Archive for the ‘Usenet’ Category

Usenet Ready for The X-Factor

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Are you ready for yet another TV talent show?

Well you are in luck!  Just a little more than a year after leaving American Idol, Simon Cowell is bringing us just that.

Last night was the premier of The X-Factor in the U.S.  Which has Simon reunited with Paula Abdul as judges in an Idol like talent competition.

And the buzz that has been building in the T.V. world has spilled over onto Usenet.

X-Factor Fan in Seattle

X-Factor Fan in Seattle

As with any popular topic, a new newsgroup (rec.arts.tv-x-factor) was established on Usenet for fans to talk about the show.

Really, it is no surprise that the discussion would move to Usenet.

Usenet stores a massive amount of information.  More than 8 Terabytes of posts are uploaded every single day!

And with more than 100,000 newsgroups, Usenet has something for everybody.

Whether you want to talk about the latest development release of Firefox, the next iPhone or yes, even the X-Factor, Usenet has you covered!

Posted in Usenet | No Comments »

Born on Usenet – World Wide Web Turns 20 Years Old

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

August 6th, 2011 marked the 20th anniversary of an event that changed the world.

It was on that date in 1991 that Tim Berners-Lee took to the Usenet alt.hypertext newsgroup to announce plans for the World Wide Web.

Now the Internet itself dates back to the 1950’s and ’60s.  With the TCP/IP protocol being standardized in 1982.

And Usenet, which also uses the Internet, came into existence in 1979.

But it wasn’t until August of 1991 that Berners-Lee laid out the plan for a web of documents or pages connected with links.  And the “Internet” that most people know was born.

1st Pic Ever Uploaded to the Internet in 1992

1st Pic Ever Uploaded to the Internet in 1992

Obviously, this was nothing short of a revolution.  A revolution that has taken us from “You’ve Got Mail” to Facebook.

At the time the World Wide Web was announced, Usenet was already a thriving international community with discussions on every topic imaginable.

And so it was appropriate that Berners-Lee took to Usenet to announce the World Wide Web.  Much the same way that companies like Mozilla continue to announce their plans on Usenet today.

Now, 20 years can go by in a flash.  But like a fine wine, Usenet and the World Wide Web both continue to get better with age.

Happy Birthday to the World Wide Web!  Here’s to another 20 years.  One can only imagine what the web will look like in 2031!

Posted in Tech, Usenet, Usenet History | 2 Comments »

Mozilla Announces Boot to Gecko on Usenet

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Mozilla is a major player on the Internet.

You have undoubtedly heard of their products like the Firefox web browser and Thunderbird email client.

Mozilla is not your average technology company. They are a global non-profit dedicated to promoting openness, innovation and opportunity on the web.

And when Mozilla wants to announce a new project they are working on, they do it on Usenet.

mozilla

Recently, Andreas Gal took to the mozilla.dev.platform newsgroup on Usenet to announce Boot to Gecko or B2G.

Similar to Chrome OS or Apple’s iOS, this ambitious project aims to create a “complete, standalone operating system for the open Web.”

No more apps that work only on your iPhone or Android phone.  Apps created with B2G would work across all devices.

Usenet has long been the place for major technology announcements.

The original Mosaic browser, Linux and the World Wide Web itself were all announced on Usenet.

And even today, Usenet continues to be the place where bold tech projects are born!

Posted in Tech, Usenet, Usenet History | 4 Comments »

IMDb – Usenet Origins of The Internet Movie Database

Friday, May 13th, 2011

If you’re a movie fan, then you’ve almost certainly spent some time on IMDb.

Can’t remember the name of the guy who played Mini-Me?

Want to know how much money Titanic made on it’s opening weekend?

No sweat, IMDb’s got you covered.

It really is the movie reference site on the internet.

What most people don’t know is that IMDb actually got its start on Usenet before commercial web browsers were even available.

Back in the early 1990’s, movie buffs would flock to the rec.arts.movies newsgroup to discuss everything related to the film industry.

This included lists of credits for actors, actresses and directors covering thousands of movies and television series.

On October 17, 1990, Col Needham released a set of scripts which let a user search these lists, and The Internet Movie Database was born.

More than 20 years has passed since then, and the amount of information available on Usenet only continues to grow.

Here at Binverse, our built-in search makes it easier than ever to find what you’re looking for on Usenet.

Like anything that is useful and worthwhile, IMDb & Usenet have both stood the test of time.

If you’ve never used Usenet or just haven’t checked it out in a while, try it free for 3 days and see what you’ve been missing!

Tags: ,
Posted in Usenet, Usenet History | 4 Comments »

Ohio State Shuts Down Usenet Server

Monday, April 4th, 2011

In an official announcement from the office of the CIO at The Ohio State University, the school’s Usenet server will be shut down effective today.

Luckily, Binverse has stepped in to fill the void.

By using Binverse, you get features the “old” Usenet providers could never offer, like:

  • A free Newsreader with fully integrated Usenet search
  • Unlimited monthly downloads at unlimited speeds (as fast as your internet connection will allow)
  • Private and secure encrypted server connections included with every account
  • Access to more than 800 Terabytes of data to download

Usenet continues to evolve and Binverse remains on the cutting edge.  Sign up today for your free 3 Day/60 GB Usenet trial and see for yourself.

Tags:
Posted in Usenet | 4 Comments »