It seems like only yesterday. I signed up for my VMS account at SDSU’s computer center and got my shell access and email account. Back then, the world wide web did not exist yet. Tools of the internet trade were file search apps like Anarchie and newsgroup / usenet readers. While most people consider the internet to be the world wide web, there is still a wealth of knowledge and interaction going on inside the world of usenet (aka newsgroups). Newsgroup access is provided as part of most ISPs’ access packages. News servers store posts into each newsgroup and make them available to users. What is not usually provided free of charge anymore is access to the binary newsgroups.

Binary Newsgroups

Binary newsgroups refer to groups on the usenet that allow binary files to be uploaded. There are a few companies out there that provide binary newsgroup access for a small fee each month (or a large fee) and over the years I have settled into using GigaNews for binary newsgroup server access. There are a number of reasons, but the big ones are:

Retention

GigaNews provides up to 454 day retention (that’s right, 454 DAYS) for their unlimited binary server accounts. That means that posts and files that are posted to binary newsgroups are stored on their servers for 454 days…that is a long time. Most binary newsgroup services don’t come close to that kind of retention for the paltry sum of $14.95 a month (unlimited) that GigaNews charges….and they have plans starting at $3 a month!

Download Speed

When I do download items from binary newsgroups, I want them to be fast. I now have a massive Comcast Cable connection and GigaNews’ servers will fill that up if the files I am downloading are bigger than that. They allow up to 8 simultaneous server connections now, although I have found that 4 connections seems to be the best way to download on my setup. If you are grabbing lots of text files and posts from non-binary newsgroups or want to update multiple group’s headers, 50 simultaneous connections allow you to do this very quickly.

Uptime

GigaNews’ uptime has been better than one of the companies I lease a two dedicated boxes from. I have never found that their servers were not accessible. They also provide real-time network status on their website…something that any company providing online services like binary newsgroup access should do.

Cost

You can get a 3 Gig account (as of this writing) for $2.99/mo or you can go nutso for $14.95/mo and get unlimited access (from one IP at a time). I used to get 1Gig a month from Speakeasy and I have to say (now I get none from Comcast), that is not much when you decide to grab some files. If you are going to spend 10, I would say get the unlimited for $5 more. My 2 cents.

If you want to check out GigaNews I think you will find that they offer high quality service without any junk problems. I actually wish more of the services I use online were more like them (as gay as that sounds). Let me know what you find.