Bit Torrent and Newsgroups
I have had several people ask about Bit Torrent or Newsgroups, click on the cut below for more info.
How do I use Torrents?
Vladd 44 has a valuable FAQ concerning torrents -- what they are and how to troubleshooot them.
http://www.vladd44.com/torrent/
To use bit torrent you will need a program (client) like Azureus, etc.
http://www.vladd44.com/torrent/clients.php <----- link for Azureus and other clients
http://azureus.sourceforge.net/download.php <----- azureus download page
Once you have the program installed you will need to go to a torrent website. Ones I have used include http://www.mininova.org (a fast site with newest files), http://www.isohunt.com/ http://www.torrentspy.com
Once you locate a file on the torrent site you will click on the link it usually takes you to a download link - once there you can click on the link and select open, the pc will ask where the file will be saved, select a folder. Make sure you have the client open when you click the link. With Azureus after selecting the folder it will then start queing the file. You can improve performance on a torrent by adjusting your upload (sending) speed to 70-80% of the top download speed you have. I usually fiddle with the upload value till I get the best results. Depending on how many seeds/peers are on a torrent you can download a hour tv episode in 45 minutes to an hour.
Most of the time files are in .avi or .mpeg format, but occasionally they are posted in segmented compressed files (.rar format). You will need WinRar or WinZip to reassemble the file.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Most torrents and peer to peer programs are free. Do not be conned into buying a subscription to a torrent site or paying for a program. Virtually all torrent and Peer to Peer clients are freeware.
What are newsgroups and how do I use them?
http://www.slyck.com/ng.php?page=4
Slyck.com has lots of helpful info on how to use torrents, newsgroups and peer to peer programs like WinMx, E-mule, mIRC, etc. The link above is an FAQ for newsgroups.
Newsgroup postings contain files uploaded to a news server (music, photos, tv episodes, computer programs, text, etc). The files are in binary format so you will need a program that converts binary to photos, mp3's, and tv files (note Outlook Express does not do this, it only can read text newsgroups).
First let's talk about newsreader programs. I have used Newsbin Pro, Newsleecher and Agent before. There's also a program called UseNext. Here's a link for newsreaders. Most offer an evaluation period before you have to purchase them.
http://www.slyck.com/ng.php?page=3
It can look intimidating but setting up a newsreader is not very difficult. If you can set up email programs like Outlook Express you should have no problems. After downloading and installing the program you will need to enter the news server address (commonly news.yourISP.net). Check on your Internet Service Provider's home page to see if they host newsgroups and click on server and enter the news url, and any login and password required. If you have a router you may have to designate ports for the newsreader. The newserver will list what ports they use along with the server address on the server info page.
If your ISP doesn't host newsgroups there are lots of pay newshosts like http://www.newshosts.com http://www.easynews.com http://www.giganews.com Rates vary according to how much you download. Choose whatever plan you think will work for you. One awesome thing about pay news servers is they are FAST. I can sometimes download episodes faster than torrent and download seasons of tv series in a day. I find the value in downloads (seasons of tv series) offsets the nominal fee.
The next step is downloading a groups list (list of all the newsgroups available on the server). If you want movies/tv look for groups that have names like alt.binaries.multimedia, alt.binaries.movies.divx etc. Music or audiobooks newsgroups usually have mp3 in the name like alt.binaries.sounds.mp3 There are different groups for music genres. Newsleecher and Newsbin Pro have an option where you can search for a phrase. I usually put in mp3 or multimedia.
Select a group you want to subscribe to (usually by checking a box. Then select to update the headers on subscribed group(s). The reader will download headers and then you can scroll down and select tv episodes. You'll need to click all the files for the episode and the reader will start downloading. There is a handy option where you can select all the files in a post or all that poster uploaded.
Movies and tv series are posted in compressed format (.rar). If you have Newsleecher as your reader, you can set it to extract the files for you (repair and extract tab - check those options). Otherwise, you will need Winrar, DlDone or QuickPar to reassemble them. DlDone is handy (it checks for errors and corrects them if possible from Par files assembles the rar into one file and will delete the rar and miscellaneus newsgroup files. Winrar will work to assemble files most of the time but if you have one or two segments that are partial or corrupt you will need QuickPar or DlDone to fix the file. There's a link for Quick Par on the Slyck.com FAQ I am not sure what the download link for Dldone is (you can search using Google.com).
Peer to Peer
Slyck.com has FAQ's including download links for p2p programs like WinMx. I use it to supplement what I get off torrent. There are several tv chat rooms which are a wonderful way to meet friends and get downloads (most users with tv files download only to people with files in their shares, and some tv rooms require some episodes shared to enter).
E-mule/E-donkey is another p2p I sometimes use, it is great for rare stuff.
I hope this is helpful.
Scifigurl
How do I use Torrents?
Vladd 44 has a valuable FAQ concerning torrents -- what they are and how to troubleshooot them.
http://www.vladd44.com/torrent/
To use bit torrent you will need a program (client) like Azureus, etc.
http://www.vladd44.com/torrent/clients.php <----- link for Azureus and other clients
http://azureus.sourceforge.net/download.php <----- azureus download page
Once you have the program installed you will need to go to a torrent website. Ones I have used include http://www.mininova.org (a fast site with newest files), http://www.isohunt.com/ http://www.torrentspy.com
Once you locate a file on the torrent site you will click on the link it usually takes you to a download link - once there you can click on the link and select open, the pc will ask where the file will be saved, select a folder. Make sure you have the client open when you click the link. With Azureus after selecting the folder it will then start queing the file. You can improve performance on a torrent by adjusting your upload (sending) speed to 70-80% of the top download speed you have. I usually fiddle with the upload value till I get the best results. Depending on how many seeds/peers are on a torrent you can download a hour tv episode in 45 minutes to an hour.
Most of the time files are in .avi or .mpeg format, but occasionally they are posted in segmented compressed files (.rar format). You will need WinRar or WinZip to reassemble the file.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Most torrents and peer to peer programs are free. Do not be conned into buying a subscription to a torrent site or paying for a program. Virtually all torrent and Peer to Peer clients are freeware.
What are newsgroups and how do I use them?
http://www.slyck.com/ng.php?page=4
Slyck.com has lots of helpful info on how to use torrents, newsgroups and peer to peer programs like WinMx, E-mule, mIRC, etc. The link above is an FAQ for newsgroups.
Newsgroup postings contain files uploaded to a news server (music, photos, tv episodes, computer programs, text, etc). The files are in binary format so you will need a program that converts binary to photos, mp3's, and tv files (note Outlook Express does not do this, it only can read text newsgroups).
First let's talk about newsreader programs. I have used Newsbin Pro, Newsleecher and Agent before. There's also a program called UseNext. Here's a link for newsreaders. Most offer an evaluation period before you have to purchase them.
http://www.slyck.com/ng.php?page=3
It can look intimidating but setting up a newsreader is not very difficult. If you can set up email programs like Outlook Express you should have no problems. After downloading and installing the program you will need to enter the news server address (commonly news.yourISP.net). Check on your Internet Service Provider's home page to see if they host newsgroups and click on server and enter the news url, and any login and password required. If you have a router you may have to designate ports for the newsreader. The newserver will list what ports they use along with the server address on the server info page.
If your ISP doesn't host newsgroups there are lots of pay newshosts like http://www.newshosts.com http://www.easynews.com http://www.giganews.com Rates vary according to how much you download. Choose whatever plan you think will work for you. One awesome thing about pay news servers is they are FAST. I can sometimes download episodes faster than torrent and download seasons of tv series in a day. I find the value in downloads (seasons of tv series) offsets the nominal fee.
The next step is downloading a groups list (list of all the newsgroups available on the server). If you want movies/tv look for groups that have names like alt.binaries.multimedia, alt.binaries.movies.divx etc. Music or audiobooks newsgroups usually have mp3 in the name like alt.binaries.sounds.mp3 There are different groups for music genres. Newsleecher and Newsbin Pro have an option where you can search for a phrase. I usually put in mp3 or multimedia.
Select a group you want to subscribe to (usually by checking a box. Then select to update the headers on subscribed group(s). The reader will download headers and then you can scroll down and select tv episodes. You'll need to click all the files for the episode and the reader will start downloading. There is a handy option where you can select all the files in a post or all that poster uploaded.
Movies and tv series are posted in compressed format (.rar). If you have Newsleecher as your reader, you can set it to extract the files for you (repair and extract tab - check those options). Otherwise, you will need Winrar, DlDone or QuickPar to reassemble them. DlDone is handy (it checks for errors and corrects them if possible from Par files assembles the rar into one file and will delete the rar and miscellaneus newsgroup files. Winrar will work to assemble files most of the time but if you have one or two segments that are partial or corrupt you will need QuickPar or DlDone to fix the file. There's a link for Quick Par on the Slyck.com FAQ I am not sure what the download link for Dldone is (you can search using Google.com).
Peer to Peer
Slyck.com has FAQ's including download links for p2p programs like WinMx. I use it to supplement what I get off torrent. There are several tv chat rooms which are a wonderful way to meet friends and get downloads (most users with tv files download only to people with files in their shares, and some tv rooms require some episodes shared to enter).
E-mule/E-donkey is another p2p I sometimes use, it is great for rare stuff.
I hope this is helpful.
Scifigurl