request: how to use usenet
 

i want to use usenet for mp3s......but i cant figure out the trick to searching for what i want....if i type a band name in or a song name nothing even close ever comes up...whats the trick....whats the best threads

I use easynews.com (they make everything VERY simple for $10 a month), but check out this site:

http://www.newzbin.com/

It will tell you what was uploaded, when, and in which groups.

You could then go to those groups and search the files. It also depends on the newgroup reader you use. I personally use Forte Agent (which is perfect for joining large uploads).

One MP3 might be split over the span of several different postings, so you'll have to join them manually if your reader doesn't already do this.

For example, subjets will read:

"Blah.mp3 [1/5]" - 500k
"Blah.mp3 [2/5]" - 500k
"Blah.mp3 [3/5]" - 500k
"Blah.mp3 [4/5]" - 500k
"Blah.mp3 [5/5]" - 398k

You join em together so it downloads in one part instead of having to piece together each individual one.

Ummm... Do you have a newsreader? Forget about using Outlook Express or Netscape. get a dedicated newsreader. It's the only way to get the features that'll make life easy.

If you don't, I suggest that you go to Forte, Inc and download Free Agent. That is the free version of their Agent newsreader. If you have a decent ISP, you will have access to a news server. Comcast doesn't qualify as decent. They farm it our to giganews and cap your downloads/uploads.

Anyway, you'll need to configure the news reader for your ISP's news server. They can provide you with the settings. ISPs frequently alias their news server name as "news" and restrict access to only their users, so that that is all you'll need to add for server name. After that:

- Update the list of groups
- Pick the ones you want to subscribe to
- Download message headers (subject line, length, date, poster)
- Choose which message to download
- Download.

Feel free to PM me and I'll be more than happy to step you through this in emails.

I've been using USENET since the beginning of time ;-)

It isn't hard and it isn't complex. It's actually fairly simple, though many groups are plagued by spam, you can find damn near anything you want on USENET. There is so much information available via USENET that it'll make your head spin.

ok thx guys....

im starting to get the hang of this


im using xnews....


im still wondering is there anyway to search the stuff.....right now i happen to be finding stuff by chance as i scroll down the lists.....

for the time im only really interested in mp3s......any groups you would suggest?

I personally recommending using GrabIT on windows, just seemed like easy to use and stable. :)

[on linux i use pan]

for the tutorials, check out:
http://slyck.com/ng.php [newsgroups in general]
http://slyck.com/agent.php [for forte agent]
http://slyck.com/xnews.php [xnews]



as for groups,

try out:
alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.full_albums [may take an hour+ to download headers]
alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.complete_cd [may take an hour+ to download headers]
alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.[full decade] [i.e. 1990s] [2000s; etc.]

if you want a specific genre, just ask here or search on newzbin...

[btw - i second the newzbin.com - makes searching very easy :)]

have fun,
keyshawn

As posted above, I second the use of XNews. Its really good for encrypted stuff. There is plenty of info out there on how to use it in various ways for different tasks. Excellent for batch downloading.

Mozilla Thunderbird is nice, too.