OS X Fast Downloads Howto

[thingi]

Hi all,

 

First of all lots of people probably know this stuff already so think of it as a 'dummies guide' :-)

 

If you file share your probably using one of the following:-

 

BitTorrent

Gnutella

eDonkey

IRC

 

All can be good/bad for any particular download. There is another option though:- Newgroups

While not every file can be located in a group they usually have the benefit of always maxing out your bandwidth :-)

 

First download the best Mac Newsgroups Client (Unison):-

http://www.panic.com/unison/

 

Then connect to your ISP's newsgroup server. Most have one but some are MUCH better than others, you might have to cough up for paid access if your ISP sucks, I can't recommend one because my ISP's newsgroups are a hidden treasure

 

I set my number of connections to 12 (12 for 20mb) as it appears that there's a maximum d/l load speed from my ISP's newsgroup server of around 250kb so use that as a basis for your optimum number of connections it. Once this is done you may close the app.

 

Now you need some software for dealing with 'magical' Par files, this one's pretty darn good (MacParDelux)

http://www.xs4all.nl/~gp/MacPAR_deLuxe/

 

Par files are 'magical' little beasties which can recover damaged parts of a download. Sometimes Par files are in the download's NZB file, but sometimes they will be in their own separate NZB file.

 

NZB files are a simple XML file defining all the parts of the rar archive, .iso, divx etc. Think of it as a torrent link to the file parts.

 

The next part of the puzzle is finding the files you want to download, bookmark this link:-

http://www.newzleech.com/

 

Simply enter your search criteria, maybe 'le......................'

Then download the NZB/s. Once downloaded simply double click and enjoy wickedly quick download speeds in Unison. Once the download has completed simply double click on one of the Par files to 'rebuild/repair' the original file - it will even unrar it too!

 

My only problem now is that my ISP has a cap of 3gb - at that point my bandwidth gets throttled You'd be amazed how you can eat up 3gb with transfers always at a steady 2.4Mb/sec :)

 

thingi

[EPDM]

Hi all,

[snipped all]

 

Let me remind you that most regular ISP have banned binary newsgroups so your "info" is outdated for most users.

Usenet is a nogo (anymore).

 

Djeez.

[rhalls]

why should usenet be a nogo??? there are enuogh commercial usenet providers like giganews with all groups available.

[thingi]

Let me remind you that most regular ISP have banned binary newsgroups so your "info" is outdated for most users.

Usenet is a nogo (anymore).

 

Djeez.

 

 

I think 'most regular ISP's' is a bit strong. Maybe in the land of the DMCA not not in other parts of the world

 

I suggest people at least try their ISP usenet server, you never know you may be a happy bunny, and if your not well there's always 'paid for' access just like rhalls advises.

 

possible flamebait coming maybe someone's jealous of 2.4Mb download speeds lol, BTW leo 9A527 is very nice

 

thingi

[revroy]

ok, I did all that you directed and now I have a folder with 66 files but when I dubble click them the mac par says they are empty. The first time I figured I messed up he download somehow. I then redownloaded them and still the same problem. Can you help?