Same download speeds? Where are you getting them from? Not on Demonoid! It takes DAYS AND DAYS!
Because I don't use Demonoid, I use better places.
(Places which shall remain nameless, in light of the forum rules. Do
NOT PM me for more information.)
My internet download is capped at about 600 kilobytes/sec download, and I typically get anywhere from 400-600kb/sec from my torrents, even very old ones. 500kb/sec is fine, considering it only takes 3-5 hours to down a full DVD-9 image. How fast do you people actually need your files that you can't wait a couple more hours for a full DVD-9 image? It might save you a lot of money.
The other thing about newsgroups is that when an image is first posted, 99% of the time it takes the uploader many hours to have it fully posted (slow upload speeds), meaning you're only getting the first 1/3 now, and maybe the next 1/3 in three hours from now, etc. Torrents intitially appear at the same time (and often times even earlier), and are available for download in its entirety immediately. When you weigh the two out, even at only 400kb/sec, you're still getting the image faster via torrent in most cases.
The only time I see newsgroups being better are if you have an internet service that provides more than 700kb/sec downloads (which usually costs a pretty penny) and the image has already been fully uploaded but was posted recently enough to be within the retention period. But even then, you're still paying for a faster internet connection and a dedicated usenet server, which costs $$$. Torrents work just fine on 400kb/sec internet services and are totally free. All you have to do is spend a bit of time seeding, which can be done while surfing the net, watching .avi files, listening to .mp3 files, or while not even using the computer at all. Leave it seeding overnight and it's like free candy.
For my ISP, getting the next step up for bandwidth would allow me to bring my downloads up to about 1000kb/sec. However, it costs an extra $20/month, plus I would need to be paying approximately $15/month for a dedicated usenet server with decent retention. Compare an extra $35/month to simply waiting a little bit longer for the downloads to complete, and I think I'll save that money. I would sooner put that 35 bucks towards an additional night out with the Mrs. every month.
Plus, I can pretty much guarantee that the majority of people don't have internet services that provide more than about 600kb/sec downloads. I would have to say that usenet isn't necessarily the best option for most people. But whatever works best for you is what is best for YOU. Try out a number of options and go with whichever you prefer.
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