PAN Newsreader Review
Pan (Pimp-Ass Newsreader) has a lot of features that will please Linux users the biggest probably being that it works on Linux…and virtually every other system. It works on Linux, Macintosh, and Windows systems, provided the GTK+ runtime libraries are installed. Windows users should remember though, if you’re installing this newsreader, remember to install the libraries with the compatibility libs option selected. After that, installation should not be too difficult.
What it Offers
Pan is designed to be suitable for both text and binary USENET downloads. It also supports a lot of the features that advanced USENET, and power users will easily come to appreciate. Here are a few of the more useful features we’ve found:
- Supports binary uploading
- Multiserver connections
- Secure connections
- Killfiles
- Scoring.
The client has been revamped for the last few months, and speed and control has been greatly improved for it. Several recent releases of Pan have fixed the bugs that were most annoying, and overall performance has been massively improved. All in all, its a really solid, reliable newsreader in general.
Getting It
You can pick up Pan at http://pan.rebelbase.com/. This page serves as the homepage for the entire project and you can always find the latest version of the software available there.
Linux Installs: If you are installing on a Linux system, RPMs are available in i386, i586 and i686 versions. If you’re an experienced Linux user, you shouldn’t have any trouble installing the packages and getting the newsreader up and running.
Windows/Mac: Aside from having to install the GTK+ packages, installation on Windows systems is as simple as is installing anything else on a Windows box. Macintosh users shouldn’t have any difficulty installing the news reader, either.
Impressions
On Windows and Macintosh systems, Pan has a crisp, but nice look The ability to configure the layout making the reader friendly to almost anybody. The fact that it supports secure connections adds to the overall curb appeal, it’s a very good newsreader for those who have a Usenet Provider that offers encryption. If the newsreader that came with your subscription doesn’t really do it for you, this may make for a decent alternative and is definitely worth a try.
Pan is completely open source, so the price is obviously right with this particular newsreader. You won’t have to worry about paying for the newsreader itself or for subscriptions to any services related to it, save for the subscriptions you need to maintain your USENET connection at all. Beyond that, this is a very affordable solution for anybody who wants to try something different with their Windows or Macintosh computer and, for Linux users, it offers an option that allows them to get in on USENET access in a way that doesn’t require them to do a lot of command line installation work or other complicated tasks.
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