newsbin.com

I've configured different colours for each of my servers, so that I can quickly spot which ones are being used.

In 6.90B1 and earlier, you could see which sever is downloading chunks simply by observing the progress bar in the "Current Progress:" column ("Downloading Files" tab).

With 6.90B4, you can no longer see a server's individual chunks, as the progress bar is all one block colour (it looks dark purple on my screen).

Not sure if it's related, but I've also noticed that the colour formating of the Server tab has changed. Note that I actually like B4's new way of doing it, but not if it causes the above.

Previously, only the title row for each server's connection list was coloured (background), with each connection uncoloured. Now, the formatting has reversed, with the title row having no colour, but each connection's background coloured.

Also, B4's Server tab now shows "No Group Selected" in each line under the "Connections" column, whereas B1 did not. BTW, I'm using NZB's exclusively, nothing submitted from a group.

P.S. swapping between tabs in B4 is appallingly slow (screen redraw) compared to B1, but that's another story.

EDIT: Added an ImgBox link (below). 690B1 is on the left, 690B4 on the right.

Why is this important? Because 3 of the servers are unlimited monthly (yel, ora, grn), 2 are 500GB blocks (l.pur, d.pur). Normally, everything is load balanced across the 3 unlimited. If ANYTHING is visible other than the "fruit salad" shown on the left, then I need to investigate why, and investigate quickly if the progress bars turn completely purple, because that's my pre-paid blocks being chewed up.

v6.90B10 still fails to show the individual server connections on the "Downloading Files" tab.

It also still fails to show the Size & Status correctly for individual files in any/every set (see above screengrabs).

Before, you could monitor what your servers were doing AND what your files were doing BOTH AT THE SAME TIME. This let you have the Newsbin download window open on another monitor/computer, so you could simply glance over every now and then to see if your expensive block accounts were being chewed up, or if there were incomplete posting issues that you needed to manually correct.

Now, you have to physically swap between the Server & Downloading tabs to see the same amount of data, and, to top it off, you can't see what's happening with individual files anyway.

I realise that some single-server "Usenet PVR" users don't care about this lack of functionality, but I do, and surely I'm not alone.

For example, right now, I'm looking in the Download List at what must be an expired 15GB download from 1332 days ago. Newsbin is at file 21 in that set, and it has not shown me ANY feedback that NOTHING has been download, save for "0 KB/15.42 GB" in the top line. The Status column is completely blank, the Current Progress column is completely blank, and the animated progress bar is just a solid block of colour that only disappears leaving a blank line each time. There should be a sea of red on my screen, meaning "Go look for another copy". Now, nothing!

EDIT: Because of this, I've had to start using the "Failed Files" tab again after many years of having it disabled.

Yeah it doesn't do that anymore. On the other hand, once the file is 10% totally failed, it'll get moved to the failed list.

It should be possible for me to make some sort of red progress for failures like that but the individual post tracking stuff isn't coming back. Usenet posting has changed. The number of posts per files is now larger than can be displayed. Even in the version you're using, Newsbin would transition to simple progress bar when the post per file counts got too large.

For example, right now, I'm looking in the Download List at what must be an expired 15GB download from 1332 days ago.

What's your primary server? Giganews retention isn't that great anymore and they're DMCAing many files other servers continue to have. Usenetserver for example still has a full 4000 + days of retention.

Quade wrote:What's your primary server? Giganews retention isn't that great anymore and they're DMCAing many files other servers continue to have. Usenetserver for example still has a full 4000 + days of retention.

Funny you should mention Giganews, because that's the one that forced me (years ago) into the habit of keeping an eye on Newsbin's chunk colours.

Combined with the horrors of Highwinds, I decided to go with 3 "primary" (and discounted) unlimited servers (not bloody Giganews) and 2 "special-retention-policy" (and expensive) block account fill servers.

So, when I see red chunks, or the block accounts' colours kicking in, I know something's up, and that it needs to be rectified FAST, sometimes within minutes!

Since I've seen entire posts turn red in realtime (MINUTES, I tell you!), I can't wait for the "Failed Files" list to lackadaisically plop up notices. And besides, that means I have to monitor a THIRD window in this new version of Newsbin, instead of just one in the old version.

That's why this is a big deal to me, but maybe I'm just too old-school. Who else would bother to manually compensate for "incompletes" as immediately as they happen?

That's why this is a big deal to me, but maybe I'm just too old-school. Who else would bother to manually compensate for "incompletes" as immediately as they happen?

Me!

This, along with the many reports of pathing problems and NZB handling, is making me very hesitant in upgrading to this set of betas.

I too have several servers, some with block accounts, that I want to monitor easily.

I want to be able to inspect the contents of an NZB and choose exactly which files from within the NZB to download.
Some NZBs fail if I try to download everything from them, others have stuff in them that I don't want to download.
And I want to be able to rely on where things are going to go.

With 6.82 it is stable and I am used to the way it works.

Normally I would try out each new beta as it becomes available, as all your good work and testing has made previous upgrades quite managable,
but this beta set seems to have struggled with certain problems that would have unpleasant consequences and need too much tidying up to recover from, so I've delayed trying it out.

The downside is that I can't help / contribute during the testing for this beta set - sorry for just whinging.

regards
Stavros.

I too have several servers, some with block accounts, that I want to monitor easily.

The servers tab shows both current session and total historical counts for data usage. So you can easily see if your block account is being used.

So you two will kill downloads if they use your block accounts?

Hi Quade,

no, the block accounts are there to be used when needed. I only want to know WHEN and AS they are being used.
For me it is a matter of having the information available in a way that makes it easy for me to keep an eye on what is going on.

Having the info not on the main download list makes it more difficult to follow.
Having the info on a separate screen that I have to click on periodically to bring up and that takes/masks additional screen
real estate makes it more cumbersome and intrusive to the general use of the user interface IMHO.

This is a personal perspective from me, I quite understand that the majority of users may not see it this way
and that there may be technical issues with making that level of detail available in a high level summary in real-time.

regards
Stavros.