Questions about usenet

[jimdagys]

I successfully downloaded a BBC prom (bbc_proms_2011.prom_06.2_of_2.stravinsky) using the simple free method at the website http://usenetstorm.com/
I used
http://www.nzbsearch.net/
to find the files.
Thank you very much to aedipuss for this very useful information.
I do have several questions.
1) When I was downloading using Firefox, the download stopped several times. Hitting the "pause" on the download dialogue box, and hitting the "resume" seemed to solve this problem. My question is, why did this happen? Is this the fault of the usenetstorm website?
2) Usenetstorm allows a max 500mb file for free download. I am curious if there are any other websites that allow some sort of free usenet download (without having to enter billing details). If usenetstorm stops this free service, it would be nice to have a backup website for free downloads.
3) What happens if there is a takedown order? Are files commonly taken down? I know that Rapidshare has become quite useless due to takedown orders. Torrent is immune to takedown orders.
4) I used
http://www.nzbsearch.net/
to search the files. Is this search engine as good as any other search engine?

[DB83]

So you have a 2011 prom whereas you wanted a 2012 one

Like I said eralier, I have not used usenet for some time. The nzb method of download is more 'advanced' and like any large download is libable for server time-outs. You are effectively downloading the whole file at once whereas with traditional usenet you download in smallerparts and use a program to join them. Downloading in parts would be less liable to time-outs.

Cannot answer Q2.

You can not have general takedown orders for usenet. A copyright holder may request one service provider to take down the file if they can establish that it is carrying it but the nature of usenet means that these files have propogated across 100's of servers and some may still have the files. They can target the providers with the longest 'alive' times but that is all. Many servers have quite short 'alive' times so 'take-down' is then a natural process.

[jimdagys]

Can you explain in more detail or give example of the following:

traditional usenet you download in smallerparts and use a program to join them. Downloading in parts would be less liable to time-outs.

If you use the pay service usenet (typically about $15/month) does that download "in parts"? How do you join "the parts"?

[DB83]

You use a usenet reader.

http://www.newsreaders.info/recommended-newsreaders.htm

[Case]

If you use the pay service usenet does that download "in parts"? How do you join "the parts"?

The large binary files were typically available as multipart RAR files, many years ago, when I frequented Usenet.

some_file.rar
some_file.r00
some_file.r01
some_file.r02
etc.

Each segment used to be 14.3 MB or 20.0 MB back then, prepared as such by the uploader.

Opening the first of these files in a RAR/unRAR program should unpack the whole thing.

[DB83]

If you use the pay service usenet does that download "in parts"? How do you join "the parts"?

The large binary files were typically available as multipart RAR files, many years ago, when I frequented Usenet.

some_file.rar
some_file.r00
some_file.r01
some_file.r02
etc.

Each segment used to be 14.3 MB or 20.0 MB back then, prepared as such by the uploader.

Opening the first of these files in a RAR/unRAR program should unpack the whole thing.

You mean the rar segment or the upload 'part' ?

Wey back then I was a regular uploader - if you frequented the Joanne Guest Newsgroup you should be able to guess who I was - but the upload parts were much smaller. That was done to hope that most servers got the parts and prevent the frequent requests for reposts of missing parts.

Those were they days.........

And I have long forgotten most I knew about usenet since I 'retired' from that many moons ago.

[jagabo]

Usenet was originally designed for text messages. As such it has a limit to how big each message can be. Later people figured out how to convert binary files to text (binhex) and upload large binary files as thousands of small text messages. You need a usenet reader that supports that type of binary upload/download -- YENC. That's a separate issue from multipart RAR files which are usually used (to reduce file size), along with PAR files, so that errors can be detected and corrected.

So a large video may be split into a hundred RAR files, PAR files are generated for all the RAR files, then each of those RAR and PAR files may be split up into hundreds of usenet posts. A binary reader organizes all those usenet posts so it can reconstruct the RAR files and PAR files, then you use QuickPAR or some other parity checker to repair any broken RAR files, then finally WinRAR or some other archiving program to extract the contents of the RAR files.

If you're serious about using usenet to download videos look into:
http://sabnzbd.org/
http://sickbeard.com/

[jman98]

If you're serious about using usenet to download videos look into:
http://sabnzbd.org/
http://sickbeard.com/

Therein lies the problem. jimdagys wants a free provider (I didn't know any existed for alt.* stuff) which means he's limited in how much he can get. Yes, he says he MIGHT pay for more but... well, I wouldn't hold my breath here. If you're familiar with his posts, you'll understand why I say that.

As a general rule, if you pay for news reader software (I use Newsbin) it can do a lot of work for you. If you've got technical chops, you can make do with free solutions. But then again we're talking about a guy who not all that long seriously suggested he might want to deliberately install a virus on a PC to "check it out" so I really have my doubts that we're providing much of use for him in this thread, but I guess it might help others. My posts in his last thread were insulting to him and it took that to get his lazy behind motivated enough to actually get the files to begin with when with 5 minutes worth of work he wouldn't have even needed to start that thread begging for the files that led to this thread.

[jimdagys]

If you've got technical chops, you can make do with free solutions.

I'm willing to accept that it is simply too complicated for me to download (completely free) large files like videos from usenet. That is why, I guess, many companies offer a $15/month premium for this service. Still, however, I have talked to some computer geeks that told me that it is possible to download ( completely free) large files on usenet.
Of course I couldn't follow what they were saying.
If anybody can try to explain, or at least outline the process, I'm listening.
As I said before, I'm not willing to enter any billing details into a website, or pay anything for a file. The rabbits are jumping out of the pen, and there is no need to pay for a rabbit.
I'm not sure if the above mentioned http://sabnzbd.org/
will allow completely free large downloads. If so, why would other companies charge $15/month?

[jagabo]

I'm willing to accept that it is simply too complicated for me to download (completely free) large files like videos from usenet. That is why, I guess, many companies offer a $15/month premium for this service.

No, they charge for their storage, bandwidth, and maintenance costs. You still need the right software.

Still, however, I have talked to some computer geeks that told me that it is possible to download ( completely free) large files on usenet.

Of course. You've already been told some of the options for free software and free servers.

[DB83]

Since you are reluctant to enter your bank details in to a web site, I, and my Nigerian partners, offer a totally discreet service. Just send me a PM with the details and we will do the rest

But,seriously, most websites do not directly process your bank details. They use dedicated, and secure, providers such as CCBill.

But in a way Usenet is no different to file-lockers(eg. Rapidshare) when it comes to large files. The nzb file could hold all the details but the server is not likely to allow one large file. So as has been already stated the uploaded first uses an archiver - rar,zip, hjsplit etc - to divide that large file in to more manageable parts of say 100 meg. Then he sets his upload software to automatically split that 100 meg file in to parts that the news-server can comfortable digest - say 1 meg. So, for every 100 meg you now have 100 files to collect. Your newsreader will collect all these parts and join them up. You then repeat the process for all the other large parts - the normal file-naming convention is like this: nameoffile.ext(partno/totalnumber) . partno 0 is used to post a short descriptive message of what is being offered. And one you have all the larger parts and you have successfully joined them you use the same software that the uploader used to create the parts to recreate the large file. A bit of effort but if you want something (for nothing)............

[Chug a Bug]

Most so called "free" download option are really try-before-you-buy offers, thats probably what hearsay was telling you. There are no large permanent free downloads because it costs something called "money" to run. You may of heard of this phenomenon.

Unlimited download are from $9.95 pcm, you can also buy one off block accounts i.e. $21 for 200gb that won't expire. Use as little and as often as you like until you've used your quota. Smaller blocks are available, but cost proportionately more.

[jagabo]

Guide: http://www.howtogeek.com/71315/the-how-to-geek-guide-to-getting-started-with-usenet/

[aedipuss]

Most so called "free" download option are really try-before-you-buy offers, thats probably what hearsay was telling you. There are no large permanent free downloads because it costs something called "money" to run. You may of heard of this phenomenon.

Unlimited download are from $9.95 pcm, you can also buy one off block accounts i.e. $21 for 200gb that won't expire. Use as little and as often as you like until you've used your quota. Smaller blocks are available, but cost proportionately more.

there are truly free options if you can deal with a 100MB/day limit. or months to download a single hd movie....

[Ethlred]

It is entirely possible that jimdagys's present ISP has a Usenet service already. Catch is most ISPs that have that service have poor support and short retention times. Last time I used Usenet I was with Earthlink wireless and before they dropped the wireless service they stopped doing their own Usenet and used IIRC Giganews which was vastly better than the Earthlink was. Made it worth using again.

Ethelred Hardrede

[jman98]

It is entirely possible that jimdagys's present ISP has a Usenet service already.

He's told us before that he lives in China. This is highly unlikely for a variety of reasons.

Also, ISP Usenet feeds NEVER have the alt.* hierarchy so they don't get in trouble with the RIAA and MPAA.

[Ethlred]

"He's told us before that he lives in China. "

I didn't see those.

"Also, ISP Usenet feeds NEVER have the alt.* hierarchy s"

What never? No never.

Well they sure did in the past, though it doesn't surprise me if they have stopped. Can't remember when I had Earthlink, a few years ago maybe. They definitely had the alt.everything before they switched to Giganews.

A news search shows it was 2008 and Earthlink was supposed to have removed the transmitters but I pretty sure the one at the corner stayed up and is now being used as a Warners Cable hot spot. The switch to Giganews might have been the same year.

Ethelred Hardrede

[jimdagys]

there are truly free options if you can deal with a 100MB/day limit. or months to download a single hd movie....

Aedipuss,
Please post, or private message me with these "truly free options". The above usenet website you posted is really excellent, but you know websites disappear all the time, so I would like alternatives.

[jman98]

Ethlred - jimdagys has been around for a while. He's told us in other threads that he lives in China.

Among the various fun things he has done over the years include attaching flash drives he finds on the ground to his PC and - surprise! - getting a virus, suggesting that he would like to deliberately install a virus on his own PC for "testing purposes", tried to get around library restrictions on USB devices by asking if anyone could help him to override the "no USB devices" setting on a library PC, and so on. His current "fun" activity would seem to be that he wants to try to electrocute himself or try to "repair" a plasma TV.
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/349500-Circuit-question-about-50in-Panasonic-plasma-TV

Dude is completely in his own league here. What amazes me is that many of our long time members take him seriously and answer every half baked thing he posts. Again, the reason this whole thread here on Usenet started is his lazy behind couldn't be motivated to do a quick search on Google, Yahoo, etc. to look for a Bit Torrent of ANY concert in this year's BBC Proms, despite my telling him that 2 years ago I quickly found such torrents when I looked for a very specific concert I wanted to hear and that a quick first search by me turned up FOUR different concerts from this year's Proms without even trying to see if there were others. And he said he would take ANY concert, yet he couldn't be bothered to look for it himself. So apparently it made more sense to just go down the rabbit hole of Usenet to try to find a concert than to look even once for it via Bit Torrent. If you want to feed his insanity you're welcome to do so.

[jagabo]

http://xsusenet.com/ is free but the free servers only have 10 days retention, you can only download at 1 Mb/s, and there's a 25 GB (per month? lifetime?) cap.

<edit>
I signed up for a free account and downloaded a few files. It's not as fast as my paid usenet server, but it works.
</edit>

[aedipuss]

there are truly free options if you can deal with a 100MB/day limit. or months to download a single hd movie....

Aedipuss,
Please post, or private message me with these "truly free options". The above usenet website you posted is really excellent, but you know websites disappear all the time, so I would like alternatives.

to add to jagabo's post - teranews still has a free server available.

[Seeker47]

But,seriously, most websites do not directly process your bank details. They use dedicated, and secure, providers such as CCBill.

CCBill probably owes its very existence to the online porn biz. Joined at the hip, you might say.

But in a way Usenet is no different to file-lockers(eg. Rapidshare) when it comes to large files. . . . And one you have all the larger parts and you have successfully joined them you use the same software that the uploader used to create the parts to recreate the large file. A bit of effort but if you want something (for nothing)............

I think Usenet for this is going to be excruciatingly tedious: cruel & unusual punishment. Also, I think a lot of ISPs have dropped ALL of their former newsgroup offerings by now. I know mine has. But if one does get alternate access -- paid or otherwise -- it may still provide a venue that is harder for Big Content to monitor (vs. P2P), and much harder for it to squelch entirely. I've never bothered with P2P, to which I think you would need to add something like Peer Guardian -- if that's still around, or still works.

File-lockers did have it well over the other venues, IMO, though by now the emphasis may be on the past tense. There were some services that would let you d/l large files (for example, up to 1.4G MKVs), at a halfway decent speed and for free, but most of those were gone even before MegaUpload got torpedoed. I could list a bunch of sites that -- alas -- either are no more or are now crippled and unrecognizable. 'The Scene' was a lot more robust up until then. Miss a fave TV ep. that was not covered by your paid VOD from sat or cable ? No problem, it would be available by the next morning. But the pickings are likely much more slim, these days.

[stiltman]

Wow, this thread really brings back the memories
My favorite news client was Agent, with the modified headers (egg drop?)
It's been years since I visited a newsgroup, but in the hey days, I was a prolific uploader.

LOL, just remembered all the times my nym showed up on the alt.admin.abuse or what ever that group was called that tracked the worst uploading offenders
LOL!!!

[aedipuss]

Wow, this thread really brings back the memories
My favorite news client was Agent, with the modified headers (egg drop?)
It's been years since I visited a newsgroup, but in the hey days, I was a prolific uploader.

LOL, just remembered all the times my nym showed up on the alt.admin.abuse or what ever that group was called that tracked the worst uploading offenders
LOL!!!

can't recall stiltman as a usenet nym? any chance you were part of our fun and games in a.b.vcd.d?

[Seeker47]

to add to jagabo's post - teranews still has a free server available.

Their front page says it is Offline . . . ?

[jagabo]

No problems accessing www.teranews.com here:

[aedipuss]

teranews hasn't been offline since 2010 afaik.

their no account needed server.

[jagabo]

Ah, but I did see this:



I haven't been able to connect to it. I wonder if the "free" ($3.95 setup fee) account server is offline too?

[aedipuss]

hehe - teranews free works, but has daily overall quotas and has always been iffy. the http://usenetstorm.com/ free daily service actually works for everyone and if you are only looking for mp3s or books would be all you'd ever need.

I haven't been able to connect to it. I wonder if the "free" ($3.95 setup fee) account server is offline too?

the biggest problem with that server is the downloading of headers counts against your free daily quota. if you only used nzbs it might be worth $3.95

[stiltman]

can't recall stiltman as a usenet nym? any chance you were part of our fun and games in a.b.vcd.d?

I went under a different nyms in newsgroups
We used to trade user accounts, so I was connecting to different servers all the time. I think I'll give dejanews (Google groups) a search. I always had the same modified headers in Agent, but my nym could have been any one of six

aah the good ole days