Forum Question

On Wed, 7 May 2008 13:33:20 -0700, "Bill Yanaire" <bill.TakeThisOut@yanaire.com>
wrote:

>
>"the wharf rat" <wrat.TakeThisOut@panix.com> wrote in message
>news:fvt334$ags$1@reader2.panix.com...
>> In article <#x1tU9HsIHA.6096@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl>,
>> Bill Yanaire <bill.TakeThisOut@yanaire.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>Is there a way to access the vista.general group through Google using
>>>Outlook Express? The display is much better and the messages are
>>>presented
>>>better.
>>
>> www.giganews.com
>> www.supernews.com
>>
>> It's not google, though. Just better.
>>
>> And try a real newsreader instead of outlook.
>>
>
>Thanks for the info. These cost money. Google is free. Are there any ways
>to access the usenet groups free? How about newsreaders? Can they access
>the microsoft forums through Google?

Google's main purpose is to archive newsgroup posts so while you might
like the interface, they are likely behind most other providers.

Like anything else a good news server provider costs money. I've used
usenetserver.com for years because they carry more groups, have
generally good retention times and are rarely down. The cost is
relatively low, I get billed quarterly so it is a little cheaper.
Their basic rate is $14.95 a month which works out to only .49 a day
for unlimited high speed access. They give you a choice of either
using a traditional news reader or a web interface.

Free Agent is still around and is good. While there are free services,
you probably don't have to look further than your ISP. I'm sure who
ever it is provides some basic Usenet access in your package.

In article <#CWJnIIsIHA.1772@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl>,
Synapse Syndrome <synapse.TakeThisOut@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote:
>
>It's only worth paying for those if you are interested in binary newsgroups,

Or reliable news service at reasonable speeds and with useable retention times.
Usenet is a very expensive service to provide and generally a black hole for
capital and administrative resources. It's IMHO worth a small fee.

Tera news looks like a good deal if all you want is one or three specfic
light traffic text groups. I despise binary groups but have blown Usenet transfer
quotas (accidentally) simply by downloading all the headers of a very large group
to do a subject search... Maybe the OP should try tera news and if it's insufficient
look at a pay service? I still like giganews myself although I don't need them at
panix.

Deja news now there's a blast from the past.