     NewsBin: Automated NNTP Downloader and Decoder for 95 and NT


    If you have any suggestions for improvements or bug reports - please
    drop me a line at the email address in the about window


Introduction:

        Are you tired of having to manually download newsgroup binaries?
    Well Newsbin is for you. Newsbin the unattended and automatic newsgroup
    downloader and decoder short circuits the whole process by combining a
    downloader, grouper and decoder into one package. Newsbin has many
    features:

    - Shareware - test is as much as you want if you like it then
        you pay the $10.00.

    - Tested on Win95 and Windows NT over SLIP and Ethernet

    - Uses the internet compatible WINVN file format for storing
    newsgroup information. It is possible to copy your winvn newsrc
    file into the newsbin directory and use it.

    - Unattended downloads - connect and let it download your groups
    while you do something more interesting.

    - Isn't a resource hog. It is a good Windows multitasker meaning
    that you can still use your machine for other things while the
    downloads take place.

    - No temporary files are made on your machine. You just need enough
    disk space for the binarys you download.

    - Groups news records together then automatically downloads and decodes

    - Keeps track of the last time it downloaded and won't download
    records it has already seen.

    - Automatic and manual mode. Allows users on slow links to pick and
    choose which files to download and allows user on high speed links
    to download everything.

    - Allows you to download a complete list of newsgroups that your
    server supplies.

    - Supports multiple servers - it will download from a list of
    servers found in the INI file. When it finishes with one server, it
    will go on to the next one in the list.

    - Supports up to 50 newsgroups (could easily be more if necessary)

    - Knows the SOCKS protocol, can get through firewalls even if your
    protocol stack can't. Simply add the socks server to the INI file.
    use the INI file that follows as a model.


    - You get all this in a program that is under 100K

New for Rev 1.62

    - 1.62 is basically a bug fix. It fixes the more then 10 record
      bug that was reported by several users.

    - It fixes the crash problem on Win95. Win95 has a serious bug in
      the shutdown command. This command is used to perform a quick
      shutdown of a socket. Under NT it works great, under 95 it often
      blows up the kernel in the of the VXD's like VTDI or IFSMGR. I
      blew it when I released 1.61 with this command enabled. I had been
      experimenting with NT and forgot to remove it.

    - NewsBin still has those minor INI deletion bugs. Since I wanted
      1.62 to be a fix for critical errors I chose to put off fixing
      them until the next major release.


New for Rev 1.61

    Rev 1.61 has been completely revamped. It now downloads on the fly
using threads which are handed all the information they need to perform
a download. While the download takes place, the header records are still
downloaded. This mechanism was suggested by a user. It maximizes the use
of modem bandwidth.

    - Files are downloaded as they are recognized instead of after all of the
      headers are downloaded.

    - As many as 9 simultaneous files can be downloaded. Threads are selectable
      from the front panel. I don't recommend using more then 4 or 5 threads
      unless you have a special application.

    - Flushing of records is a thing of the past. When a thread
      determines that a records isn't part of a file or that the file
      already exists, it simply dumps the socket and the thread and
      starts processing the next record. This greatly reduces the
      bandwidth usage.

    - can be paused by setting the threads to zero. Once the current
      downloads are complete the program will simply wait until you turn
      the threads up again.

    - subject fields are cached in a file for a week. This reduces the
      unwanted downloads that can occur if you delete a file in the
      download directory but later re-download the header records for
      it.




Installation:

    Installation couldn't be simpler. Create a directory for Newsbin
    then copy the ZIP file into the directory. pkunzip the file using
    the command:

        pkunzip -d NB3216.ZIP


    What this will do is place these three files into the subdirectory.

    1) newsbin.exe - the executable
    2) newsbin.ini - the configurations file
    3) newsbin.txt - this file

    It will create a subdirectory called "download" under the current
    directory. The download directory is where the program places the
    binaries that are downloaded from the Net.

    You now need to add Newsbin to one of your program groups.

    You need to edit the "newsbin.ini" file to customize it for your
    installations. A sample INI file follows:





;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; Socks server - lets you get through a firewall of it is equiped with
; a socks daemon - socks requires a server to connect to and a
; userid may also be needed
; Uncomment by removing the semi-colons
;
; Uncomment to activate
;
[SOCKSSERVER]
;SOCKS=SOCKS
; This is optional for most socks installations. but, don't leave it
; blank
;USERID=YOURUSERID
;PASSWD=YOURSOCKSPASSWD

;
; The news groups that you wish to check for binary files
; Notice the group and group numbers. The numbers must start
; at zero and be contiguous.
;
; The first number to the right is the last record that has been
; received from the news server. They are used to prevent the
; download of records that have already been received
; Zero it out if you wish to redownload the entire group
;
; The second number is either 1 or 0
;   1 means the group is active
;   0 means the gorup in inactive
;
[GROUPS]
GROUPSFILE=.\NEWSRC
SERVERFILE=.\SERVERS

;
; These are changed from the front panel of NEWSBIN. it is unneccessary
; to change them here. Of course you can if you wish
; 1 means active
; 0 mean  inactive
;
[MODE]
; Download automatically or not
AUTO=1

;Download List of all groups or not
GROUP=0

;Detail High Detail or not
DETAIL=1

; Autostart mode - start without requiring a click on the start menu
AUTOSTART=0

; Download Path
DOWNLOADPATH=.\DOWNLOAD

; UPLOAD Path
UPLOADPATH=.\UPLOAD

; Filename for the groups listing file
GROUPFILENAME=groups.txt

;
;
; Uploading will be activated later - depending upon demand of course
; and only for registered users.
;
[UPLOAD]
; Who to post this stuff to
POSTAGENT=news1

; Maximum size in bytes  of records to post
; Some systems are limited to 64K
FRAGSIZE=32000

; Not Used yet but required duh!
LINES=1100

; Groups to Post to
GROUPS=alt.binaries.pictures.erotica,alt.sex.pictures

;
; These are changable on the non-shareware version
; of this software
;
PATH=dufus@newsbin.com
SUBJECT=NewsBin Auto Poster
AGENT=NewsBin News Robot by CNM - minorc@mediasoft.net  Unregistered Shareware
AUTHOR=RegisterNewsBin@10dollars.com
ORGANIZATION=NewsBin
NNTPPOSTINGHOST=dufus@newsbin.com
NEWSREADER=NewsBin Robot Poster (CNM) Unregistered Shareware
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

    Once you do this you're pretty much done.

Use:

    To use Newsbin you simply double click the icon.

The Controls:

    1) The start button starts it

    2) The stop button terminates it.

    3) The groups button toggles groups download. With it on Newsbin
        will download a complete list of newsgroups that the server
        supports - keep it off if you're on a slow link. The listing is
        huge.

    4) The Auto mode button toggles between automatic, unattended
    download and manual download. Automatic is just what it sounds like.
    In Manual mode Newsbin downloads all of the headers for a group and
    asks you whether to download a file or not. This works best on slow
    links.

    5) The detail button is for the geeks out there (and me). It allows
    you to see the details of the NNTP transfers as they take place.

    6) The Menu's allow you to add and delete servers and groups.

Begging:

    I've spent a lot of time writing and debugging this program. If you
    like it please send me a check for $10.00 The address is:
    
    My Name is Conrad Minor


    NewsBin
    RT1. Box 73B
    Paeonian Springs Va,
    22129

    Make sure you include a mailing address and email address if
    possible. That way I can notify you of upgrades and such.


    What you get for paying me is:

    1) Peace of Mind

    2) A personalized copy of Newsbin that has you name in the about
        screen.

    3) No begging window

    4) First notification when I release the next version of Newsbin

    5) One free upgrade of Newsbin from the version you registered to
    the next one.

    6) Email tech support for Newsbin



Bugs:

1) Subject lines that aren't reasonably standard are probably misinterpreted


Improvements:

1) Should be able to use the group list to update the list of groups
in the INI file

2) In manual mode, should be able to select from a list of suspected
files instead of doing it one at a time.

3) Get the automatic upload working - close to done but I want to know
how much people might want it.

4) Find some meaningful use for multithreading - currently 2 threads seem
plenty - done



