There is also the Usenet Tutorial? thread here.
Not forgetting the STAR WARS: the alt.binaries.starwars thread.
I use the Forte Agent 2.0 software and my ISP provide free access. As a backup and for the more obscure groups, I have a $25/65Gb account with Astraweb.
A lot of people round here have used the above links and are now regular users of the newsgroups.
I hope this helps, if not, ask any questions you like........