NewZbin
In this tutorial we are going to use NewZbin to create a NZB file by our own and download a post from Usenet. If you don’t know what NZB files are, I suggest you read the NZB tutorial first.
There is a slight difference between NewZbin and search engines like Binaries.nl which maybe important to point out. Binaries.nl can only be used if you actually know something has been posted because you have to search for a filename (or another part of the header of course). NewZbin also works the other way around: so called spotters report what has been posted in a Usenet newsgroup and what these posts are about. So with NewZbin you can actually see what has been posted on Usenet, without searching for a particular post.
So if you want to know what has been posted or if you know something has been posted but you don’t know the filename, NewZbin can be useful (just like communities like FTD). But if you already know the filename (and possibly the Usenet newsgroup), you can also use another search engine, like GrabIt Search of NewsLeecher SuperSearch.
Nice to mention is that the creators of NewZbin are also the inventors of NZB files.
Before we can start you have to know that searching with NewZbin is free, but if you actually want to create a NZB file you need to have a Premium Account. This costs $0.50 a week.
All right, let’s visit the site of NewZbin at http://www.newzbin.com (link opens in a new window)
In the top right corner you will find the search bar shown below:
As you see I entered ‘Linux’ in the search field and chose the Books: All category. I want to read something about Linux, so maybe there is something interesting on Usenet. From the last dropdown menu we select Posts to search through the posts categorized by NewZbin. I will discuss the other two options (files and NFOs) later on in this tutorial.
Just click search to have NewZbin searching the database for articles from binary Usenet newsgroups that match our search string.
When the search is done, you will see the list with items that were found during the process.
Click the name of a post to see some more information about that particular post:
Until now we did not need a Premium Account yet, but for the next step we do. To create and download a NZB file of this post, just click the Get Message-IDs button. Save this NZB file to your hard disk and import it in your favorite newsreader.
To conclude something about the Files and NFOs options in the last dropdown menu I mentioned:
These two options are only available if you have a Premium Account. With the option Files you can search for filenames in all groups supported by NewZbin. Don’t forget to increase your search history in your Preferences because this is only three days by default.
With NFOs you can search for NFO files (Small files containing information about a post). See also the NFO tutorial).
You have reached the end of the NewZbin tutorial. This is all you need to know to use NewZbin correctly.
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