newsgroups

Google has spruced up Google Groups in a bid to make the service more user friendly.

Google Groups offers a wide variety of discussion forums where users can read and post messages on their favorite topics. But the current interface has been showing its age, so a revamp has been long overdue.

As one enhancement, Google has made it easier to search for and browse both groups and individual postings by entering a topic in a single search bar. Once users find a group they want to follow, they can now add it to a list of favorites easily accessible … Read more

Updated 1:40 p.m. with more background and history on Microsoft's newsgroups

Microsoft said it plans to end support for more than 4,000 old-style newsgroups starting next month, pushing users instead to discussion forums such as those found on the Microsoft Answers, TechNet, and MSDN sites.

Although venerable, Microsoft said that so-called NNTP newsgroups are past their time in terms of being usable and secure.

"Newsgroups run on an outdated and discontinued platform that is no longer supported, making them vulnerable to spam and other usability issues," Microsoft said in a statement. The company said … Read more

Those who need an old-school newsreader could do worse than DaanSystems' NewsReactor. You can use it to search for, combine, and download binaries in Usenet newsgroups via as many as six servers. It can group similar files together and claims advanced error detection.

NewsReactor's trial version is limited to 50 uses, which a nag screen starts counting down when you first open the program. A First Time Wizard that can be reactivated at any time from the File menu lets you scan automatically for news servers or manually enter your server; we chose the latter. The wizard quickly established … Read more

As the new owners of the Pirate Bay take over they will have to eventually change things and sell out. So Rafe has dubbed them as Cruiseship Bay. We also discuss the pyrrhic victory of RIAA over Usenet.com and Rafe and Natali hate some more on Verizon.

RIAA triumphs in Usenet copyright case http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10276607-93.html

Cash for Pirate Bay file-sharers http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8128551.stm

Twitter reworks following lists, adds functionality http://news.cnet.com/8301-13515_3-10276568-26.html… Read more

In the great cycle of technology, today is the day-after-Jobs-keynote when we are bummed about the morsels that were dished out the day before. Witness: iPhone activation, lockdown, and data plan woes. Also, ISPs take one big step down the slippery slope, the SUV takes a nosedive, and Stewart and Colbert hit Hulu. Rejoice!

Apple may soon be free from AT&T http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-9964695-17.html

iPhone 3G: AT&T memo to retail managers shows iPhone 3G policy http://gizmodo.com/5014909/att-memo-to-retail-managers-shows-iphone-3g-policy http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/06/09/3g_iphone_to_be_in_store_activated_free_upgrade_for_recent_buyers.html … Read more

(Update June 10, 1 p.m.: We've learned some details about what's going to happen. Time Warner Cable will pull the plug on tens of thousands of Usenet discussion groups after the N.Y. attorney general's office found child porn on 88 of them. Verizon and Sprint plan to limit Usenet, too. --Declan McCullagh)

Internet service providers Verizon Communications, Sprint Nextel, and Time Warner Cable have agreed to block Internet newsgroups and Web sites nationwide that disseminate child pornography, The New York Times reported Monday.

The move--part of an agreement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo … Read more