I’m constantly amazed that more internet users don’t use Usenet. I’ve worked for various ISPs in the UK for the last 7 years and Usenet traffic is still dwarfed by P2P. I’ve been using Usenet/Newsgroups now for about 3 years. Admittedly, when I first started using Usenet I found the whole space confusing especially when it came to managing newsgroups, combining binaries etc.
Now though, there are great newsreaders like newsleecher with built-in search engines to find files, and great applications like winrar and quickpar which make handling par and par2 files a doddle. Usenet also offers significant privacy advantages over P2P with providers like Giganews even going as far as to offer encrypted access.
The major advantage of Usenet for me over any other download mechanism, is speed. With my provider Giganews, I get my max linespeed 10Mb 24×7, 365 days a year. I’m sure if and when ntl:Telewest increase my linespeed to 20Mb, I’ll still get my full speed.
If you want to give Usenet a go, then check out my Guides To Using Newsgroups.
