloads and personal files securely without having to post them.

Free online storage offered by Usenet providers:

  • NewsDemon – 30 GB storage with Usenet and newsreader for $9.99 a month
  • NewsgroupDirect – 30 GB storage with Usenet and client for $16 a month
  • Giganews – 30 GB storage with Usenet, client and VPN for $34.99 a month

Those using other Usenet services can look elsewhere for online storage.  As several well known vendors offer free space to backup your files online.  Offering the advantage of safely storing your Usenet downloads along with access from anywhere and in many cases the ability to publicly or privately share your files.

Here are several online backup services that offer free storage.  Listed in alphabetical order:

We could list more free storage offers but these are some good options to get you started.  Please let us know if we missed any of your favorite services.  Otherwise you can grab around 50 GB of online space from those listed above.  The free storage amounts listed are baseline.  Several offer promotions for more free space.

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

Filed Under: Online Storage, Xtra Tagged With: , ,

NZB Completion Checker Supports Multiple Servers

April 24, 2012 By

April 2012 update – check out the latest NZB Completion Checker release.  NZBcc 1.1.0.0 alpha supports SSL and multiple news servers, has a password checker, HEAD and STAT validation methods, and will allow you to toggle servers between active and inactive.  Learn more about NZBcc 1.1.0.0 alpha and download it here.

We’re excited to share some new developments in one of our favorite Usenet tools, NZB Completion Checker.  The latest release of NZB Completion Checker, also known as NZBCC, includes support for multiple news servers.  A really cool addition for those who use more than one Usenet provider or in some cases multiple news servers from the same provider.  In addition to connecting to multiple servers you can also configure alternate SSL ports in the new version.  You can learn more about NZBCC and download it free here.

Configuring Multiple News Servers in NZB Completion Checker

After downloading the new NZBCC version 0.9 you’ll need to set up your news servers.  Those who have used NZBCC in the past will notice their servers are gone.  Without going into detail the developer decided to change up the configuration and store the information in a separate encrypted file.  So you’ll need to add your servers.

To add new servers to NZBCC open the program and click on the Setting button.  On the screen to follow just click on the first icon to the left ‘Add new server’.  From there you can add your username and password along with SSL preference and port number.  Then give the server a name and set the number of connections.

If you take a look at the top left you’ll notice we configured both UNS and Astraweb.  With UNS as our primary server.  As a quick note we tried testing with the full 20 connections but NZBCC gave some errors so we pulled back a bit.  Setting both UNS and Astraweb back to 5 connections.  Achieving fast results.  Remember you’re not actually downloading the content but rather just checking that the items listed in the NZB file are complete.

After setting up and testing the UseNetServer and Astraweb servers we visited Binsearch.info and downloaded a Ubuntu NZB file.  Then we selected the NZB file from the NZBCC home screen and clicked Start.  The program took less that a minute to check the 780 MB file.  You can check out the results below.

As you can see our Ubuntu NZB was 100% complete.  Since the download won’t require any PAR files you can let NZB Completion Checker rewrite your NZB file.  To set that up just go into the settings and click on the NZB Rewrite checkbox.  You can also set the file paths for the files.  This feature will save you time and bandwidth.

We definitely recommend you give NZB Completion Checker a try.  Head on over and download the latest version of NZBCC free from the developer’s site.  Remember the app is still in Alpha stage so you might run into some unexpected errors.  If so share them along with suggestions to help this useful app get even better.

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

Filed Under: NZB Completion Checker, Xtra Tagged With: ,

Enjoy 50 GB of Free Android Storage

March 19, 2012 By

Box.com is currently offering a promotion in tandem with the roll out of their new Android app.  Those who grab the app and log in before March 23rd, 2012 will receive 50 GB of free Android storage.  We’ve confirmed that the 50 GB of free storage is yours to keep indefinitely.  Visit the Android Market to download the new Box app.  Let us know what you think of the app and service as we’re currently working on more storage related content.

Here’s a list of the Box Android app features from their Android Market page:

* Access, create and view content on your Android phone or tablet
* Upload multiple images, videos and files from the SD card
* Save files to your SD card for offline access
* Easily share files and folders with links
* Invite colleagues to shared folders and leave comments on files for them (note that you’ll need to grant permission for the app to access your contacts – we only use this permission to quickly retrieve email addresses when you want to invite collaborators, and we do NOT store any contact information on Box’s servers)
* Find content fast with built-in search
* Save files you edit or create in other Android apps to your Box account
* Add a widget to your home screen to see updates on files by colleagues

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to compare the best Usenet packages including providers that offer free online storage.  Follow us @NewsgroupRevs to keep up with the latest Usenet news and special offers.

Filed Under: Xtra Tagged With:

Best Usenet Apps for Android & iPhone

March 15, 2012 By

Over the last year a number of Usenet apps have been released for iPhone and Android devices.  We’ve had the pleasure of testing the new mobile apps and sharing reviews along the way.  Today we’d like to present our favorites in a list of the Best Usenet Apps for Android, iPhone and iPad.  Each has advantages along with a few shortcomings as you might expect from early app editions.  We hope you’ll support the continued growth of the new apps by downloading the latest versions and enjoying the benefit of browsing Usenet on the go.

Best Android and iOS (IPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) Usenet Apps

As we take a closer look at some of the best Android and iPhone apps on the market you’ll want to keep a few things in mind.  First of all you’ll notice that some apps are developed for specific Usenet providers while others are tied to specific newsreaders.  We’ll make sure to point out the requirements and supported services while presenting each selection.  Along with linking to a full review of each Usenet app.

Let’s dive right in and take a look at the best mobile Usenet apps:

1 – EZ Global Search

EZ Global Search (full review) is designed for Easynews web Usenet members.  Allowing them to continue the experience of accessing newsgroups while connected from iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.  Use the app to search Usenet, preview and even add content to Easynews Zip Manager.  The EZ Global Search app is available on iTunes for $2.99.  You’ll need Easynews web access to use EZ Global Search.  If you’re not already a member you can sign up for a 14 day free trial.

2 – NBRemote

Newsbin Pro users can now enjoy mobile access with their new NBRemote app (full review).  Newsbin Remote Control (NBRemote) is available on iTunes for $2.99 and supports iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.  With forum members discussing the possibility of a future Android app.  The idea behind NBRemote is simple – control Newsbin Pro remotely from your mobile device.  A goal that NBRemote accomplishes well.  You’ll need a license for Newsbin to enjoy the NBRemote app.  We recommend buying a lifetime key for $20.  Newsbin also offers a 10 day free trial.

3 – SABMobile

SABMobile (full review) is a third-party app developed for the popular open-source SABnzbd newsreader.  SABnzbd Usenet client is free to download and supports Window,s Mac and Linux.  Sabmobile allows you to access SABnzbd remotely and is available for iPhone, iPad nad iPod Touch on iTunes for $2.99.  The app is also available for Android on Google Play for $2.99.  Grab the latest edition of SABnzbd free from sabnzbd.org.  Also check out their other cool add-ons.

4 – EZ Usenet

EZ Usenet (full review) is the first of two mobile apps on our list catered toward Android fans that use Easynews to access newsgroups.  The app supports Android and is available on Google Play for $2.49.  First you’ll download the free version of EZ Usenet and then purchase the unlock for $2.49 to unlock all the features and remove advertising from the app.  Once again you’ll need Easynews web access.  If you’re not already a member you can sign up for a 14 day free trial.

5 – Easybrowser

EasyBrowser (full review) is the second mobile app on our list developed specifically for Android fans that use Easynews for Usenet.  The app supports Android and is available on Google Play for $0.99.  First you’ll download the free version of EasyBrowser and then purchase the unlock for $0.99 to unlock all the features and remove advertising from the app.  As you might have already guessed you’ll need Easynews web access.  Non-member can sign up for a 14 day free trial.

That concludes our list of the best Usenet apps for Android, iPhone and iPad.  We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our favorite mobile Usenet clients.  We look forward to bringing you the latest news along with hands-on reviews of upcoming releases as mobile Usenet apps continue to gain momentum this year and beyond.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about mobile Usenet.  For the latest news follow @NewsgroupRevs.

Filed Under: Android Apps, iPhone Apps, Newsreaders, Xtra Tagged With: , ,

IPVanish Launches Global VPN Network

March 8, 2012 By

Those seeking to protect their online privacy should check out the public launch of IPVanish.  A number of Easynews members had the opportunity to test the new VPN service during it’s beta and we joined in as well.  IPVanish blends a mix of the best VPN offerings with the performance and reliability you’ve come to expect from a leading provider.  All at a great price.  New members enjoy unlimited VPN access for just $10 a month.

IPVanish launches with an impressive mix of features.  Starting with the VPN network itself.  IPVanish covers 14 countries with servers located in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Japan, Hungary, Turkey, Switzerland, Portugal and Malaysia.  Bringing the best VPN protocols – OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP to support a wide variety of devices.  Connect from Windows (7, Vista, XP), Mac or Ubuntu.  Along with iPhone, iPad and Android.  Their site includes setup guides for all the devices.

On top of the features and easy set up guides is the IPVanish VPN client.  A nice addition to the service and one that doesn’t normally come at launch.  With the IPVanish client members can easily connect to any server and switch between them on the fly.  This makes changing IP’s and locations a breeze.  As for performance the results of our IPVanish speed tests were impressive.  With download speeds over 25 Mbps.

The most important factor of the IPVanish launch and future success is their team.  We’ve seen their passion for building the best VPN service.  It was obvious to those who tested IPVanish.  Now we all help in celebrating their official launch.  We encourage you to sign up for IPVanish and try the service for yourself.  In their words:

Our passion and goal is to bring you the absolute best VPN service—the best speeds, the most secure connections, the best technical support, and the most competitive pricing available anywhere.

That sentence carries a lot of meaning.  We always talk about the ‘value’ offered by leading Usenet providers and the same applies to personal VPN.  Providing the best VPN service at the best possible price.  Our definition of a winner.  We look forward to the growth of IPVanish and welcome you to join us as members.

Visit vpnsp.com to learn more about VPN Services.  Follow us @VPNSP for the latest VPN specials.

Filed Under: Personal VPN, Xtra Tagged With: ,

Upload Binary Files to Usenet with JBinUp

January 19, 2012 By

Uploading or posting to Usenet can be a challenge.  As there are a number of steps you need to take to prepare the files before posting.  Not to mention the actual posting of the files to the desired newsgroup.  We won’t claim to be experts in this area but have had some experience using PowerPost in the past.  Recently an NGR Blog reader brought JBinUp to our attention.  The JBinUp java based upload client has some nice features.

Today we’re sharing information on the JBInUp application so this post isn’t meant as a Usenet posting guide.  If you’d like to learn more about preparing the files (splitting files, creating RAR’s, creating PAR’s, SFV, NFO, NZB, etc.) and posting to newsgroups check out the How To Post Binaries to Usenet guide on NGR.

Let’s say you want to post a home video to share on Usenet.  After the files are packaged and ready to upload to the appropriate newsgroup you’ll need a program like JBinUp or PowerPost to actually post the binary content to Usenet.  We were impressed by JBinUp’s user interface and features.  You can setup multiple Usenet providers and news servers along with the number of connections per server and whether or not to use SSL encryption.

Head over to JBinUp and check it out for yourself.  In the meantime here’s a list of features from their site:

- GUI giving easy access to many functionalities
- Multiserver capability
- NNTP and NNTPS support
- No connection limits
- Sequential Uploading
- Headercheck after upload
- Batchfunction for WinRar and Par2
- All uploads are encoded with the yEnc algorythm
- Creation of NZB-files after finishing a JBinUp mission is possible
- command line interface supported (coming soon)
- Multilanguage Support

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

Filed Under: Xtra Tagged With: ,

Usenet Providers Join the Fight Against Censorship

January 18, 2012 By

Today some very popular websites including Wikipedia, Reddit, Google and WordPress are taking action to educate users on the far reaching censorship implications of pending legislation.  Specifically the Protect IP Act (PIPA) which is set for a vote in the Senate on January 24th and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that’s working it’s way through the House Judiciary Committee.  Usenet providers including Giganews and FastUsenet have joined the fight with ‘Stop Censorship’ messages linked to the EFF’s ‘Stop Internet Blacklist‘ page.

If you live in the U. S. please visit any of these sites to learn more and contact your representatives:

For those who would like to learn more about SOPA and PIPA we’ll repost information from the EFF ‘Stop The Internet Blacklist Legislation‘ page.  Please visit their site directly to send email to your representatives.

The Internet blacklist legislation—known as PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House—invites Internet security risks, threatens online speech, and hampers Internet innovation. Urge your members of Congress to reject this Internet blacklist campaign in both its forms!

To make the most impact right now, we’re asking YOU to do two things. Today, use our handy tool to send an email to your representatives, letting them know you oppose these bills and they should too. Then, on January 23, when the Senate is back in session (and scheduled to vote on PIPA on January 24), call your Senator and tell him or her that it’s time to stand with the Internet and against the Internet blacklists!

Big media and its allies in Congress are billing the Internet blacklist legislation as a new way to battle online infringement. But innovation and free speech advocates know that this initiative will do little to stop infringement online. What it will do is compromise Internet security, inhibit online expression, and slow growth in the technology sector.

As drafted, the legislation would grant the government and private parties unprecedented power to interfere with the Internet’s underlying infrastructure. The government would be able to force ISPs and search engines to block users’ attempts to reach certain websites’ URLs. In response, third parties will woo average users to alternative servers that offer access to the entire Internet (not just the newly censored U.S. version), which will create new computer security vulnerabilities as the Internet grows increasingly balkanized.

It gets worse: the blacklist bills’ provisions would give corporations and other private parties new powers to censor foreign websites with court orders that would cut off payment processors and advertisers. Broad immunity provisions (combined with a threat of litigation) would encourage service providers to overblock innocent users or even block websites voluntarily. This gives content companies every incentive to create unofficial blacklists of websites, which service providers would be under pressure to block without regard to the First Amendment.

Service providers would be forced to monitor and police their users’ activities as well, threatening the DMCA safe harbors that have been vital to online innovation over the last decade. SOPA gives the government new powers to go after sites that provide information about tools that might be used to bypass the blacklists – even though these are often the same tools used by democratic activists around the world to bypass Internet censorship mechanisms implemented by authoritarian governments like Iran and China.

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) have led the charge in explaining how the blacklist bills threaten the very infrastructure of the open Internet, joined by a growing, bipartisan, group of Congress members. The White House also recently stated it will not support a bill that threatens free speech, innovation, and Internet security. But every Senator and Representative should be opposing the PROTECT IP Act and SOPA and we need to hold the White House to its word. Contact your members of Congress today to speak out!

We would like to personally thank Giganews and FastUsenet along with the EFF, Reddit, Wikipedia, Google, WordPress and everyone else working to fight against censorship.  Their efforts deserve action so contact your representatives today!  Let them know your views on the pending SOPA and PIPA legislation.

Here are some screenshots of the messages on some very popular websites today.

Google

Wikipedia

WordPress

As we write this post the Reddit site isn’t down yet but they will be in a few hours.  Their community has made a big impact on the effort to fight the SOPA and PIPA legislation.  As Reddit says in their post ‘There are powerful forces trying to censor the Internet‘.  We agree and encourage everyone to join in the fight against censorship.

Update: now that Reddit is down for the SOPA / PIPA protest we wanted to also share a screenshot of the site:

Reddit

Here are some more sites involved in today’s censorship protest:

Mozilla

Wired

Boing Boing

MoveOn.org

Craigslist

Follow us on Twitter @NewsgroupRevs for the latest Usenet news.

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

Giganews Dump Truck Online Storage Review

January 4, 2012 By

We’ve been waiting for WebDAV support to test Giganews new online storage service – Dump Truck.  Giganews partnered with Golden Frog to offer members Dump Truck online storage.  Golden Frog also developed their Mimo Usenet client and VyprVPN service.  They had a strong end of the year releasing a VPN client for VyprVPN along with Dump Truck access for all Giganews members and most recently adding WebDAV support.

Before jumping into our hands-on review of Dump Truck we’d like to first share some of the features we observed along with future updates and the base storage offered with each Giganews account type.

Dump Truck Features

Here are some of the features we noticed while testing the Dump Truck service:

  • Simple web user interface
  • Easy to create folders and navigate
  • Drag and drop files (under 200 MB)
  • HTML uploader for files over 200 MB
  • SSL file transfer plus AES encryption
  • We tested Dump Truck with Air Sharing WebDAV app via iPad
  • For a full list of features visit the Giganews Dump Truck page

Giganews also mentions the following features to come:

  • iOS and Android Apps (WebDAV apps already available)
  • Windows and Mac clients
  • Public and private sharing
  • Personal encryption keys

The sharing features along with personal encryption key will add a new dimension to the service.

Dump Truck Storage Pricing

Here is a list of Giganews base storage and add-on storage prices:

  • Diamond members – 30 GB free
  • All other members – 5 GB free
  • 50 GB extra – $9.99 a month
  • 100 GB extra – $19.99 a month
  • 500 GB extra – $69.99 a month
  • 1 TB extra – $99.99 a month

Hands-On Dump Truck Review

We started by testing the Giganews Dump Truck online storage service via Firefox on a Windows 7 system.  First uploading an Umphrey’s McGee concert (nugs.net purchase) which amounted to 282 MB.  The upload took about 14 minutes to complete.  Here’s a screenshot of the music being uploaded to Dump Truck.

As you can see there is a progress bar at the bottom that shows how far along you are in the current upload.  Along with a usage bar to the left showing how much storage you have used along with how much free storage is still available.  You might also notice up top that we created an Umphreys folder for the songs.

The first test went well.  It took some time to upload but everything worked just fine.  Next we tried to upload a Ubuntu distro of 712 MB.  We tried via drag and drop but received a message that files larger than 200 MB needed to be uploaded through their HTML uploader.  Here’s the HTML upload screen:

After browsing out to the Ubuntu file we set it to upload.  The status showed uploading with the file name at the bottom of the screen but the progress bar never budged.  We gave up after two and a half hours and cancelled the Ubuntu upload.  The files up to 30 MB in size uploaded well but the 712 MB file appeared to hang.

Dump Truck WebDAV Testing

We were especially interested in testing the new WebDAV support for iPhone and iPad.  Since the Air Sharing iOS apps are sold separately (iPhone vs iPad) we decided to test on the iPad for the larger screen.  The Air Sharing app was easy to download ($3.99) and setup was a breeze using Giganews Air Sharing guide.

After downloading the app and adding the Dump Truck storage as a new server we were able to access our Umphrey’s tunes on the iPad.  We tested playing a song which quickly downloaded and started playing on the iPad.  The process of setting up and using the iPad for Dump Truck to play our music was seamless.

Dump Truck Review – Conclusion

We enjoyed testing the Dump Truck service and look forward to the future updates.  Especially the Windows / Mac apps and file sharing options.  The only issue we had was trying to upload the 712 MB Ubuntu file.  Something we’ll test again once the Windows client is released.  All in all though we were impressed by the service.  It’s simply a place to store files for now along with the WebDAV support.  Soon though the service will take on a new life with the public / private file sharing features.  Stay tuned for more Dump Truck coverage.

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

Filed Under: Dump Truck, Giganews, Usenet Providers, Xtra Tagged With: ,

Giganews Dump Truck Opens Early Access

October 20, 2011 By

Back in July Giganews announced they were partnering with Golden Frog to bring Diamond members a new online storage feature called Dump Truck.  Since then they have taken registration requests for early access to Dump Truck.  Today the first round of early adopters received emails inviting them to test the new service.  Giganews will be sending out more invitations in the weeks to come so members still have time to register.

According to today’s Giganews announcement the Dump Truck service currently features:

  • Intuitive web interface with drag and drop upload
  • Simple and secure file structure
  • 256-bit SSL encryption for uploads and downloads
  • Files are encrypted on-disk with 256-bit AES encryption
  • Access to your files anywhere in the world

With these additional features coming soon:

  • iPad, iPhone, and Android online storage apps – Storage while on the go
  • Windows and Mac desktop application – Access your files just like any other drive
  • Public and private sharing – Share with the world or simply your friends
  • Password Protection – Control the access to your data
  • WebDAV Support -Access Dump Truck using DAV clients and apps

Giganews offers Diamond subscribers premium features including VyprVPN PPTP / L2TP VPN access and Mimo Usenet browser with Golden Frog search.  Dump Truck will be the latest addition to the Usenet bundle.

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

Filed Under: Dump Truck, Giganews Tagged With: ,
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