Linux news reader

[JadeFox]

Hey all,

Im kinda in the process of switching to linux from windows, Im looking for the best newsreader program there is, or a list of your personal favs. Ive already tried pan and another i forget the name and gave Thunderbird a try but it proved too hard to setup, i could figure out how to enter my username and password when connecting to the usenet servers.

Im looking for one that has ssl abilities and can download .nzb files (i think thats different to a newsreader?) but i also read on here a while ago that you could download from 2 different internet access points at once with one newsreader, however i have only one account with astraweb so i dont know if that would work.

Any help please?

Thanks in advanced

[jaymmmmmm]

Sabnzbd+

[c0ld]

Sabnzbd+

this

[JadeFox]

Sabnzbd+

Is there an easier way of starting it rather than typing "sabnzbdplus" in console everytime, is there a way to create a shortcut.

Also does it have to run in firefox? doesnt it have its own gui?

[freakyjason]

I use LottaNZB (from the Ubuntu repos). Not sure if its particularly good but it works for me. It was the first one I installed and I haven't bothered trying anything else cause it's easy to use and does the job fine.

I have heard of Sabnzbd+ though and as I run a headless server at home I was thinking I may install it on there (its got a web interface hasn't it?) and then I can access it from anywhere.

[edit] Not sure about starting it, depending on your distro you should be able to make a launcher (like a Windows shortcut) but AFAIK it only has a WebUI (no standalone GUI) but I could be wrong).

[zot]

It's always hard to say what is "best" since all have their own pros and cons, so it really depends on what features are important to you - as there is really no standard feature set on binary newsreaders.

That being said, here's my TOP-5 list (in order) of LINUX clients:

1. Newsflash Plus - http://www.ensisoft.com/ -- NZB + headers

2. URD - http://urdland.com/ -- web-browser-interface NZB + (compressed) headers

3. Sabnzbd+ - http://sabnzbd.org/ -- web-browser-interface NZB Python client

4. NNTPGrab - http://www.nntpgrab.nl/ -- NZB

5. NINAN - http://www.ninan.org -- web-browser-interface NZB Java client

Honorable mention: HellaNZB (& it's many 3rd party GUIs).
A few others include Klibido, BNR2, and other dated 'abandonware'.

Overall, Newsflash Plus gets my vote as the best all-around Linux news client. It's GUI and settings are well laid out and easy to understand, and it integrates nicely with NZBs.org. It's 'missing feature' for me is that it does not let you prioritize servers, as others like Sabnzbd and NNTPgrab do, but that might not matter much to others. Newsflash Plus is a commercial (closed-source) Python-based client - currently free for Linux (but no telling for how long).

[c0ld]

Sabnzbd+

Is there an easier way of starting it rather than typing "sabnzbdplus" in console everytime, is there a way to create a shortcut.

Yes, you create a shortcut. lrn2linux.

Also does it have to run in firefox? doesnt it have its own gui?

Why would you want it in its own gui though? You get all your NZBs from websites. Do you really want to have to keep switching between your browser and another client?

Just install sabnzbdstatus in FF and you'll get more NZB handling features than any external client is able to offer.

[JadeFox]

Ok thanks all ill have a play

[jibblet]

Very useful thanks for the links.

[heiska]

NZBGet is the rTorrent of binary news readers. Use it if you aren't afraid of the command line.