On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 18:21:01 GMT, "Clams Canino"
wrote:

What's the advantage to an aftermarket newsreader? A perfectly good one
came free with my Windows.

Is there really an advantage, or is it just rage against the machine?

Are you talking about OE (Outlook Express)? The answer is yes - there
are some distinct advantages.

Advanced filtering and weighting, multiserver support (which OE does
support, but not well), search functions, OE sucks at handling and
decoding multi-part binaries (I spend time on the marine and landscape
photography lists for example or mp3s that I've been collecting for
years) and yEnc which is a superior compression algorithym, multiple
ids (for different groups), IP masking (which OE doesn't do),
automatic crosspost checks, unlimited configurability, customize the
toolbars - well, just a ton of stuff that OE can't, won't and will not
do. OE also tracks your Usenet usage which, depending on your
proclivities, you might not want tracked. ;)

Agent is probably the oldest of the bunch and the most stable, but
Agent hasn't really followed up on some promises they made after
releasing 1.91. I use Agent on the home computers because everyone
here is used to it.

Xnews is another constantly evolving free newsreader, but you really
have to be a geek to use it properly or have a geek close by to help
translate some of the techno-speak. Once you get a handle on the
terminology used, Xnews rocks - it's really unbelievable what you can
do with it. I don't use Xnews because I'm not up for learning what is
essentially a new "language" (if you will), but two of the kids use it
and really make it sing.

Opera is a browser and email/news reader that is very nice if you want
to experiment with a non-corporate (aol/microsoft) software that has a
lot of followers out there in Windoze land. Opera is relatively
stable and has some great features that I like a lot. I have Opera on
the computer in the shop in fact.

Hope that helps.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------

"To the fisherman born there is nothing
so provoking of curiosity as a fishing rod
in a case."

Roland Pertwee, "The River God" (1928)