What is Usenet?
Depending on when you first found the wonderland that is the Internet, you may or may not have heard of Usenet before. Most people are surprised to learn that Usenet began in 1979 as a computer network system where you could post messages, sort of a virtual bulletin board. The Facebook of its day, Usenet was the online place to network before social networks were cool.
Usenet was once the undisputed King of the Net, but eventually the World Wide Web would steal the spotlight away from Usenet by the late 90s. Usenet was forced to evolve or die. No longer operated by ISPs and Universities, the modern Usenet is run by private firms with the means and incentive to continue growing and strengthening the Usenet infrastructure. With more than 9 Terabytes per day uploaded to Usenet, it is no surprise that it is drawing the attention of hardcore downloader’s.
Here are 3 reasons Usenet remains a popular download destination.
Why Download From Usenet?
1. Huge Selection
The huge increase in server capacity has allowed Usenet providers to increase “retention”. Retention is the amount of time that a post is stored on the server. As recently as 4 or 5 years ago, retention times of 100-200 days were common. If you were looking for a post that was uploaded 300 days ago, you were out of luck. However, the privatization of the Usenet industry has led to a dramatic increase in retention times as companies compete for business. Today, all of the best providers are offering more than 1,000 days of binary (file) retention. And this number continues to grow as they add server space rather than delete posts and files.
2. Super Fast Download Speeds
Unlike peer-to-peer technologies, Usenet access is done through a direct connection to a network of commercial servers. So instead of joining a group of others to download and upload at the same time, you are making a one-on-one connection to the server. And this connection is often uncapped. Meaning that you can literally download at the maximum speed you internet connection will allow you to. For most, this is the one key feature of Usenet that makes it superior to any other download technology.
3. Secure Downloads
Security online is necessary. Risks are at an all time high. You need to use every precaution you can especially when downloading. Many Usenet providers encrypt your connection to the servers with a 256 bit SSL rate. This is the same encryption offered by your financial institution online. This type of encryption creates a secure tunnel between your computer and the Usenet server. This tunnel acts as a barrier keeping prying eyes out. For those that value their privacy online, this is a major reason to use Usenet for downloading.
Then and Now
The foundation for Usenet was laid more than three decades ago. And while the world has continued to grow and evolve, Usenet has been forced to do the same. The Usenet of today is technically very similar to the Usenet of 30 years ago. However, it is much stronger and much more powerful. The privatization of the industry has brought increased competition which has led to increased value for users. Increasing levels of speed, selection and security are 3 of the main reasons users choose to download with Usenet.
This post is contributed by Jared Scott. Jared Scott is the Manager of Public Outreach for Binverse. He is a Usenet fanatic and you can follow his updates on Facebook and @Binverse.
I was educated. I really learned something new in this post. I’m glad I’ve read this, Thanks for the share. =)
sounds like a legitimate site, will definitely check it out.
It can be surprising how many people have never even heard of something we take for granted every day like Usenet..!
James,
Unless you were computing back in the early 80’s you probably never heard of Usenet.
Thanks for such an informative article.However u can also get super fast download speed from filehosting sites as well
These days you don’t even need premium account , you can use a premium link generator to create premium resuamble link for free
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Well, the only disadvantage is: you actually have to pay for a good Usenet server, the free ones are worse than crap, pardon my french…
Most people are surprised to learn that Usenet began in 1979 as a computer network system where you could post messages, sort of a virtual bulletin board. The Facebook of its day,
Cheryl it does seem so long ago and I even thought it was around the mid 80’s.
Meaning that you can literally download at the greatest pace you internet attachment will permit you to. For most, this is the one key characteristic of Usenet that makes it better to any other download technology.
Eternal September is Eternal.
Evadman,
Happy holidays! Did I miss some thing? I can’t find either word.
This blog posting is about alt.binaries.* where 8 bit data is encoded using uuencode or MIME into 7 bit ASCII. However, many moons ago, usenet was used for discussions, and pretty much that only. Usenet was basically the grand dad of an online forum. Questions were asked and answered in threads, just like on a WWW forum now. There were not all that many users (compared to today) and there was a pretty strict netiquette. However, every September, when classes at college started, there would be a flood of new users who were being introduced to usenet. That lead to a disruption to the existing usenet user base, but the base would recover as the new users were taught the ‘rules of usenet’.
In ’93 though, AOL made usenet access part of their service. The gigantic flood of new users that never let up lead to the term ‘eternal September’.
Evadman,
Are you that old to remember Usenet? LOL. I remember some groups had very strict rules and you never got a second chance if you broke them.