Getting binaries from newsgroups

[#1]

Hi All
I'm having trouble getting alt.binaries on news groups. I have subscribed to XNEWS using the server name news.metronet.co.uk
I know plusnet doesn't support binaries but does anybody know how I can get these music binaries
many thanks
Alan

[#2]

You need to subscribe to a news provider like astraweb/giganews etc.
The free newsgroups do not support binary.

[#3]

Thanks Hairy Biker however XNEWS does support binaries as I had it when with my last internet provider. I think it is plusnet who do not support binaries however nobody at plusnet knows the answer to my question

[#4]

xnews is only a reader, doesn't supply access to newsgroups. so as Hairy Biker said you need to subscribe to a provider and use xnews with them.

[#5]

usenet.plus.net only gives access to text only groups
You will need to find an external provider such as giganews or Astraweb to access binary groups
Here's the reason why:
[quote=http://usertools.plus.net/status/archive/1141664409.htm]Binary Usenet Withdrawal
USENET
Posted on: Monday 6 March 2006, 17:00
It has become apparent from customer feedback and from our own testing that our existing Usenet (newsgroups) infrastructure is no longer meeting the needs of those customers using this platform for binary downloads.
This is also coupled with the fact that there has been a huge upsurge in binary Usenet postings recently. For example Giganews have reported a 15% growth in binary Usenet postings within the last 30 days alone and are predicting that this will continue. Our news platform was never designed to cope with these sorts of volume, and it is clear that we would need to make significant ongoing investments in order to offer a reasonable quality binary feed.
We have investigated a number of options for better Binary provision, including re-design of our server configuration, equipment upgrades and outsourcing to a third party provider. At this stage however, we have been unable to source a sustainable and financially viable alternative. The binary Usenet service will be withdrawn from April 3rd 2006.
Therefore the decision has been made that it would be better to focus our existing investment in hardware on the provision of a text-only newsgroup service. As a result of the lower load on the same resource, and the extra redundant storage, this text service will deliver exceptional performance and will prove a reliable offering for all of our customers in the long term.
We understand that a number of customers who use Binary newsgroups will be disappointed by this step but we hope people will understand the reasons for this change and that many will benefit from a higher quality text feed, rather than a limited and incomplete binary feed.
Customers may also be interested in the following Usenet services, which offer binary Usenet services without making a charge:
http://www.yottanews.com offer 1GB per month for free
http://www.readfreenews.com/ offer a free binary feed with 3 day retention
Many additional commercial Usenet providers exist within the market. Please see http://docs.newzbin.com/Usenet:Premium_Providers for an independent comparison of some popular offerings.

With Regards,
Stewart Norriss
Comms Team Leader

[#6]

Hi there,
I've just replied to your ticket about this advising that you'll need to find a binary usenet provider, you should find a few from a simple web search.
The server address you're currently using 'news.metronet.co.uk' doesn't support binary access.

Quote

however nobody at plusnet knows the answer to my question

I'm a bit concerned about this, however I can only see reference to one contact you've had with our support centre where they directed you to here.

[#7]

Just to clarify my post: news.metronet.co.uk is just another name for the same server as usenet.plus.net (it has a lot of other names)