 jmorlanHmm... That's funny.Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-05
Pacifica, CA
kudos:4
4 edits | [POLL] Newsreaders - 2008 Member Choice News Clients (formerly Usenet Newsreaders or NNTP Clients) allow access to Usenet newsgroups. Newsgroups (aka UseNet) are organized by hierarchy and include almost every conceivable topic. These message forums or discussion groups reside on thousands of Usenet servers which communicate with each other and with end users via NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol), RFC 0977 and RFC 2980. Most serious discussion takes place within the "Big 8" hierarchies (comp, humanities, misc, news, rec, sci, soc, and talk). Newsgroups encompass everything from some of the best high level discussion forums, to a haven for the worst flaming, kooks, trolls and sockpupets in all the internet. It is also a massive file sharing venue for every possible subject, most of which is posted in the alt.binaries.* hierarchy.
In recent years, the amount of material available on Usenet has grown dramatically and continues to increase. Today, a full Usenet feed is over 2 terabytes per day, most of it from the posting of binaries. Some newsreaders are designed for downloading binaries, others are for reading text and participating in discussions, and some work well for both. With so much material available daily, services have arisen which attempt to index the binary content of Usenet. One of the most popular is NZB (NewZBin) indexing. An NZB indexing service creates a text file which can be read by your NZB aware NNTP client to automatically download the files you want, without downloading and searching all the overviews (headers) in each newsgroup. An excellent introduction to newsgroup binaries for beginners is Slyck's Guide to the Newsgroups.
This poll is about Usenet NNTP clients only. Please do not post RSS Aggregators (sometimes called "NewsReaders") here. They are not related to Usenet or NNTP. If you access Newsgroups via the web, e.g. Google Groups or MailGate, please include that information in your comments. Also if you run a local NNTP proxy server such as Hamster or NewsPlex, please mention it in your comments. Please supply reasons for your choices. Include your personal experiences, pros & cons, any comparisons with other readers, what newsgroup providers or indexing services used, and anything else that you think might be useful.
This year, there is no choice of "other." Last year that choice was used only by people who thought the poll was about RSS Aggregators and it messed up the results. If your choice is not on the list, it is likely your favorite "newsreader" is actually an RSS Aggregator. If you use an unlisted NNTP client please provide a link to the home page if possible.
Special thanks to fourboxers  and lilhurricane for patiently helping me learn how to create a poll. |
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 RyanPremium
join:2001-03-03
Quincy, MA | I love newsleecher although I have been thinking about switching to newsbin since they offer a lifetime license. |
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 dadkinsCan you do Blu?Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
kudos:18 | reply to jmorlan
Grabit.
Free and it works. |
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 La LunaSurvived AshrafulPremium
join:2001-07-12
Warwick, NY
kudos:3
 ·Vonage
 ·Optimum Online
| reply to jmorlan
Thanks for the great poll jmorlan !! 
NewsBin Pro v5 is my choice. |
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 lilhurricaneCrunchin' For CuresPremium,Mod
join:2003-01-11
Purple Zone
kudos:51 | reply to jmorlan
Great poll, jmorlan !
Thanks for the compilation..I chose none here. |
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 MarkAWBarry WhitePremium
join:2001-08-27
Canada
kudos:16 | reply to jmorlan
Nice job on the poll jmorlan .
Opera and Thunderbird. |
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 JigsawStardust We ArePremium
join:2000-10-21
Cleveland, OH | reply to jmorlan
Been using newsbin Pro for a while now. |
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 DreadR.I.P JazzyPremium
join:2005-02-28
Bronx, NY
kudos:6 | reply to jmorlan
I'm forced to use Unison on mac
Newsleecher was the best newsreader I have ever used.. too bad it's windows only
so I guess my "choice" is Unison
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48-27 |
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 DogfatherPremium
join:2007-12-26
Laguna Hills, CA | Ditto. I find myself in Boot Camp more often than I'll run Unison 'cause I miss Newsleecher+SuperSearch so much. |
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jmorlanHmm... That's funny.Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-05
Pacifica, CA
kudos:4 | reply to jmorlan
Thanks for the good comments. Keep 'em coming!
I voted Forte Agent which I have been using since I first moved from DOS to Windows. The newest version does a good job of multiplexing multiple servers and supporting NZB. My main gripe about Agent is that its filtering system seems rather primitive. E.g. you cannot easily filter sporge that is coming from a particular provider.
I used to use Newsplex as a local proxy to multiplex new-servers, but no long see the need when Agent does it all. I just wish it were possible to prioritize more than one server at the same level. That worked great with NewsPlex, but is not available in Agent.
I occasionally access text newsgroups on the web via Google Groups |
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 JeffreyWilpon please sell the MetsPremium
join:2002-12-24
Long Island
kudos:3
·Vonage
·Optimum Online
| reply to jmorlan
Nice poll jmorlan !
After using a combination of Agent and XNews from 1994 through 2004, I finally switched to Newsleecher and it's been one of the best pieces of software I've ever had the privilege to purchase. |
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 RxdoxxPremium,Mod
join:2000-11-03
Middle River, MD
kudos:6
Software
Washington & Balti..
Philadelphia & Nor..
| reply to jmorlan
In the past I've played with a couple (don't remember which) when I learned Comcast gave a "free" membership(?) to one.
That was 2 systems ago.
I also voted none.
--
Was a Cruise Fanatic, one cruise on Princess cured me. Bleah |
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 chRoniX10Peace sells, but who's buying?Premium
join:2004-05-22
Chatsworth, CA | reply to jmorlan
I use Grabit, when I first discovered Newsgroups I decided to try this program. It works great, has native NZB support and did I mention that it was free?
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~smooth operator~ |
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 RX9735Premium
join:2002-09-06
Oklahoma City, OK | reply to jmorlan
I have tried all and PAN is the best. It is really a no brainer for the serious usenet fan. It is free and works in both windows and linux.
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David |
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 pokesphIt Is Almost FastPremium
join:2001-06-25
Sacramento, CA
kudos:1 | reply to jmorlan
grabit (mainly) for it's nzb support and outlook ex for general use. |
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 KCrimsonPremium
join:2001-02-25
Brooklyn, NY
kudos:1
 ·Verizon FiOS
| reply to RX9735
said by RX9735:I have tried all and PAN is the best. It is really a no brainer for the serious usenet fan. It is free and works in both windows and linux. I just looked at PAN screenshots - If I wanted a flatfile database view of Usenet, I'd use XNews on Windows - it has all the bells-and-whistles and its interface is not quite as clumbsy looking.
As for my preferred newsreader - Unison on Mac. It sets a new interface standard. If you spend any time browsing the groups, and not just clicking nzb files to launch a newsreader, then you should check it out sometime.
After reading the above comments about Newsleecher being preferred over Unison (by those that have Intel Macs and can Bootcamp or VM into either OS), I'm anxious to try it out. The last time I used Usenet on Windows, XNews was my favorite, and I'm not sure if Newsleecher was even available.
BTW - pretty impressive that Unison is scoring so high though for a commercial application on a non-Redmond OS. Although this is also a bit of a problem for Mac users. While it is an outstanding app in terms of interface, it does lack some of the power-user features that are found elsewhere, and it would be nice to have some worthy competition. Users have been clinging to Thoth, waiting for another power-user option. |
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| reply to jmorlan
I'm still mainly running Newbin Pro v4.32, but I'm using my ISP's usenet service which only has 1 week retention, so I pull headers manually. Of all the clients I've used, including the newer NBP, it still has the cleanest interface IMO. Unfortunately no nzb support in that build.
Recently got my mom setup with TekSavvy, which allows access to usenetserver, and I'm loving NewsLeecher, primarily because of the nzb interface. NBP v5 just didn't seem to work properly.
So, I voted for both, but each have strengths. That said, I could see myself converting to NewsLeecher permanently at my place soon |
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 neonhomerKK4BFNPremium
join:2004-01-27
Edgewater, FL
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to jmorlan
Back when I first started on the `net (don't remember when, but it was on a IBM PS/2 30-286 and used Mindspring Dialup), I received a startup disk from my ISP (the aforementioned Mindspring) that had FreeAgent on it. Ever since then, I have stuck with FreeAgent until a few years ago, then I started buying Agent. Used it ever since...
I have used other programs, but nothing works for me like Agent/Free Agent....
--
"I reject your reality and subsitute my own!" - Adam Savage, Mythbusters
"We're either gonna die or gonna fly...", Jamie Hyneman, Mythbusters - M5 Industries |
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 dot_nullPremium
join:2004-06-28
Kennesaw, GA
1 edit | reply to jmorlan
GrabIt (easy to use, free, has NZB support) on Windows and iGrabNews (free, NZB support) on my Mac |
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| reply to jmorlan
Free prog. Alt.Binz. It's one of the best |
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