14 DAY TRIAL // First of all, I'd like to say that I just happened to see the Usenet Radio while accidentally browsing some databases and it seemed an interesting program, so I decided to review it. Unfortunately, my endeavor ended way sooner than expected, as I had to create some accounts and I really didn't feel like it at that time; instead, I have written to the guys at Usenet Radio and explained what I had in mind. To my great surprise I received an e-mail with very helpful data regarding the login-info in just 15 minutes; so one thing I can tell you about Usenet Radio from the start: these guys really care!
So I started the radio for the first time while still not having a clear idea on what was going on with the Usenet Radio; well, now I can say it is a very nice idea, even though it is not free. Once you buy the software, you can technically download tons of music and not any kind of music, but the one you are looking for!
The Looks
Technically, Usenet Radio looks like a very cool music player: a very classy window with 3D looks and a totally modern appearance which was really pleasant working with. The polished titanium background in grey colors may seem dull, but believe me, it is truly eye-comforting: no color-schemes and no skins are available for the Usenet Radio's GUI, but it really needs not such things as the present appearance is more than good - it looks awesome!
The interface space has been theoretically divided in three sections, the upper one is dedicated for the generic menus and the server-list, the middle (and largest one) will display the tracks while the third one, at the bottom of the window, houses the playback control buttons, the small VU-meter and the very handy seekbar and volume bar. Everything has been carefully put in place and this you will notice at the first glance: the graphical developers have obviously put up a serious deal of work to make things look and visually work so nicely!
All menus are Windows XP-native, therefore they are very easy to read and understand; even the browser for newsgroups and servers is easy to use if you just pay some attention to it. Without much PC-knowledge needed, you can easily search and set up your favorite servers, as well as order them in a fashion of your own choice using the more than intuitive buttons. Usenet Radio's GUI is really one of the best I have seen in some past 2-3 months: looking very classy and tidy while preserving high functionality and being very usable by pros and newbies as well. Good job there!
The Works
The principle behind Usenet Radio is quite simple and quite good as well: you connect to a network of servers and listen to music while you are downloading. As a matter of fact it isn't you downloading, but the Usenet Radio itself: you set a location on your HDD where the songs are to be stored and there you go!
If we were to think about the Usenet Radio strictly as a music player, the overall marks would not go too high, because there is no EQ, which - especially when internet streaming is "in the equation" - would be very useful; you can't tell how the online content will sound, as there still are stations broadcasting lo-quality media... Well, the Usenet Radio will not get its mark lowered by this lack, because one very comforting feature which is general to the BinaryBoy servers' content: the media they are putting online has a very good quality, whether in CBR or VBR formats.
Operating the Usenet Radio is a simple task, even if I had to spend some minutes to set things in order in my head... but, after all, this is why I am writing this article, so you won't lose precious time! If you were looking for metal (as I always am) you just press the search button and the server list pops up; you enter the desired words (like "metal" in our case) and the available threads are displayed. Needless to say that you have to select them and add them to the server-list.
Closing this window brings you back to the cool-looking GUI of the Usenet Radio and here you can choose the desired server. The program then starts looking for available streams and starts to play the first song while downloading the rest in the background and sequentially playing them all. By the time you finished listening, you can be sure that more music files than you might think have already been downloaded in the specified location on your disk. It's more than obvious that from here you can do whatever you want: burn them on a CD or DVD, store, delete and so on.
There isn't really much to say about the intricate workings of the Usenet Radio as this is about the only thing it does. Nevertheless, I must add the fact that the developers of this piece of code were "true programmers" as they have built the software thinking of the best speed and functionality the user may benefit from and thus have implemented a very cool and useful set of shortcuts which actually allow you to control almost every aspect of the Usenet Radio. And this makes good points in the final ranking!
The Good
I really liked the idea which runs behind the Usenet Radio, even though I hadn't quite understood it the very first time! The GUI is totally cool and again, one of the best GUIs I saw in a long period of time: sober, classic and classy. Way to go!
The Bad
No really bad things in Usenet Radio: I guess implementing some 10-band equalizer is not such an intangible goal - but it could satisfy the more pretentious listeners.
The Truth
The truth is Usenet Radio is a far better piece of software than I first thought it would be and it is really worth both the money and trying it!
Check the screenshots below as you prepare to download the Usenet Radio:
