Newshosting's New Newsreader – A Practical Evaluation

Just in time for the new year, Newshosting took the newsreader they have been testing out of the beta testing stage. Up until now I have used the newsreader a somewhat, and provided my personal input to the development team on a couple of thoughts I had. And now, it's done. I'm sure they will continue to update, and upgrade the client, but the hard part is over. I'll tell you lots more about the reader, but first a little about Newshosting, because you will have to purchase one of their plans to get it.

Read our Detailled Newshosting Review here also

Given their years of experience as a provider they have proven their dedication to their customers time and again. They give you 1,235 days of binary retention unless you use the web interface...then it's only 200 days, but they are the only Usenet provider that has this feature. Their prices are highly competitive with other Usenet providers, and the top tier of their packages gives you an Easynews account, too. They are U.S. based, so follow the U.S. laws and DMCA, but still ave servers in both the U.S. and Europe. There's a lot more information on these guys at Usenetreviews.

The beta testing went rather well, at least that's what I thought. I didn't have any issues, mainly just suggestions. During the beta test, there were several updates, and each improved and expanded on the functionality. I did use it a bit and found it to be very similar to the Easynews browser, which was no surprise. Their partnership with Easynews is a fairly new affair, but I expect that this marriage will go far, and be beneficial to everyone concerned...especially their customers. Now, on to the specifics...

Of course the newsreader comes for free with the Newshosting account, probably the number one feature that I liked...I like almost all things free. Here's the pertinent details:

Setup – As easy as it gets. Just download the client, you'll find the download link in the Control Panel once you log in. Once it's downloaded, just open the setup file, and it's on.

User Friendly – Very much so...even beginners will be downloading in just a few minutes. With all the various features, you would think it to be complicated or crowded, but this is not the case. Controls are easy to find, and plain spoken.

Repair And Unpacking – All automatic, couldn't be easier. The unpacking can be directed to any file you want, and if the download is broken somehow, it will be automatically handled.

Video And Audio Previews – Great feature for a beginner, but even better for the veteran that has spent untold GB's in bandwidth getting the wrong thing. I love this feature a lot, as do a lot of Usenet users, unfortunately though, it is only included in a couple of newsreaders.

Auto Updating – Most newsreaders will make you have to pay attention to the updates. And, you have to manually update, and even pay for a limited few. But here the updates are all automatic and absolutely free.

The installation will also ask for permission to install VLC Player also, this player is necessary if you want the preview feature to work. After the installation is complete, you will get a window asking you to enter in your username and password...once entered you will get the newsreader. In the left pane you will see the list of newsgroups, the center is the list of files, and just above those you have the search. This is a great search, it has a lot of filters, including adult themed groups, languages, and sorting options. On top there are toolbars to adjust the window settings, bookmark, and a help button I doubt you will need.

The search on the toolbar searches through all the groups on the server. The search above the files listed will search through the highlighted, (and displayed,) newsgroup. All your speed and connection data is displayed below, this can be important if you need to control your connection load. Once you find the file you need, select it for download, then you will get the Connection Type window, select the connection you use, hit OK. Next is the Download Window, here select the files you will need, and hit the Download button. It's on!

Once it is started, you will be able to preview the file being downloaded, or close the window and monitor the download from the main window. If you don't want to monopolize your connection you can set speed limits and set the number of connections lower. This is done from the Options button on the top toolbar. Enjoy Your Usenet experience...I did.

Their years in business helped me to feel better about my purchase...their support team is award winning. I used a support ticket to just see how good they were, and it was a matter of about an hour before I had an answer in my e-mail. They ave a 14 day or 30 GB free trial...I'm still on that, but I will probably keep it, It's the easiest Usenet newsreader and provider since Easynews.