Newsflash Plus Review

Newsflash Plus is a free Usenet binary reader, offering fast browsing, full download control, it has several useful tools integrated and embedded Python engine.

Installation

In order to install Newsflash Plus, it is required to download either Windows (32bit Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Win7) or 32bit Linux version (Ubuntu e.g.), while installation requires Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable. System Requirements are 1Ghz CPU, 1GB of RAM and at least 36Mb of drive space for an installation.

User interface

User interface is very friendly, offering tabs and ribbons and high customization possibilities (for example, it is possible to choose which tabs are visible). Switching between tabs works with no delay.

Features

Newsflash Plus offers multiple concurrent TCP connections per server, multiple concurrent servers, advanced download and connection management, decoding tools, file type management, skins, automatic software updates, etc.

Memory management

It is possible to allot memory per each opened group, which allows better general performance at the cost of increased memory consumption.

Adding accounts

Adding accounts is very simple. It is required to click on “Add Server” option and enter required information (server address, port and login details).

Adding groups

Once the server is set, user can add some groups. This action consists of one click on “Add Group”, which is a button visible when the “Servers and groups” tab is active. When opened, the software will start automatic group search and will list all available groups. It is also possible to search among the groups, simply by typing group name (or part of it) into a “Find” fields. The result will return once the Enter is pressed.

Downloading NZB files

Newsflash Plus is oriented towards NZB downloads. User can download NZB either through some of the most popular and best NZB sites, or they can use built-in search feature instead.

Once NZB file is downloaded, it can be open either through File -> Open NZB or through the “Open NZB” ribbon button which is visible while on the “Open NZB” tab.

Download starts with one single click on the “Download” ribbon button (it is required to select files, though) while the information about the download itself can be found under the “Downloads” tab.

Python support

Newsflash Plus embeds a Python engine and provides an easy API for even beginners to hook into and write their own action scripts to do that special processing.

Tools

Newsflash Plus integrates several useful tools, such as an audio player, video player, image viewers, parity and archive tools, etc.

Conclusion

Very decent piece of software, fast, easy-to-use and with all the features the majority of users will ever need and as such, it is definitely worth trying.