Pineapple Mac OS
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Mac Os Versions
Last Updated: Feb 08, 2021
Rating | |
Price | free |
Retention | 500 Days |
Free Trial | None |
Features | Usenet Newsreader for Mac OSX |
Primarily an Offline Reader | |
Basic Newsreader Functions |
Pineapple News is a Mac OS X Usenet newsreader released in 2005. Primarily, it is an offline reader but has features and a user interface that is also functional for online use. Initially developed in 1999 as a BeOS software, Pineapple News was eventually released for Mac devices about 5 years later since BeOS and MacOS are quite similar.
PINEAPPLE is a RPM-based distribution on Mac OS X for Japanese users. It provides UNIX open source software to Mac OS X in rpm packages.
It is a program that is easy to use and setup that even beginner Usenet explorers can run the software effortlessly. But while it is said that Pineapple News can run on Mac OS versions 10.3.9 or later, upon testing, it does not work on the most recent updates of Mac like Catalina or Big Sur. This may be because further development and support on this software has been discontinued since 2007. Usenet users may benefit from exploring other top newsreaders in the market that have recently been updated and have continued support from its developers and the Usenet community.
Highlighted Features
Pineapple News is not a full-featured newsreader. While it can subscribe to, manage and read newsgroups, it is not capable of downloading NZB files. It can, however, read binary attachments of different file formats. Below are the main features of this newsreader:
- Can connect to multiple servers simultaneously
- Users are allowed to create multiple identities with each of its own signatures
- Set individual groups for header-only or full article downloads
- Create own storage folders
- Killfile feature to ignore unruly posters
- Built-in Spell Checker
- Extensive Online Help
- Quoted text in distinctive colors
- Searches message text for URLs and Email addresses (turns them into clickable links)
- Decodes binaries: yenc, uuencode, MIME base64, and MIME inline
- Multi-language support
- Finds parts of an attachment if they are spread across two or more message files and stitches them together
- However, the program does not deal with RARs, PARs or NZBs.
Plans & Pricing
Pineapple News can be downloaded for free on multiple websites. Make sure you are downloading this newsreader for a legitimate and safe website. You may want to run a virus check before actually installing the downloaded file.
Usage Overview
Pineapple News was designed for simple set-up and easy use. While this newsreader is quite outdated compared to other newsreaders in the market, Pineapple News still has some pleasant features that make it a decent basic newsreader – but that is if you are able to install it on your Mac device.
Installation
As mentioned, you will need a device running on Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later. It is said to consume about 80MB on your device.
Pineapple News does not have an installer but a zip file that you can download from several reliable websites. The program can be moved to your applications folders or wherever you want to place it and you’re good to go.
However, we would like to reiterate that upon our testing, Pineapple News does not run on the latest Mac OS versions like Catalina and Big Sur. The software has not been updated since September 2007, and no word about the program or the developer has been heard since.
Configuration
If you are able to download and open the Pineapple News program, the first thing you need to do is to configure your account preferences. There you will be required to enter your account settings, NNTP settings, and login information if your Usenet Provider requires this. Make sure you have an existing, active account with a reliable Usenet Provider before using this program.
Scheduling & Automation
Being a basic newsreader, Pineapple News does not have any scheduling features or advanced automation functions. It can, however, automatically find and stitch separate message files that form one attachment.
Usability
Pineapple News has a clean and simple interface that would appeal to a lot of Mac users. It has a classic look that does not go out of style. Since it was developed with ease-of use in mind, Pineapple News can be navigated through effortlessly, especially if you are used to newsreader interfaces. If you are a newbie when it comes to Usenet, there may be a bit of a learning curve involved, but that should not take a lot of time since using this program is convenient from installation to actual usage.
In terms of activity, Pineapple News shows users the progress, actions and status of these activities. It even provides support for multiple languages to cater to different users.
Conclusion
While Pineapple News is a decent Usenet newsreader for Mac OS X, it can benefit from being improved even more. Sadly, updates and support on this newsreader has been long discontinued and no additional information on Pineapple News can be found anywhere else except from several software sites. And while we like how simple it is to install and use, it lacks a lot of functions that our top newsreaders can provide. Users would definitely be better off with recently updated, constantly developed and more full-featured newsreaders.
Best Usenet Newsreaders
Graphics by Steven Ansell. He really went out of his way to ensure that I was happy with his work. If you are writing a program, you should consider buying your artwork from him. Contact him at http://www.stevenansell.com/
This is the Pineapple News main window. Note that there are four news accounts configured, three of them “folded up” at the moment. The numbers in parentheses are the total unread messages for each newsgroup and account. The button on the right side of the header bar with the JPEG icon indicates that the message being viewed contains a binary attachment. |
This is where you enter information about your news server. |
Overview
Pineapple News is a USENET newsreader for Mac OS X. It is primarily an offline reader, but it has features and user interface conventions that make it easy to use online also. As you can see, it uses the traditional three-pane paradigm.
Way back in 1999, I started working on the BeOS version of this program, which I unleashed on an unsuspecting public in 2000. The Mac OS X version was released five years later, in 2005. They share almost no code, because the BeOS and Mac OS X Cocoa APIs are quite different. The two programs are otherwise similar, though.
The program is easy to set up and use. Steven Ansell, the guy who drew all the program’s graphics, had never heard of USENET before. He was able to get up and running with Pineapple News after asking me only one question, which I answered in just a few sentences. And that was before I had finished the manual.
What you need to get started
You will need a PowerPC or Intel Macintosh running Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later. The amount of disk space consumed will depend on your viewing habits, but 80 megabytes sounds about right.
You need a connection to the internet. Any type will do: analog modem, wireless, cable, DSL, T1. Finally, you’ll need an account on a USENET server. Typically you would purchase one from providers such as Newsguy or news.individual.net, but there are servers available on the internet that you can use for free. The program’s documentation explains how you go about finding and using such servers.
You can search for groups you’re interested in, and choose the ones you want to subscribe to. |
Features
It’s easy to set up multiple server accounts and use them all simultaneously. You can create many identities, each with its own signature file, and switch between them quickly. You can set individual groups for headers-only or full article downloads, which helps you make the best use of your network bandwidth. The program allows you to create your own storage folders, which you can use to save copies of messages that interest you. Cross-post detection means you won’t have to read the same article more than once. The program has a killfile, so you can ignore unruly posters. You can proof messages you write with Mac OS X’s built-in spell-checker. Extensive online help is available in standard Mac OS X helpbook format, which allows you to quickly search for keywords of interest.
The program displays quoted text in distinctive colors, so it’s easy to see who said what. If you don’t like the default colors, you can customize them from the program’s preferences window. It searches message text for URLs and e-mail addresses and turns them into highlighted clickable links, so that USENET messages can have some of the advantages of web pages.
Pineapple News can decode binary attachments in several formats: yenc, uuencode, MIME base64, and MIME inline. If an attachment is spread across two or more message files, it will automatically search through all downloaded messages in the current newsgroup, find the necessary parts, and stitch them back together. Currently, the program can’t deal with RARs, PARs, or NZB files, but I’ll likely add support for them, if there is enough interest.
Here the program is displaying a message in Chinese. |
Excellent language support
Perhaps Pineapple News’ strongest feature is its foreign language support. It knows how to interpret any kind of messages you might encounter, and can properly display them, regardless of what language they were written in. It knows all about MIME, quoted-printable, base64, and character sets. If you run across an HTML message, the program will use a WebKit view to display it for you. The message viewer allows you to specify a custom font, so you can choose one that’s well-suited to your native language. Mac OS X’s superior font-handling abilities are a big help here: if the current font doesn’t contain the glyphs needed to display a particular bit of text, it will search all your installed fonts until it finds one that does. The practical upshot is that improperly-decoded message text is rare.
Easy to install and uninstall
I don’t know about you, but personally I often avoid downloading and installing new programs because I’m afraid they will make a big mess, and that I’ll have trouble getting rid of them.
Pineapple News does not have an installer. You download the archive, the program pops out, you move it to your Applications folder or wherever you would like it to go, and you’re done. The program stores its message data in only one folder. If you decide that Pineapple News is not for you, you can toss the program, its data folder, and its prefs file into the trash, and it will be completely gone.
This window shows the queue of network transfers. The one at the top in bold is currently executing. The buttons below allow you to reorder or remove actions. |
How much does it cost?
Mac Os Mojave
As of September 2007, Pineapple News is completely free.
New version, released September 9, 2007
This version is totally free, and will not expire. I still use it myself quite a lot, but active development has ceased. If anybody has a burning desire to take over maintenance of the program, send me an e-mail.
Pineapple Mac Os Download
You can download version 0.9.0 here.