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DAILY: It's a Wonderful Resource for X10 Information!

WEEKLY: It's a Terrific Resource for X10 Information!

MONTHLY: It's a Good Resource for X10 Information!

RARELY: I Can Never Find Anything Useful There!

NEVER: I Read It a Few Times and Found It USELESS!!

NEVER: What Is NEWSGROUP: Comp.Home.Automation?

[TakeTheActive]

If you've been reading these forums for any (fairly RECENT) amount of time, you'll *IMMEDIATELY* recognize my UserID [and my interest in SPARKING Inter-Member Communication! (amongst *OTHER* things!  ) ]

[roger1818]

I gave up on Usenet about 10 years ago (before the internet became popular).  I got tired of all the flaming.  Has it changed much?

[Brian H]

I know what a newsgroup is but you didn't have a choice of "Never but I know what a newsgroup is."

[TakeTheActive]

I gave up on Usenet about 10 years ago (before the internet became popular)... ...Has it changed much?

Time compresses so much as you get older - I can't say that I remember what it was like 10 years ago...   

...I got tired of all the flaming.

In NG:Comp.Home.Automation, there's one guy, FO IIRC, that keeps regularly picking on RB. I just ignore those threads. Other than that, I'd say it's pretty calm.

The biggest benefit for the X10 Newbie, IMO, is the GOLDMINE of archived information "semi-hidden away " in there.

If you go there expecting new and exciting posts DAILY, you're going to be disappointed. It's not like this forum - activity is MUCH lower. You have to learn how to use Advanced Search to "tune " your queries. After a few hours of reading, you'll start the recognize the "trusted " names - the Old-Timers with solid X10 technical knowledge that have been working with it since Day 1 (or 2 ), like Charles Sullivan and Jeff Volp to name just a couple.

Some days I just start my reading there by searching for posts from one of the "trusted " Old-Timers and pick the Subjects: that look interesting to me. There're certainly PLENTY of posts to learn from, *IF* you take the time to "dig " for them! 

[TakeTheActive]

I know what a newsgroup is but you didn't have a choice of "Never but I know what a newsgroup is."

Sorry.    That choice didn't cross my mind.

So, have you taken a look at it yet?    If yes, what do you think? [See my previous post about Advanced Search and "digging ".  ]

[Brian H]

Well you can't think of all combinations.
Not yet on the checking the newsgroup.

[steven r]

How about the choice...

NOT YET: Where can I find NEWSGROUP: Comp.Home.Automation?

[TakeTheActive]

NOT YET: Where can I find NEWSGROUP: Comp.Home.Automation?

You're kidding, right? 

But, if you're not:

• GOOGLE Groups Home Page
  .
• MY Direct LINK
  

[Brian H]

I doubt I could find a newsgroup either. Have not even tried in maybe a few years. Since I changed to DSL

[Charles Sullivan]

How about the choice...

NOT YET: Where can I find NEWSGROUP: Comp.Home.Automation?

comp.home.automation is one of what are referred to as Usenet newsgroups.

You can access newsgroups with a browser over the Web via Google groups (http://groups.google.com), or the newsgroups carried by your ISP with a news reader.  For the latter you'll have to find out the name of your ISP's news server.  News reader software is generally more convenient to use if you're a regular participant in one or more groups (either posting or just lurking).  A number of companies have news servers  with newsgroups devoted to their products, e.g., "news.opera.no" has a number of newsgroups devoted to the Opera (free) web browser (http://www.opera.com).

The most commonly used news reader under Windows is Outlook Express.  Go to Tools>Accounts>News to configure a news account, then Tools>Newsgroups to download the list of available newsgroups.  For those who are wary of the insecurities in Outlook Express, Mozilla's (free) Thunderbird software (http://www.mozilla.org/thunderbird) supports both email and news accounts,

Larger ISPs will often carry 10,000 or more different newsgroups on their servers.  Google Groups has over 100,000.

Note: Unlike this X10 Community Forum, Usenet newsgroup posts will display the email address you configure in your news account.  It's a good idea to use either a throwaway email account like Hotmail or just fill in a phony address, otherwise you're fair game for spammers.

[Brian H]

Thanks for that information Charles.

[steven r]

...You're kidding, right?...

Actually no. I don't believe I've been there.
I use to visit a few newgroups before the internet and IBM personal computers were around. I believe one of them was an automation group.
I had a computer that was mostly for games but you could load software via a 5 ¹/₄ disk that would allow it to become a "dumb terminal". I connected with an external 300 baud modem. You had to use use a phone to call and then flip the switch when you heard the connect sound.

[Dan Lawrence]

I added it to my newsreader (Outlook Express).  A lot of non-x10 posts, I'd say the ratio is 250-1.  I'll keep checking it, bit I suspect it's not going to be a really useful newsgroup.

[TakeTheActive]

Way too soon to have an opinion.
Maybe after a few weeks or a month.

The biggest benefit for the X10 Newbie, IMO, is the GOLDMINE of archived information "semi-hidden away " in there.

If you go there expecting new and exciting posts DAILY, you're going to be disappointed. It's not like this forum - activity is MUCH lower. You have to learn how to use Advanced Search to "tune " your queries. After a few hours of reading, you'll start the recognize the "trusted " names - the Old-Timers with solid X10 technical knowledge that have been working with it since Day 1 (or 2 ), like Charles Sullivan and Jeff Volp to name just a couple.

Some days I just start my reading there by searching for posts from one of the "trusted " Old-Timers and pick the Subjects: that look interesting to me. There're certainly PLENTY of posts to learn from, *IF* you take the time to "dig " for them! 

I joined the group yesterday.

To reiterate, "It's not like this forum - activity is MUCH lower ".

If you "join" with a newsreader, I don't think that you're going to get much out of it (Plus, you'll have to DOWNLOAD stuff *BEFORE* you can read it.). Face it - X10 is past it's prime! The value is in the ARCHIVED MESSAGES (Advanced Search). What you'll get OUT of the NG will be directly proportional to the amount of effort you put IN.

Besides Charles and Jeff, you can also look up Dave Houston, Dan Lanciani, Neil Cherry. And set your Return messages posted between:   to 01-JAN-1981 and 31-DEC-2000 for starters.

[TakeTheActive]

OK. I'm curious. 

I created this thread « on: 2006-08-27, 01:42:47 » and it had a few views and ZERO replies until roger1818 « Reply #1 on: 2006-09-08, 13:37:02 » (12 days).

Now it's gotten replies 3 days in a row and LOTs of views - why the sudden interest?