Sep 19

Usenet Retention: How much is too much?

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One of the leading usenet service providers, Giganews, is expecting to announce a retention of 240 days by the end of this month. Coupled with its new acceptance of the popular online payment gateway PayPal, more and more users are finding it difficult to say no to the NNTP giant. But does more retention really deliver more value?

Having greater usenet retention can debated as having greater freedom. More freedom to download what you want, and when you want it. As Giganews strives to increase its retention for users, other providers are either struggling to keep up, or have given up altogether, left to hover around the 100 day mark. I can only guess that Giganews is aiming to hit a retention of 365 days (one full year), but is that giving us more value by having an account? Would we even use it, or do we tend to grab things as they are released?

Is it too much? Tell us in the blog comments at The NZB Blog at NZBTrader.org

Jun 18

UsenetVault Launches After Short Delay

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Well, there was a short delay, but UsenetVault has officially launched!

I signed up for their free usenet trial and so far so good. I’ll post an in-depth review after a sufficient amount of time has passed. I’m really excited about a new provider entering the scene. These guys have something to prove, with other providers being around for years, and I can’t wait to see how this aggressive competition will benefit the consumer!

Their website also says they have 120+ days retention, opposed to the 100+ days which we had reported earlier. I have yet to verify this, but alas- it will be included in my service review.

Check it: http://www.usenetvault.com/

Jun 11

UseNetVault Unlocks its Doors

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A new Usenet provider is tying its shoes and stretching, anticipating to hit the ground running into an already large and competitve market.

UseNetVault is expecting to launch its usenet services on Monday, June 16th, 2008. Offering both monthly subscription accounts as well as slotted accounts, known as “pooled” or “bucket” accounts, allowing users to get prepaid accounts based on his/her anticipated bandwidth usage; these slotted accounts are valid for up to 12 months.

What we can expect:

• 100+ days binary retention
• SSL enabled for no extra cost
• 20 concurrent connections on all accounts
• Live support 24/7
• 100, 000+ available newsgroups
• and over 99.8% completion rate

Most conveniently, UseNetVault will also be accepting PayPal as a payment method (along with all major credit cards). This comes as a huge relief to many users! Very few news providers accept PayPal, despite the large demand, due to PP’s unwillingness work with usenet-related groups.

A word to the pirates:
While we can assume they will comply with the DMCA, posting can be enabled on all accounts at no extra charge.

A word to the spammers:
Don’t even think about it. Spammers will be shut off without notice. Save your pyramid schemes and cell phones from Nigeria for phpBB forums.

A word to the webmasters:
Affiliate and referral systems will be in place (just don’t expect it for a few weeks after launch), giving you the opportunity to get cash back or credits to your account for signup leads you direct to them. A pretty sweet way to get someone else to pay for your Usenet access, without having to do anything.

Find out more here: http://www.usenetvault.com/

Update June 18, 2008:
UsenetVault is now OPEN!

NZBTrader is not affiliated with UseNetVault in any way. Thanks to Dwight at UseNetVault for this exclusive information.