Sure i tried them as well before, but i always had faith in newsgroups, even if it cost.
You all must remember that torrent and other P2P network rely on users to have some of the data to "share" to you, and as soon as you have some chunk of the file you are trying to download you start sharing it to others, hence your speed is going down. Speed is also a key issue since you rely on others with good UP capasity if you want good download speed, and that is not always the case.
However in USENET (newsgroups) files are on the server, available up to 240 days, and most of the time you WILL max out your line, and hey, no uploading means you download at top speed, if you have DSL.
As I said before i have used newsgroups almost since i started using PC, around 1996. And i will never try torrents or other P2P again, EVER.
There are plenty of services available, there are free services and there are charged services. I prefer charged, since you get what you pay for :D
Just google it, if you find my alternative to costly...
You always have access to newsgroups, so that is free. There are software for getting those files, which are also free. What you must pay for are access to server which host those files.
So what you will need, if your going to use it my way.
- First you will need service that catogolize everything and makes it easier for you to find what you are looking for fast and in one place. For that i use www.newzbin.com. It is a paid service, and you also need an invite to become a member, but they are fast and reliable. Also cheap. It cost you 0.3£ a week (minimum 4 weeks top-up) Alternative could be www.binnews.com or www.nzbzone.com. You will be able to search and download .NZB files (like .torrent files) i will come back to that later.
- Than you will need a server which hosts the files. I use www.giganews.com mostly because of their retention period which is 240 days. That means that files are available up to 240 days after they have been posted on usenet. Giganews offers you different packages, i use Platinium which cost $24.99 a month with NO limitations, you will get access to servers in USA and Europe and up to 10 connections. You can also try it for free for 3 days. Alternative could be www.newshosting.com
- To download .NZB files you will need a program, one which have all the feature available, and does everything for you is NewsBin Pro, it will cost you $35 but you will be able to get all the upgrades for free after that, i know also that Giganews had a rebate on NewsBin earlier. You can get it here www.newsbin.com.
- You will not need QuickPar og WinRar if you buy NewsBin Pro. Because it will do all the error correction and unpacking for you.
Now if you got those 3 things you are set to go. What you must remember is that than files are posted on usenet, they contain something called .PAR or .PAR2 files. Since most of the files are packed with WinRAR, sometimes errors occure, but don't worry because .PAR and .PAR2 files contains the information to fix those broken .rar files. And NewsBin Pro does it for you.
So if you choose the same setup as I, it will cost you approx $27.50 each month + $35 for NewsBin first time.
Now uninstall those .torrent and other P2P softwares and start using USENET!!!!
Happy downloading.
