Usenetnow New Dealio

[hdjunky]

I got an email this morning from Usenetnow since I had an account there several months back. I wont post the whole e-mail, but you can read it for yourself if you want here http://faq.usenetnow.net

To paraphrase it if you will; they are going to 400 days retention. They now have a US server instead of just a Europe server and a way to view newsgroups on there website, even with your cell phone...well iphone or smart phone like a blackberry but still, that is pretty cool. If anyone uses it on there phone please post how it works.

Pricing seems great since you can buy one week at a time if you want BUT there special now (if the quality is there) beats astraweb price wise...works out to like 10.15 per month. So 85 cents less with 35 days more retention in the end with a yet to be determined if its useful web/cell phone reader..Could be the way to go! I believe they are Blocknews related so if that is any indication, support on the weekend should not be a problem. Unlike the previously mentioned competitor!

[unoriginal]

So if they have a US and EU server they aren't using the same provider they had before. Anyone know who they are using now? I get the following ips when I run a traceroute : 198.186.190.234 for usnews.usenetnow.net or 95.211.80.117 for eunews.usenetnow.net.

[saulin]

Actually

As of May 2009, our official advertised retention is 235-240 days. However, this is increasing to 400 days, day by day!


Where Astraweb's retention has hit 270 days already. So even if the speed was as good as Astraweb's they are still behind on retention. So Astraweb is still the best choice.

[hdjunky]

So if they have a US and EU server they aren't using the same provider they had before. Anyone know who they are using now? I get the following ips when I run a traceroute : 198.186.190.234 for usnews.usenetnow.net or 95.211.80.117 for eunews.usenetnow.net.

I don't really know how it all works to be honest, is it possible they could have there own stuff and then simply have like agreements to get feeds from others? I know they all have connections with each other for people posting so they get out across the community, does that work both ways?

Where Astraweb's retention has hit 270 days already. So even if the speed was as good as Astraweb's they are still behind on retention. So Astraweb is still the best choice.

I guess that is where some will differ in opinions. While yes, your figures may be correct for the present time, I tend to think and look ahead with things and see the final numbers as the real factor. When Astraweb stops at 365, those going to 400 will shrink the retention gap you said, and continue pass them...35 days to be exact.

[SonsOfLiberty]

If Astraweb and Giganews see others going to 400 they will to.

[unoriginal]

I don't really know how it all works to be honest, is it possible they could have there own stuff and then simply have like agreements to get feeds from others? I know they all have connections with each other for people posting so they get out across the community, does that work both ways?

The people that run usenetnow are just another reseller like so many other companies. They also run a site called blocknews.net and resell highwinds as when I run a traceroute to the US server:

UNS-LLC-HIGHWIND-NETWORK-GROUP.TenGigabitEthernet3-3.ar5.ATL1.gblx.net (67.17.197.166)76.6677.1376.9165.747
2-1.r2.dc.hwng.net (69.16.191.125)76.8077.6377.100.198
unknown.hwng.net (209.197.1.42)77.1477.4077.290.209
newsfarm.iad.highwinds-media.com (69.16.185.247)

I would just like to know what they are using for usenetnow. Either way I love the competition and the fact that soon we will have access to a year's worth of binaries for $10-11/mo.

[hdjunky]

If Astraweb and Giganews see others going to 400 they will to.

It sure is possible, but if you remember back to a time several years ago, when many were at 100 days...Astraweb was at what?....60 - 70 days for a LOOOONGGGG time. So with history being the only thing we can use to back up our assumptions, we shouldnt assume Astraweb will, when they sat idly by for so long then. Giganews I would take bets on going well beyond 400 days, ONLY so they can justify there really high price.

Lets be real honest here though. 365 days or 400 days is really nothing to split hairs over. I guess the extra 35 days is a little something extra to sweeten the pot with, a tie breaker if it had to come down to it.

Now all we are left to do is make purchase decisions on price, reliability and little extra features. I only posted this since 1- the per month price ends up cheaper than Astraweb 2- Seemingly, the web/cell phone reader seems cool to me (if it works the way it says) - So that leaves reliability up in the air and I posted partly hoping some users here use them so they can comment. I will take one for the team and sign up and test this weekend if I have to.

IF usenetserver had a Europe server, and for there $10 a month price, i would say they are the clear winner here (If they got there act together that is).

[SonsOfLiberty]

Yeah but your forgetting the in-flux of customers now.

[hdjunky]

I stepped up to the plate this weekend and signed up for one of there 7 day unlimited accounts to try things out. Worked out great. I was meeting someone in town at a local coffee shop which happens to be next to a schools Wi-Fi. I never had any trouble reaching 30 MBits with other services so I knew this would be a good test. I was able to reach the 30 MBits with connections left to spare (tried both servers).

I tested retention, but I can only search for stuff 240 days or less and everything I tried 240 days and below came up just fine (others may have premium subscriptions to search services but I do not)...So retention maxes out my search capabilities.

The website newsreader let me view groups and stuff. Chances are, if I had my computer with me I probably would not use the web reader but thats just me....BUT I tried the cell phone web reader on my Blackberry and it was really cool. I can really see myself playing around on it if I am bored or stuck somewhere and looking to pass time. Note that it is designed for Iphones I think...so it may work even better on Iphones instead of Blackberries but I did not notice anything wrong with it. Make sure you have an unlimited cell data plan!

Just for sh!ts and giggles, I tested support time. Astraweb will leave you hanging on the weekends, so I wanted to see how this compared. I had a response within 1.25 hours!

One thing I did not say in my original post I don't think, is that you don't have to sign up for a subscription if you do not want too to get the special sale prices. From what I gather, if you sign up for the sale, you do not have to renew at the end or risk losing the sale price, you can wait 6 months or whatever down the road to sign back up again! None of that "Only good till canceled" crap!

Bottom line? To save 85 cents more a month, get 35 days more retention in the end (going by todays retention goals), get a neat little reader for your cell phone AND get support/help on the weekends with no subscriptions needed...It seems like a great deal to me. BUT, it is your money!

[hdjunky]

Where Astraweb's retention has hit 270 days already. So even if the speed was as good as Astraweb's they are still behind on retention. So Astraweb is still the best choice.

I meant to post this this past week, but in my week long test with Usenetnow I was successfully able to pull down something from the boneless group that was 283 days and then something from the dvdr group that was 281. I'm not real sure how much further the retention goes back as i really did not test beyond that. I assume Astraweb is right around there, so I would say at this point retention is neck and neck.