Text newsreaders - designed primarily for
reading/posting text posts; virtually unusable for downloading binary attachments
(example: most email clients such as Outlook Express and Netscape).
Traditional newsreaders - text capable
newsreaders which can also handle binary attachments, although not as efficiently as more
specialized types of clients (example: Forté Agent and XNews)
Binary grabbers/pluckers - designed
specifically for easy and efficient downloading of multi-part binary post attachments;
limited or nonexistent reading/posting ability. These generally offer multi-server and
multi-connection support. Most now support NZBs, and several either support or plan to
support automatic Par2 processing. (example: Grabit, Newsbin, Newsleecher)
NZB downloaders - a binary grabber client
without header support - cannot browse groups or read/post text messages; can only load
3rd-party NZBs to download binary post attachments (Example: NZB-O-Matic, SABnzbd, Ninan).
Some incorporate an interface for accessing selected NZB search websites, although it may
require revision when supported website changes its format or even ceases to exist.
(Example: Alt.Binz).
Binary Posting Clients - designed specifically
and exclusively for posting multi-part binary files. (example: PowerPost, Sharkpost)
Combination client - Jack-of-all-trades that
fully supports text reading/posting, as well as hassle-free multi-segment binary
downloading and automatic Par2 processing. Being the most complex and feature-rich,
these also tend to be the most difficult to learn. (example: Usenet Explorer)
