Recommend me a newsreader

markwww673

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New to macs and using bootcamp really just to use Newsbin in XP

Can anyone recommend something similar for os X

cheers

Mark..
 
In my opinion the mac platform is alot better then windows when it comes to using newzbin, and usenet. Unison is by far the best and is a one click job, although its not free. You also need Macpar deluxe for the par files and it also auto unrars them. hope this helps
 
thx trying out Unison now but it looks like it can only use 1 news-server at a time not combine the results from 3 servers to get files faster

Mark...
 
I'd be interested in this too. I still use newsleecher through parallels. I can run it in a window in OSX and I have a subscription for it, so I'm ok so far, but if htere was something similar but native I'd take a look.

Do any have the equivalent of Newsleechers 'supersearch'? I find that invaluable.


BTW, what do you mean by multiple servers? Do you actually mean different servers, or multiple connections to the same server?
 
AFAIK, there aren't *any* Mac newsreaders that come close to Newsleecher on the PC.. certainly not for features and ease of use.. Yes, Unison is an EXCELLENT Mac app, but it doesn't combine everything into one application like Newsleecher does.. (You still have to faff around with MacPar Deluxe and/or Split & Concat whereas Newsleecher does it ALL for you) ;)

i.e Repair and Extract, supersearch, scheduling, Redundant PAR analysis (e.g. It works out what PARs you need on the fly and pauses them/queues them as appropriate so you don't have get PARs you don't need) etc.

IMHO, until something better becomes available on OS X, I'd go Richard Plumb's route and run NL or Grabit (Free, very well featured PC newsreader with Repair and Extract etc.) on a Virtual PC inside of VMWare Fusion or Parallels (saves you having to mess around with rebooting into Bootcamp and *very* fast.. ok, so not quite as fast as a PC in native mode with Bootcamp, but easily good enough for most requirements) :)

EDIT: Just read the bit about requiring multiple servers... Again, IMHO, if you go with a decent news provider (e.g. Usenet Server, Astraweb, EasyNews etc.), that has good retention/completion AND allows you a lot of simultaneous connections you don't need to do this at all... 10 connections to Usenet Server will max out your broadband connection easy... how much faster can you go? ;)
 
yeah, I have a newshosting account that allows 8 simultaneous connections. Maxes out easily.
 
Another vote here for NewsLeecher running via Parallels or VMWare.
Yet to find any Usenet downloader that works as good as Newsleecher. Tried Unison, but unless I delete all the par files it downloads them automatically (and for the life of me I can't find a pause for selected files, just for the whole download!)
Also tried SABnzbd which uses your web browser as it's front end. Works okay, but just not as sexy as Newsleecher or as easy to use.
 
Used to have supersearch subscription in newsleecher, but now use newzbin for searching and then a single doubleclick on the nzb downloaded will open unison and download it....Pretty easy and at least doesn't keep my vmware file growing and growing....
 
Its horses for courses really.. Newzbin.com + Unison + MacParDeluxe/SplitConcat WILL get the job done fairly efficiently.

Newzbin.Com + Newsleecher + VM is just slicker, for the reasons mentioned above (Par queing etc.), its really just a case of how many button clicks you can handle.. ;)
 
Used to have supersearch subscription in newsleecher, but now use newzbin for searching and then a single doubleclick on the nzb downloaded will open unison and download it....Pretty easy and at least doesn't keep my vmware file growing and growing....
So why not set up your download folder as a share on the Mac? That way your VM doesn't grow the more you d'load via Usenet.
 
So why not set up your download folder as a share on the Mac? That way your VM doesn't grow the more you d'load via Usenet.

Ah very simple, because I did not know you could do that! Thanks for the tip!
 
Speaking of large VM Disks/Files, I upgraded to VMWare Fusion 1.1RC1 and they've enabled "shrinking", which is cool for those times you've cleared your VM disk down but its still occupies a large amount of space on the host HDD... I ran it this morning and it shrunk my VM from 28Gb to 3Gb!!! :eek:
 
Speaking of large VM Disks/Files, I upgraded to VMWare Fusion 1.1RC1 and they've enabled "shrinking", which is cool for those times you've cleared your VM disk down but its still occupies a large amount of space on the host HDD... I ran it this morning and it shrunk my VM from 28Gb to 3Gb!!! :eek:

Parallels has had this feature for ages :D
Takes a while to run it mind you...
 
I think i'll go with Unison. After trying it out for last couple of days.

Thanks for all the suggestions

Mark..
 
Parallels has had this feature for ages :D
Takes a while to run it mind you...

Aye, I know. Although i could never get it to work (one of the reasons for defecting to VMWare Fusion, that and the fact its a LOT faster) ;)

Shrink was available in Fusion, but not the 1.1 Beta, RC1 fixed all that...

Enjoy Unison MarkWWW, its a good newsreader for sure*





* Newsleecher is still the shiznit tho' :rotfl:
 
sorry for the megabump.

Just discovered NZBs.org with its custom searches and RSS feeds. So now I have an rss feed which links directly to .NZBs. So now I don't need supersearch.

So, its a year on, and I don't need the supersearch part of newsleecher. Is there any movement in the Mac newsreader app area that means I can go native OSX?

direct download via NZBs is essential. auto par+repair/decompress pretty much essential, I'd rather not do that manually.

Alternatively, is there a way to associate .NZB files with parallels, so it'll boot up parallels if its not already open, and then open newsleecher? Then I can keep the RSS feed in OSX and trigger downloads as and when they come along.

I'd like to do away with parallels if possible, although until they find an equivalent of MKV2VOB to make things PS3 compatible, it might have to stay.
 
update - well it seems parallels 4 lets me associate .nzb files with newsleecher, so when I download them in OSX and double click, it launches parallels and newsleecher. So thats a start

woudl be nice to have something OSX native though I suppose
 
Also tried SABnzbd which uses your web browser as it's front end. Works okay, but just not as sexy as Newsleecher or as easy to use.

I love SABnzbd.

Once it's all set up correctly it works a treat.

I can bookmark Newzbin files anywhere and Sabnzbd will automatically start downloading them at home, it is scheduled to work outside of Virgin's throttling times. Built in MacParDeluxe and Split&Concat. You can get it to ignore sample files, move your files into the correct folders - Movies, Music etc. You can set it to delete .nfo, .sfv etc. It'll monitor a folder for NZBs (say the Downloads folder). It'll rename your TV shows into program/series/episode no - episode title. It'll also email you if it's running out of HD space or if files have finished downloading.

And it's free.
 
I love SABnzbd.

Me too, what a great app. Unison is great for browsing messages and pictures on a group, but for binary downloading it's SABnzbd all the way. There is even a GUI being developed now, early stages but it is promising.
 
Me too, what a great app. Unison is great for browsing messages and pictures on a group, but for binary downloading it's SABnzbd all the way. There is even a GUI being developed now, early stages but it is promising.

Now, you know what, I'm more than happy at using the web interface. I use the Plush skin and I think I prefer that to a proper GUI.

I have a nice little folder on my safari bookmarks bar that I've set on Auto-Click that opens up Newzbin and SABnzbd (SAB starts on launch):smashin:
 
I love SABnzbd.

Once it's all set up correctly it works a treat.

I can bookmark Newzbin files anywhere and Sabnzbd will automatically start downloading them at home, it is scheduled to work outside of Virgin's throttling times. Built in MacParDeluxe and Split&Concat. You can get it to ignore sample files, move your files into the correct folders - Movies, Music etc. You can set it to delete .nfo, .sfv etc. It'll monitor a folder for NZBs (say the Downloads folder). It'll rename your TV shows into program/series/episode no - episode title. It'll also email you if it's running out of HD space or if files have finished downloading.

And it's free.


sounds like newsleecher on steroids, minus the supersearch! Bearing in mind with nzbs.org I don't necessarily need the supersearch anymore, should I try this instead? what you have it doing sounds perfect- monitoring the downloads folder for NZBs, auto downloading (within a schedule), auto par/extract/move to destination.

Don't suppose it can directly monitor an RSS feed and grab NZBs out of it - like Sharp utils on PC?

Had a look at the website and it looks a bit complicated to setup. is it easier than it looks, or should I wait until there is a simpler front end to it?
 
sounds like newsleecher on steroids, minus the supersearch! Bearing in mind with nzbs.org I don't necessarily need the supersearch anymore, should I try this instead? what you have it doing sounds perfect- monitoring the downloads folder for NZBs, auto downloading (within a schedule), auto par/extract/move to destination.

Don't suppose it can directly monitor an RSS feed and grab NZBs out of it - like Sharp utils on PC?

Had a look at the website and it looks a bit complicated to setup. is it easier than it looks, or should I wait until there is a simpler front end to it?

There is a section within the setup for RSS feeds. I don't know if it will grab NZBs out of it though.

If you hook me up with a feed address though I'll check it out for you.

The user interface isn't as complicated as it seems and once you get it set up it's a doddle.

I think you should give it a go. It isn't going to cost you anything and we're here to help.:smashin:
 
Just been fiddling with RSS in SABnzbd and found that SABnzbd will use RSS feeds (not feed:// but http://)

It will also filter out stuff that you don't want like s03 if you're after s05 or only accept x264 or HDTV.

It is a little tricky to set up but with a little trial and error it works a treat.
:clap:
 

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