usenet

Google Groups gets a revamp

Google has spruced up Google Groups in a bid to make the service more user friendly.

Google Groups offers a wide variety of discussion forums where users can read and post messages on their favorite topics. But the current interface has been showing its age, so a revamp has been long overdue.

As one enhancement, Google has made it easier to search for and browse both groups and individual postings by entering a topic in a single search bar. Once users find a group they want to follow, they can now add it to a list of favorites easily accessible … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1233: Synthetic life is oh so blue (podcast)

We have synthetic life! Craig Venter's new bacterium is alive and is blue... because that's what it's programmed to be. Also, Google says Happy 30th Birthday Pacman by putting a playable game into the Google banner. Tech support calls ensue.

Neat newsreader

Those who need an old-school newsreader could do worse than DaanSystems' NewsReactor. You can use it to search for, combine, and download binaries in Usenet newsgroups via as many as six servers. It can group similar files together and claims advanced error detection.

NewsReactor's trial version is limited to 50 uses, which a nag screen starts counting down when you first open the program. A First Time Wizard that can be reactivated at any time from the File menu lets you scan automatically for news servers or manually enter your server; we chose the latter. The wizard quickly established … Read more

Bring Usenet into the present

Unison 2 is a major update for this popular Usenet client, providing a much more modern interface to access one of the oldest and most arcane corners of the Internet.

Fans of Usenet typically come in search of discussion groups and binary downloads, and Unison's all-new, iTunes-style interface makes navigation easy, with a friendly directory system, threaded messages, and an immensely useful search bar. And given that downloads are a priority for so many Usenet users, Unison also has some thoughtful integrated features, like audio preview, automatic unarchiving (with unRAR and unPAR), and automatic skipping of unneeded files. Unison … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1009: Pirate Bay or Cruiseship Bay?

As the new owners of the Pirate Bay take over they will have to eventually change things and sell out. So Rafe has dubbed them as Cruiseship Bay. We also discuss the pyrrhic victory of RIAA over Usenet.com and Rafe and Natali hate some more on Verizon.

Listen now: Download today's podcast Subscribe now: iTunes (audio) | iTunes (video) | RSS (audio) | RSS (video) EPISODE 1009

RIAA triumphs in Usenet copyright case http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10276607-93.html

Cash for Pirate Bay file-sharers http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8128551.stm

Twitter reworks following lists, adds functionality http://news.cnet.com/8301-13515_3-10276568-26.html… Read more

Usenet.com ruling, a 'whittling down' of Betamax defense

Usenet.com lawyers lost their copyright infringement case to the music industry on Tuesday and are now preparing for a federal court to assess damages. The judgment could be hundreds of millions of dollars.

In the long list of copyright cases brought by the Recording Industry Association of America, this one stands out for all the drama it provided, and depending on which side you talk to, the amount of precedent-setting decisions involved. Usenet.com lawyers argue the presiding judge diluted the power of the landmark 1984 Betamax case. RIAA attorneys sigh, and say their opponents are just trying to … Read more

RIAA triumphs in Usenet copyright case

Note: See Usenet.com's reaction at "Usenet.com says RIAA 'whittling down' Betamax case."

The Recording Industry Association of America has prevailed in its copyright fight against Usenet.com, according to court documents.

In a decision that hands the RIAA an overwhelming victory, U.S. District Judge Harold Baer of the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the music industry on all its main theories: that Usenet.com is guilty of direct, contributory, and vicarious infringement. In addition, and perhaps most important for future cases, Baer said that Usenet.com can't claim protection … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 832: Kauai: one big digital converter box

In today's episode, Patrick Norton joins the gang for a rant-a-thon, IMDB turns 18, we're surprisingly not mad about the Android killswitch, Radiohead proves it made a winner with its digital album giveaway, and YouTube gives the Queen the giggles. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 832

IMDB turns 18 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10067397-52.html

Android Market has a killswitch, but Google will refund your money if they use it http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/10/16/android-market-has-a.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10067543-16.html

HTC Dream T-Mobile G1 (black) http://reviews.cnet.com/htc-dream-t-mobile-g1/

FCC … Read more

Comcast, NetZero latest providers to bow to Cuomo's Usenet campaign

New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's recent threats of adopting unspecified "legal remedies," potentially including criminal prosecution, against Comcast apparently worked.

Comcast responded this week by saying it signed a memorandum of understanding with Cuomo's office. United Online's NetZero also signed an agreement that deals with Usenet, the pre-Web collection of discussion groups.

Cuomo, a Democrat, is pitching these agreements as a way to reduce the amount of child porn on Usenet. His latest prepared statement: "I commend the companies for working with my office to aggressively eradicate online child pornography and strongly … Read more

Cuomo strong-arms Comcast over Usenet

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has found a novel way to shake down law-abiding broadband companies: accuse them of harboring child pornography and threaten to prosecute them unless they do what he wants. That might just happen to involve writing Cuomo a hefty check.

The latest company to be honored by Cuomo's personal attention is Comcast, which received a two-page letter on Monday threatening "legal action" on child pornography grounds within five days, if its executives failed to agree to a certain set of rules devised by the attorney general.

In the letter (PDF), the Democratic … Read more