Easynews is one of the oldest Usenet services out there, and is best known for being very easy to use.
Instead of using a newsreader, clients can search and download files directly from within their browser. Is this webinterface really as good as it sounds?
Can total beginners really browse through the giant Usenet archives without any technical knowledge and download without having to go through all the trouble of repairing and unpacking files?
To answer that question, just watch the video below and see yourself: Would you be able to use this interface?
I think the answer is going to be, “Yes, I could.”
As you can see, the search engine is capable of not only finding videos (complete with thumbnails and further information about quality, format and which languages are included), images (if you search for those you’ll see them listed up with thumbnails to make it easy to browse through them) and music (complete with a “preview” function), but also making it very easy to check if you’ve the found the right file. Also, downloading multiple files is simply done with a few clicks.
Finding programs and games is slightly more difficult: As you can see in this video, the advance search has a few more options, making it look a bit more complex than the “simple” search; however the concept remains the same.
What both searches have in common: Downloading a file only requires you to click on the file name, and everything downloaded is immediately ready to use.
So regarding easy of use, Easynews holds its promise: This is by far the easiest way to find and download everything you want on the Usenet, and even total beginners should be able to use it.
Now, let’s take a look at price, speed, retention and anonymity.
Retention: When using the web interface you’ll be able to download files that are 150 – 200+ days old (depending on your package). While this is a lot, modern Usenet providers offer you more (up to 1200 days) however, they’re of course slightly more difficult to use.
It is also possible to use Easynews with a regular Usenet client, which will get you ~1050 days.
Anonymity: SSL encryption is included, and downloading is 100% secure, since no logs are kept.
Pricing: Easynews offers three packages:
– “Easynews Classic” for casual downloaders, with 20 GB download traffic included and 150 days web retention, for $9.98 / month
– “Easynews Plus” for regular users, with 40 GB download traffic included and 200+ days web retention, at $14.97 / month
– “Easynews Big Gig” for heavy users, with 150 download GB traffic included and 200+ day web retention, at $ 29.94 / month
On all packages you can get unlimited access for a regular newsreader like you would use with any other provider (NNTP) for an additional fee of $9.95 / month.
Also, unused gigabytes will not be lost but added to your personal “Rollover Gig Bank” so that you can use them up anytime you want, for up to 3750 GB depending on your plan.
Speed: Easynews is really fast with most Internet connections. Of course you can use any download manager you want to maximize your speed, download several files at the same time, and Easynews also offers a little tool called “Easyboost” which accelerate your downloads by 100% on average.
4 out of 5 stars rating.
Recommendation:
If you love easy solutions and aren’t concerned about having less retention, Easynews is the provider for you. Are you not sure if this will affect you? Then simply signup for a trial account and check it out for yourself – Chances are, you’ll never want another Usenet service again; Easynews is just the most convenient of them all.