Any decent free newsreaders apart from Phonews (which you cannot post from)
--
Jim the Geordie

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Jim the Geordie wrote on Fri, 13 Sep 2024 16:04:51 +0100 :

Any decent free newsreaders apart from Phonews (which you cannot post from)

I copied these links out of a recent thread of the same topic.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.cmg.android.phonews https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cmgapps.android.phonewspro https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.almarsoft.GroundhogReader https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.piaohong.newsgroup https://mega.nz/file/uYJSwBJD#3Ya4p0HpSczyt95c_MnXjyBXYqP5J_Phkz0gZ9RbkCI (PiaHong Original Color Mod17 by alfio)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ken.android.nntpreader (demo!) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ken.android.nntpreader.pro https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noasy.newsreader https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=usenet.sinaapp.com

Maybe you can try one or more of them and let us know what works best.

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On 13/09/2024 16:21, Andrew wrote:

Jim the Geordie wrote on Fri, 13 Sep 2024 16:04:51 +0100 :

Any decent free newsreaders apart from Phonews (which you cannot post from)

I copied these links out of a recent thread of the same topic.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.cmg.android.phonews https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cmgapps.android.phonewspro https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.almarsoft.GroundhogReader https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.piaohong.newsgroup https://mega.nz/file/uYJSwBJD#3Ya4p0HpSczyt95c_MnXjyBXYqP5J_Phkz0gZ9RbkCI (PiaHong Original Color Mod17 by alfio)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ken.android.nntpreader (demo!) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ken.android.nntpreader.pro https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noasy.newsreader https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=usenet.sinaapp.com

Maybe you can try one or more of them and let us know what works best.

:o) Thanks. I was hoping someone here had done that :o?
--
Jim the Geordie

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Jim the Geordie wrote on Fri, 13 Sep 2024 16:38:41 +0100 :

Maybe you can try one or more of them and let us know what works best.

:o) Thanks. I was hoping someone here had done that :o?

Google recently wiped out old apps from the App Store so if they're not in
the app store, you have the package names, which allow you to get them in
the non-Google repositories (all of which, I'm sure, should exist there).

Good luck.
Let us know what works.

Personally, I've tried them all over the years, and gave up on most.
YMMV.

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Dave Royal wrote on Fri, 13 Sep 2024 16:20:06 +0100 (GMT+01:00) :

Any decent free newsreaders apart from Phonews (which you cannot post from)

<https://news.software.readers.narkive.com/9N1ys3VT/newsreader-for-android>

At some point, I had downloaded the daily updates where my APK install log
has the following comments that I made at the time while I was testing it.

----< Begin PiaHongNewsgroups.log excerpt>-----
Use PiaHong M16 with original colors. If you like that, stop.
If you want to change the colors, use M16 with the modified colors.

Don't use M17 unless you want to revert back to the old behavior.
In addition, PiaHong M17 allows you to add an X-Face header.

PiaHong NewsGroups Mod16 Original Colors
<https://mega.nz/file/DdQyVBgY#jq7uq7r4e8waidolLyvLgD_G_Rc82_FURYxaak7NUCI>
Name: OC-ModNewsReader 2.02.M16.apk
Size: 3922831 bytes (3830 KiB)
SHA256: 97B27E062306C9D6FEA9FC6EA49FEA7D920FF7C0CB05AAFBBEB9C96758A68C97

PiaHong NewsGroups Mod16 Modified Colors
<https://mega.nz/file/GAwnTAaI#CshrBLtSl2smdcmHiBD0wdj-V409CJyq9nJ7IpQ0ooY>
Name: MC-ModNewsReader 2.02.M16.apk
Size: 3935119 bytes (3842 KiB)
SHA256: 010AAF7EFF0ABBE040E66BE0486F6D32936432EC16C8F2FB56717479C76F4CDA

PiaHong NewsGroups Mod17 Original Colors by Alfie.
<https://mega.nz/file/uYJSwBJD#3Ya4p0HpSczyt95c_MnXjyBXYqP5J_Phkz0gZ9RbkCI>
Name: OC-ModNewsReader 2.02.M17.apk
Size: 3926860 bytes (3834 KiB)
SHA256: BB05B9FD454AD8D38047484FEA338DE9FDAB056F56B66D39C114162A53883815

PiaHong NewsGroups Mod17 Modified Colors by Alfie.
<https://mega.nz/file/CIhiFKDT#H4FvPyZ_SIWKitPvaUxjKstjNmgPJhyMqwZxI4VkWVE>
Name: MC-ModNewsReader 2.02.M17.apk
Size: 3935052 bytes (3842 KiB)
SHA256: DA8C8DF91DFAA68047F58A3339B6D5B91857185623CB7F386B74F9DFE84D5B03
----< End of PiaHongNewsgroups.log excerpt >-----

I haven't kept up on it so if there are newer binary downloads (and there probably are as that was a while ago), please post the link to them here.

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XPost: news.software.readers

Stan Brown wrote on Fri, 13 Sep 2024 08:42:59 -0700 :

On Fri, 13 Sep 2024 16:04:51 +0100, Jim the Geordie wrote:

Any decent free newsreaders apart from Phonews (which you cannot post from)

You've been around long enough to know this.

If you think a query is really relevant to two newsgroups -- and in
this case I agree with you that it is -- don't start two separate
threads. Crosspost.

It's not rocket surgery.

Stan didn't mention which newsgroup was double posted so I looked at
<https://tinyurl.com/nova-news-software-readers>
And found one double post here:
<https://www.novabbs.com/computers/article-flat.php?id=3125&group=news.software.readers#3125>
But there's much more useful information in the Android doublepost.
<https://tinyurl.com/nova-comp-mobile-android>
Specifically located here:
<https://www.novabbs.com/computers/article-flat.php?id=54785&group=comp.mobile.android#54785>

The OP has a half dozen Android newsreaders to test, where all I ask is
what I ask of everyone (including myself), which is an update in the end
so that everyone benefits from every question ever posed to these ngs.

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Jim the Geordie <[email protected]> Wrote in message:

Any decent free newsreaders apart from Phonews (which you cannot post from)

<https://news.software.readers.narkive.com/9N1ys3VT/newsreader-for-android>
--
Remove numerics from my email address.

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On Fri, 13 Sep 2024 16:04:51 +0100, Jim the Geordie wrote:

Any decent free newsreaders apart from Phonews (which you cannot post from)

You've been around long enough to know this.

If you think a query is really relevant to two newsgroups -- and in
this case I agree with you that it is -- don't start two separate
threads. Crosspost.

It's not rocket surgery.

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

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On Fri, 13 Sep 2024 16:07:27 -0000 (UTC), Andrew <[email protected]> wrote:

Stan didn't mention which newsgroup was double posted so I looked at
<https://tinyurl.com/nova-news-software-readers>
And found one double post here:
<https://www.novabbs.com/computers/article-flat.php?id=3125&group=news.software.readers#3125>
But there's much more useful information in the Android doublepost.
<https://tinyurl.com/nova-comp-mobile-android>
Specifically located here:
<https://www.novabbs.com/computers/article-flat.php?id=54785&group=comp.mobile.android#54785>
The OP has a half dozen Android newsreaders to test, where all I ask is
what I ask of everyone (including myself), which is an update in the end
so that everyone benefits from every question ever posed to these ngs.

not everyone reading in one newsgroup is necessarily reading in another; cross-posting is anathema to common sense--and to netiquette in general!
better to post articles to only one newsgroup at a time but never xpost*

some readers, especially the younger generation, do not use anything but smartphones; whereas many seniors (e.g. myself) have never used anything
but desktop/laptop computers since the xt, trs-80, etc., were in diapers

*hint: to satisfy "net-cop" trolls, make each seperately posted message slightly different as with this reply e.g. by adding a few extra spaces
and/or actually note to where it was also posted (news.software.readers)

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On 9/13/24 8:04 AM, Jim the Geordie wrote:

Any decent free newsreaders apart from Phonews (which you cannot post from)

I bought this PhoNews Pro app I'm posting with (today on an Alldocube 8"
tablet) on 6-24-19 (Google keeps good records) for $1.99 US. It's a PITA to
use compared to my favorite Groundhog newsreader but unfortunately
Groundhog broke around Android 9. Anyway, as cheap as PhoNews is pony up
the cash and give it a try. If you don't like it you're not out all that
much...

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Jim the Geordie <[email protected]> Wrote in message:

Remind me. Is there a decent free alternative to Phonews (free)?
I'm sure I used to have one on my old phone, but nothing on Play Store
rings any bells.
Phonews is fine except I cannot reply from it without parting with money.

Many recent posts in news.software.readers
--
Remove numerics from my email address.

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Remind me. Is there a decent free alternative to Phonews (free)?
I'm sure I used to have one on my old phone, but nothing on Play Store
rings any bells.
Phonews is fine except I cannot reply from it without parting with money.
--
Jim the Geordie

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On 11/7/24 9:32 AM, Jim the Geordie wrote:

Remind me. Is there a decent free alternative to Phonews (free)?
I'm sure I used to have one on my old phone, but nothing on Play Store
rings any bells.

Phonews is fine except I cannot reply from it without parting with money.

I bought this PhoNews Pro I'm posting with for 2 bucks (US) around 6 years
ago. I think I got my money's worth don't you? Probably a few bucks more by
now? Outrageous... 8-O

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On Thu, 7 Nov 2024 16:32:33 +0000, Jim the Geordie <[email protected]> wrote: >Remind me. Is there a decent free alternative to Phonews (free)?

I'm sure I used to have one on my old phone, but nothing on Play Store
rings any bells.
Phonews is fine except I cannot reply from it without parting with money.

for accessing usenet newsgroups it's (obviously) always best to use
a dedicated newsreader with comprehensive scoring features, but for
convenient access using any web browser, the newsgrouper website is
really excellent, because it "piggybacks" on two major news servers news:news.blueworldhosting.com, and news:news.eternal-september.org,
which carry tens of thousands of newsgroups, with article retention
on average twenty-one years thanks to blueworldhosting's newsserver

e.g., this newsgroup https://newsgrouper.org.uk/comp.mobile.android,
and browse https://newsgrouper.org.uk/comp.mobile.android/search to
find articles using search criteria, or find any article spooled in
any of about forty-five thousand newsgroups by searching message-id https://newsgrouper.org.uk/ . . . it can filter "from" headers, too

android newsreaders may improve with increased user interest in the
nntp format (e.g., a brand new version of 40tude dialog for android
would be awesome, and mozilla could make thunderbird more newsgroup
friendly, but that seems unlikely given each update makes it worse);
this seems counterintuitive, since firefox updates are usually less
troublesome for users (some users might disagree), so why is t-bird
so rife with user complaints? imo, it's just not very user-friendly
and thus far, "thunderbird for android" has no usenet functionality

(using Tor Browser 14.0.1)
https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/mobile/

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On 11/7/24 9:59 AM, AJL wrote:

On 11/7/24 9:32 AM, Jim the Geordie wrote:

Remind me. Is there a decent free alternative to Phonews (free)?
I'm sure I used to have one on my old phone, but nothing on Play Store >>rings any bells.

Phonews is fine except I cannot reply from it without parting with money.

I bought this PhoNews Pro I'm posting with for 2 bucks (US) around 6 years
ago. I think I got my money's worth don't you? Probably a few bucks more by now? Outrageous... 8-O

Damn. I just looked it up and I paid the outrageous price of $1.99 for my
PhoNews Pro app in June of 2019 when the cost today is now $1.49. Damn,
damn, damn. I got cheated. So Jim, I recommend that you wait a few more
years and by then it'll likely be down to a buck and maybe you'll be able
to afford it at that price... ;)

BTW this PhoNews app also works great on this Chromebook which is more than
I can say for my TB newsreader... :-/

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On 11/7/2024 11:14 AM, D wrote:

mozilla could make thunderbird more friendly, but that seems unlikely
given each update makes it worse

One simple solution for that update problem is to use an old version of
TB just for newsgroups. I like this version 45.0 in that it doesn't bug
me to update. Once I set it up it just works. Course I don't use it for anything else. Many versions of TB are still available at various
websites. Google is your friend...

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AJL <[email protected]> wrote:

On 11/7/2024 11:14 AM, D wrote:

mozilla could make thunderbird more friendly, but that seems unlikely
given each update makes it worse

One simple solution for that update problem is to use an old version of
TB just for newsgroups. I like this version 45.0 in that it doesn't bug
me to update. Once I set it up it just works. Course I don't use it for anything else. Many versions of TB are still available at various
websites. Google is your friend...

(N.B. No need to use your friend to search for "various websites". Older Thunderbird versions - from 0.1 (!) on - are available from the horses
mouth at <https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/thunderbird/releases/>)

I use - for email, not newsgroups - Thunderbird version 60.9.0, which
also doesn't bug me to update.

Newer versions, which do bug the user to update, can be beaten into submission:

In folder

C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Thunderbird\distribution
or
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird\distribution

create file policies.json with content

{
"policies":
{
"DisableAppUpdate": true
}
}

Exit and restart Thunderbird. Done.

Extra -> Options -> Update will now say:

"Updates disabled by your system administrator"

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AJL wrote on Thu, 7 Nov 2024 18:40:45 -0000 (UTC) :

Damn. I just looked it up and I paid the outrageous price of $1.99 for my
PhoNews Pro app in June of 2019 when the cost today is now $1.49. Damn,
damn, damn. I got cheated.

Hell, I get "PhoNews" in my header.... for free!

*User-Agent: PhoNews/3.13.3 (Android/13)*

Ask Frank. He knows how I manage that. :)

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On 11/7/24 8:08 PM, Andrews wrote:

AJL wrote on Thu, 7 Nov 2024 18:40:45 -0000 (UTC) :

Damn. I just looked it up and I paid the outrageous price of $1.99 for my
PhoNews Pro app in June of 2019 when the cost today is now $1.49. Damn,
damn, damn. I got cheated.

Hell, I get "PhoNews" in my header.... for free!

That ain't nothing. I've been getting free headers since I was a teenager...
;)

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Jim the Geordie <[email protected]> writes:

Remind me. Is there a decent free alternative to Phonews (free)?
I'm sure I used to have one on my old phone, but nothing on Play Store rings any bells.
Phonews is fine except I cannot reply from it without parting with money.

Depending on how [un]comfortable you find using a terminal on a
touchscreen, Termux has a few newsreader options available. I'm using Emacs/Gnus on
Termux now.

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