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GrabIt, Alt.Binz, SABnzbd Showdown
August 27, 2008
Newsreaders are a fundamental part of the newsgroups. They are the interface that allows the end user to interact, download, and post to the Usenet community. The nature of the newsgroups being what it is, there are many different varieties of news readers. Some news readers are designed solely for posting messages, while others are designed for downloading binaries. In the rapidly changing world of the newsgroups, three readers have embodied the advancements of this community and have brought simplicity to this realm.These three news readers are, in no particular order, GrabIt, Alt.Binz, and a relative newcomer, SABnzbd. Although the server cost involved is prohibitive for some potential newcomers, the real roadblock to widespread adoption was the complexity level. There was time not so long ago when the end user had to download all the headers of a particular newsgroup and hope the desired media was contained within. There was a time when indexing sites didn’t exist, and when NZB files (like torrent files) were just a dream. And don’t forget about incomplete posts and reconstructing archives.
All these crazy things are now in the past, thanks to NZB files, indexing sites, PAR files, and automatic RAR extraction (auto-unRARing). If the end user is capable of filling out the required server information, then he or she can easily participate in the newsgroups. GrabIt, Alt.Binz and SABNzb are all capable of making the newsgroup experience simple, but today we put all three to the test, and found some surprising results.
Program Name: GrabIt
Download Size: ~2.1 Megabytes.
Memory consumption: ~2-17 Megabytes.
Introduction: Before GrabIt became popular, there was Agent and Xnews. Agent is an excellent news reader; however, it was designed for posting and reading newsgroup messages, not so much as a binary reader. Xnews was a binary reader, yet development on this product ceased. GrabIt was one of the first newsgroup clients to take advantage of NZB files, and with that landmark event, this newsgroup client surged in popularity. Lately, development has been slow, and seems to be a step behind the competition.
Key Features: GrabIt embodies all of the key features of a modern newsgroup client. It handles NZB files perfectly, provides SSL encryption support, and has recently incorporated auto-RAR extraction and auto PAR recovery.
Advantages: GrabIt was once the premier newsgroup client, and for good reason. It’s free, very pleasant to look at, and has a proprietary Usenet search feature. This feature almost gives Grabit a P2P feel, as the end user can search and download without ever leaving the client.
Disadvantages: GrabIt has a few drawbacks. There’s no remote web interface, an option that has become standard in the file-sharing world. Additionally, GrabIt’s Usenet search is limited to TWO searches a day – anything more than that requires a payment. Additionally, GrabIt is Windows only and closed source.
What sets it apart from the crowd: Currently, not much. Grabit is a good Usenet client, but compared to the rest of the file-sharing world, this binary reader seems…old.
Program Name: Alt.Binz
Download Size: ~1.1 Megabytes.
Memory consumption: ~4 – 11 Megabytes.
Introduction: Alt.Binz exploded onto the newsgroups scene when it was first released. It built upon many of the advances that GrabIt had introduced, and quickly became the newsgroup client of choice. Its surging popularity helped further the simplicity of the newsgroups, allowing those who were intimidated by its complexity to join in. However, its long term longevity and ability to innovate are in question, as a news post to Alt.Binz’s homepage reads that version “0.25.0 is the last release available to public.”
Key Features: Alt.Binz was the first newsgroup client to support automatic RAR extraction and auto PAR recovery. It handles NZB files like a champ, and was also the first client to popularize encryption.
Advantages: Alt.Binz is utilitarian in appearance. However, that’s a plus for many users. It’s easy to use, free, and has a search engine that scours many of the best free NZB indexing sites. Works on Linux with WINE.
Disadvantages: Like GrabIt, Alt.Binz lacks web interface support. Its GUI is also a bit on the clunky side, and is closed source.
What sets it apart from the crowd: Alt.Binz is an innovator, and has helped to further simplify the foray into the binaries. A commercial version appears to be in the works, and hence, its free nature is in question.
Program Name: SABnzbd
Download size: ~5.3 Megabytes.
Memory size: ~20 – 30 Megabytes.
Introduction: The SABnzbd project was registered with the SourceForge community in September of 2005. However, it has only recently created its own independent website in January of this year. Since that time, SABnzbd has reinvented the newsgroup reader. With a web interface, an open source nature, and active community involvement, SABnzbd is the ironclad warship of the newgroup readers, as it has immediately rendered all others obsolete.
Key Features: SABnzbd is a web based utility built for integration into the FireFox web browser, has all the features of a modern client, and much more.
Advantages: Like any modern newsgroup client, SABNzb can auto RAR and auto PAR. Unlike other readers, it can also automatically file join “.001, .002, .003,” archives – task that an independent program formerly had to do. This client is also a cross platform application, meaning that it will operate on Windows, Apple OS, Linux, or any other operating system that supports Python.
Additionally, SABnzbd is open source, and with that comes community development. SABnzbd supports many community plug-ins, one of which is particularly important for those with a Newzbin account. A plug-in called nzbdStatus supports direct Newzbin to SABnzbd integration. In other words, if you see something in Newzbin you like, just point and click – SABNzdb does the rest. The plug-in is also handy for freeing up a tab in FireFox by installing a monitoring widget in the status bar.
If that wasn’t enough, SABnzbd also keeps the TV show downloader in mind by supporting “Automatic TV season folder sorting.” As its name implies, turning this option on allows the end user to sort TV shows in a multitude of ways, instead of piling up disorganized files.
SABnzbd also supports a remote web interface. This gives the end user tremendous power to control his or her downloads from any internet ready machine – an option that only existed in P2P and BitTorrent clients.
Disadvantages: Nothing significant. GrabIt and Alt.Binz allow the end user to monitor the download speed and progress of each file in an archive – SABnzbd only allows the end user to see the average speed of all files. Also, this client seems to consume about 5-10 additional megabytes of memory over the competition.
What sets it apart from the crowd: Like Alt.Binz and Grab.It, SABnzbd is an innovative client. Fueled by community interaction and development, SABnzbd has set the bar for newsgroup clients.
Disadvantages: GrabIt has a few drawbacks. There’s no remote web interface, an option that has become standard in the file-sharing world. Additionally, GrabIt’s Usenet search is limited to TWO searches a day – anything more than that requires a payment. Additionally, GrabIt is Windows only and closed source.
What sets it apart from the crowd: Currently, not much. Grabit is a good Usenet client, but compared to the rest of the file-sharing world, this binary reader seems…old.
Program Name: Alt.Binz
Download Size: ~1.1 Megabytes.
Memory consumption: ~4 – 11 Megabytes.
Introduction: Alt.Binz exploded onto the newsgroups scene when it was first released. It built upon many of the advances that GrabIt had introduced, and quickly became the newsgroup client of choice. Its surging popularity helped further the simplicity of the newsgroups, allowing those who were intimidated by its complexity to join in. However, its long term longevity and ability to innovate are in question, as a news post to Alt.Binz’s homepage reads that version “0.25.0 is the last release available to public.”
Key Features: Alt.Binz was the first newsgroup client to support automatic RAR extraction and auto PAR recovery. It handles NZB files like a champ, and was also the first client to popularize encryption.
Advantages: Alt.Binz is utilitarian in appearance. However, that’s a plus for many users. It’s easy to use, free, and has a search engine that scours many of the best free NZB indexing sites. Works on Linux with WINE.
Disadvantages: Like GrabIt, Alt.Binz lacks web interface support. Its GUI is also a bit on the clunky side, and is closed source.
What sets it apart from the crowd: Alt.Binz is an innovator, and has helped to further simplify the foray into the binaries. A commercial version appears to be in the works, and hence, its free nature is in question.
Program Name: SABnzbd
Download size: ~5.3 Megabytes.
Memory size: ~20 – 30 Megabytes.
Introduction: The SABnzbd project was registered with the SourceForge community in September of 2005. However, it has only recently created its own independent website in January of this year. Since that time, SABnzbd has reinvented the newsgroup reader. With a web interface, an open source nature, and active community involvement, SABnzbd is the ironclad warship of the newgroup readers, as it has immediately rendered all others obsolete.
Key Features: SABnzbd is a web based utility built for integration into the FireFox web browser, has all the features of a modern client, and much more.
Advantages: Like any modern newsgroup client, SABNzb can auto RAR and auto PAR. Unlike other readers, it can also automatically file join “.001, .002, .003,” archives – task that an independent program formerly had to do. This client is also a cross platform application, meaning that it will operate on Windows, Apple OS, Linux, or any other operating system that supports Python.
Additionally, SABnzbd is open source, and with that comes community development. SABnzbd supports many community plug-ins, one of which is particularly important for those with a Newzbin account. A plug-in called nzbdStatus supports direct Newzbin to SABnzbd integration. In other words, if you see something in Newzbin you like, just point and click – SABNzdb does the rest. The plug-in is also handy for freeing up a tab in FireFox by installing a monitoring widget in the status bar.
If that wasn’t enough, SABnzbd also keeps the TV show downloader in mind by supporting “Automatic TV season folder sorting.” As its name implies, turning this option on allows the end user to sort TV shows in a multitude of ways, instead of piling up disorganized files.
SABnzbd also supports a remote web interface. This gives the end user tremendous power to control his or her downloads from any internet ready machine – an option that only existed in P2P and BitTorrent clients.
Disadvantages: Nothing significant. GrabIt and Alt.Binz allow the end user to monitor the download speed and progress of each file in an archive – SABnzbd only allows the end user to see the average speed of all files. Also, this client seems to consume about 5-10 additional megabytes of memory over the competition.
What sets it apart from the crowd: Like Alt.Binz and Grab.It, SABnzbd is an innovative client. Fueled by community interaction and development, SABnzbd has set the bar for newsgroup clients.
This story is filed in these Slyck News categories
Newsgroups/Usenet :: Newsgroup Clients
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