my first Usenet download!

Hey everyone! I am so psyched 'cos I just made my first (and successful) trial download using Newsgroups (or Usenet?).
Like with bittorrent, it took me a long time to take the plunge but after reading here and there i decided to try it
just for the sake of knowledge and curiosity, lol.
So I used the guide on Slyck.com and made my first download,
just installed Alt.Binz, got the server address, username and password from just4today.net
and searched for an mp3 single using the Newsbin index and literally, I didn't even noticed the file downloading, it might have taken like 10 second tops to download.
Using Lime or some other download medium a single track usually takes like 1.5 to 3.5 mins.
What I'm saying is that it downloaded in a flash, I'll try to get a TV episode next and see how the speed compares to BT and Direct Dlds.

Anyways, that being said, after browsing a few indexing sites like binsearch, newsbin, NZBindex, etc
I don't think I find that much more (and rare) files than using BT or DDs. would that be different if I paid$ for a suscription to one of these index sites?

and also, I noticed that just4today says 'Retention --> ~10+ days', what does this mean?,
I read about 'retention' too but still it confuses me a bit, if the nbz I download I got from an index site and it had been the for more that 10 days,
isn't the video/mp3/etc probably stored in another Newsgroup Server?
does it mean that just4today is actually getting the full file (say 4.5gigs) just so i can download it?

and finally, aside from the number of connections allowed and the retention time,
what do I get for paying for a newsgroup server subscription? as I've seen most Usenet users do.

Well I just wanted to share it with you guys
and may be you can give more advice.

There's a thread in the BT section named "BT vs. Usenet" that addresses your concerns about the worth of a paid service. Here's the link:
http://filesharingtalk.com/threads/428243-BT-vs-Usenet

Read Cabalo's posts, he knows what he's talking about.

Regarding retention, indeed that's the number of days files remain on the server (which you download from) before they're deleted.

Getting a paid account with a provider will give you more retention, faster downloads, SSL encryption, better completion rates, and more connections. The search engines are not going to show you more just because you have a paid provider. But if you see something that was posted nearly 2 years ago, you can still download it with most premium providers. Indexing sites such as this, make it easier to find and get what you want. Check out the NZB section here often.