From: jthsmith@unm.edu (Justin Smith) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Subject: REVIEW: NewsRog news reader Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.datacomm Date: 17 Sep 1998 10:52:44 -0400 Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett Lines: 407 Sender: barrett@belvedere.cs.umass.edu Message-ID: <6tr7ns$1qt@belvedere.cs.umass.edu> Reply-To: jthsmith@unm.edu (Justin Smith) Keywords: newsreader, NNTP, commercial X-Review-Number: Volume 1998 Number 7 NNTP-Posting-Host: belvedere.cs.umass.edu X-NNTP-Posting-Host: belvedere.cs.umass.edu Path: rcfnews.cs.umass.edu!not-for-mail PRODUCT NAME NewsRog version 1.0 BRIEF DESCRIPTION NewsRog is an online/offline NNTP newsreader for the Amiga. AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: ShadowWorks Software - developer Address: 405 Pulsar St. Fort Collins, CO 80525 E-mail: srk@frii.com World Wide Web: http://www.frii.com/~srk/ShadowWorks/ Name: Questar Productions - distributor Telephone: 303-659-4028 FAX: 303-659-4068 E-mail: WCSinfo@QuestarProductions.com World Wide Web: http://www.questarproductions.com LIST PRICE US $35.00 DEMO VERSION Go to http://www.frii.com/~srk/ShadowWorks/Preview/NR.html then follow the "Ordering" link for info on the demo. The demo limits users to only a few newsgroups and won't allow saving of settings. Also, some header caching is disabled making the demo slower than the full commercial product. SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS HARDWARE 8 MB RAM is recommended, and more helps. 8 MB hard drive space is required. 68020 or better processor is required. 68040 or better processor is recommended. Graphics card supporting at least 800x600x8-bit is recommended. SOFTWARE AmigaDOS 3.0 or better is required. Magic User Interface 3.8 is required. AmiTCP, Miami, or equivalent networking software is required. Standard Commodore Installer program A WWW browser (for the online documentation) ADDITIONAL: Access to an RFC 997 NNTP News Server COPY PROTECTION Keyfile (in the main program directory) MACHINE USED FOR TESTING Amiga 4000/040 Warp Engine 4040 40Mhz 48 MB Fast RAM, 2 MB Chip RAM, 3.2 GB IDE hard drive Kickstart version 39.106 Workbench version 39.29 Picasso IV graphics card with Picasso 96 v.1.40 ASDG Multi-serial port card A2065 Ethernet card U.S.Robotics Sportster 33.6 External Faxmodem Miami 3.0 INSTALLATION The software comes in a real box, with a full-color cover. It comes on 2 HD floppies formatted to 880 KB. The installation is done with the standard Commodore Installer program. Installation was relatively straightforward, with one exception detailed in the BUGS and VENDER SUPPORT sections. The installer asks for the command line to send a URL to your preferred WWW browser. The default is set for IBrowse. It might be a good idea to look this up beforehand. REVIEW BACKGROUND Ever since switching from my 200Mhz Pentium powered Windoze NT PC to my Amiga for internet usage, I've been searching for a good newsreader to keep me from regretting the switch. I had been using Outlook Express on the PC, and was looking for something that could at least equal it on the Amiga. I was in for a big disappointment. I searched the internet and downloaded all of Amiga newsreaders I could find that had available demos, but I couldn't find one that was stable, easy to use, and able to compete with Outlook Express in terms of features. When I first heard about NewsRog and checked out the available web page with screenshots and a features list, I decided to put my last bit of Amiga newsreader faith into it, and eagerly awaited its arrival. When it came, I ordered it online immediately, before the demo was even available. I was not disappointed. And now, my first Amiga product review: CONFIGURATION Configuration can be a bit complicated because there are so many features and options. It doesn't take long to get a minimal working setup, however. Just enter in your news server name type in the name or names of some groups you want to read into the "News Groups" window. The initial configuration is aided by a tutorial in the HTML documentation called, aptly enough, "Initial Configuration." Beyond the simple minimum configuration, the configuration options for the advanced user are numerous. Just about everything can be configured. A big part of this configurability comes from the modular design of NewsRog. Can you say plugins? 27 plugins come with NewsRog and can be turned on or off and configured while running, individually for each newsgroup! They are responsible for everything from UUDecoding and un-MIME-ing binaries to hiding headers and signatures to changing the way the text is displayed. This makes all of these features upgradeable and replaceable. I can't wait for more plugins to arrive, and more should follow from users once the developer's toolkit is finished. These plugins, as well as filters, can be turned on or off and configured individually for each newgroup, or can be set globally. LAYOUT: NewsRog's layout is based on several separate windows to control the program, and separate windows for each open newsgroup. The main window, the "Launcher" features some nicely done pictures for buttons to open the other windows - "Groups," "Servers," "Network," "Posts," "Multimedia," and "Config," described below. Each window can be opened independently from the Launcher buttons or by menu. Groups: this window is the main controller for subscribing to and maintaining newsgroups. Each newsgroup can be attached to separate severs. This and other options are controlled from this starting point. A simple display tells you if NewsRog is in online or offline mode, but a toggle button to change this would be nice. Servers: this window is where you enter and maintain the NNTP servers you use. It displays a lot of interesting information, including the name, # of successful connects, # of failed connects, connect success percentage, and whether posting is allowed. Network: from here you can control and get information on NewsRog's open network connections. It even displays the speed of the connection, and you can disconnect from any of them at any time. Posts: this is the posting queue, from where you write and edit your posts. Writing posts requires an external editor, which you specify. Saving the text in the editor brings the text into the displayed post in the posting queue. You can open a file requester to attach a signature file, but no fancy signature options are currently supported. Multimedia: this window controls the handling of different file types and their associated actions. Files can be recognized by a bunch of different methods, but this section is probably the most confusing for the beginning user. A large selection of types built in would be a plus. Config: this is the main base of control for many major configuration options, including such essentials as the user's name and email address for posting. This is also where global filters and plugins are controlled. I won't go into all of the options in this review. SO, HOW DOES IT WORK? The answer: it works great! I haven't had the time nor the need to try out a lot of the features, but I'm already very happy with what I do need and use. It reads both on and offline, allowing the caching of articles, so I can download my favorite groups at night and read them later. One of my first stops in Usenet land was alt.binaries.pictures.fractals, where I could test how NewsRog handled binaries. In order to see the downloaded pictures (in-line!!!) I first had to turn on the UUDecode plugin for the group, then I started downloading pictures. They displayed beautifully (in-line!!!), and above every picture appears a control box displaying some information and providing buttons to save the file to RAM: or save to another directory. Non-binary groups are great with NewsRog as well, especially the filtering and kill options which are much more powerful than Outlook Express. It's a lot faster to read and follow Usenet conversations with article prefetching. You can set the number of articles to prefetch for each group you subscribe to. Multithreading! This is what really kills Outlook Express. I can read multiple groups at the same time. I can read articles while other articles are downloading, or even while the headers are still downloading. I can begin to subscribe to groups while they are still downloading from the server. No waiting, ever! At any time, I can abort any specific downloads. No more sitting there waiting if I accidentally start loading headers from a group or start reading a huge binary post. With multithreading and easy aborting, I'm in control. This is what it should feel like to use an Amiga, something that several other Amiga newsreaders could learn from. Full AREXX support is coming soon, the documentation says, and a developers toolkit. These things will make it the ultimate newsreader for Amiga power users. Catalogues in many languages and integrated email support are also promised. NewsRog does want a better than average system to be put to best use, which is no problem with me. So, download the demo and give it a try. If you're looking for a good newsreader for your Amiga, NewsRog could be just right for you as well. DOCUMENTATION NewsRog shipped with only a simple features list and instructions to start the installation as printed documentation. The rest of the documentation is in HTML format and is installed during the installation process. The HTML documentation is very extensive, while at the same time being easy to use for beginners. It even covers what Usenet is, giving a brief history and a brief lecture on posting etiquette. A web link is provided to a Usenet FAQ. Interspersed within the documentation are screenshots detailing the topics discussed. A series of 14 tutorials is provided to walk the user through the program. A reference section provides details on all of the program's features. Just about every button, gadget, etc. is enhanced by MUI online help bubbles, giving brief descriptions of what everything does. I've found this very useful when trying to figure out what all of the various buttons are for. The demo of NewsRog comes with the full HTML documentation, so download it and check it out yourself. LIKES Multithreaded! Multithreaded! Multithreaded! Abortable networking, plugins, article prefetch, great documentation, ease of use, configurability, etc. I could go on, but it's easier to just have you download the demo and try it yourself. I won't quote the feature list for you, but it is impressive. DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS I'd like to see a button on the "Groups" window to switch NewsRog back and forth between online and offline modes instead of having to use the menu. The functions available through the toolbar buttons in the various windows should also be available from the menus, at least the major ones. It's a lot easier to scan through a list of text menu options than slowly moving the mouse pointer over the buttons, waiting for the MUI help bubbles to pop up. Optional NewIcons icons would be nice, as the provided MagicWB icons show up completely scrambled on my display. It would be nice to be able to change the options for a subscribed group without having to open up the group, causing the loading of cached headers. I would like the "Save As" for UUDecoded and un-MIME-d binaries to remember the directory you're using rather than defaulting to RAM: every time. The signature support could be expanded. It would be nice to be able to specify separate signatures for posting to different groups or hierarchies of groups. Built-in random signature support could be added as well. COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS I've tried just about every Amiga newsreader I could find (admittedly betas and demos for some), and NewsRog tops them all. Thor would seem to be the only one that could possibly compete on features, but Thor was so complicated I never did get it fully working. NewsRog is easy to set up and use. So far, NewsRog has never crashed like many other Amiga newsreaders I've tried. It is very stable and professionally done. I've never had to wait long periods or disconnect from the internet in order to stop NewsRog from downloading something, like I have with some other newsreaders. Every download in NewsRog is abortable. NewsRog just seems the most professional overall, from the layout to the features to the documentation. On other platforms, I've found NewsRog more useable and powerful than both Netscape's newsreader and Microsoft's Outlook Express. It's also a lot more stable. BUGS The major bug I encountered arose from special circumstances. The first 12 copies of NewsRog shipped apparently had duplication errors on the first disk. My serial number indicates that I got copy number 2! Before I even received NewsRog in the mail, an email from Questar Productions told me I was sent one of the first 12 copies, informed me of the problem, and provided a fix to the disk. There's a "Known Bugs" section in the HTML documentation, with a pledge that these bugs are being worked on. VENDOR SUPPORT My only contact with the vender so far has been emails providing bug fixes. The first such email I received detailed the problem with the first 12 copies of NewsRog. Questar, the distributor, had contacted me and provided a solution to the problem, and this was before I had even received NewsRog in the mail and could send in my registration card. I received another email from Questar this morning, providing a replacement file for another fixed bug. This is a lot better support than I'm used to from dealing with some Amiga companies. There are great ones and very bad ones. From my experience so far, ShadowWorks Software and Questar Productions appear to be on the great side. I expect nothing but rapid responses to any technical support I need as well as continued updates and bug fixes. WARRANTY NewsRog does not come with any kind of warranty. CONCLUSIONS NewsRog is the best newsreader I've ever used, on any platform. It still needs some work, as evidenced by the "Future Plans" section of the HTML documentation - things like full AREXX support, integrated email support, and a PowerPC native version if the demand exists. Because it's still a work in progress, although great already, I'll give it 8 points out of 10. My final impression is that I'm glad I spent the money for NewsRog, and will continue to pay for upgrades and newer versions in the future. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright 1998 Justin Smith Distribute this freely if you wish. -- Justin Smith --- Accepted and posted by Daniel Barrett, comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator Send reviews to: amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu Request information: amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu Moderator mail: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu Anonymous ftp site: math.uh.edu, in /pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews Web site: http://math.uh.edu/~barrett/reviews.html