[bvmou]

Hi All,


I just returned to the Mac, and needed to create a little utility for syncing iTunes podcasts to the BlackBerry Curve. I wrote a Python program that has been working great for this purpose, and would like to make it available to the BB Mac community. It simply determines the most recent gig worth of podcasts, removes the old ones from the BB, and copies the new ones to it. (It writes nothing your iTunes library.)

I put my BlackBerry Podcast Updater on Google Code (link) as an open source project, and anyone can do whatever they want with it (BSD License.)

There is a stand-alone and pretty decent looking Mac OS X (10.4+) app, as well as the Python source. It also works on Windows with no modifications, provided you download the Python VM from python.org (Python comes with OSX). You can adjust the default size of your preferred podcast folder by changing the SpaceForPodcastsInMegabytes variable under .app/Contents/Resources/script to any size that fits.

By default, I skip video podcasts, given the uninspiring speed of the BB in mass storage mode and so-so video support, but I could update that if there is any need.

If you are inclined, please report bugs and make suggestions for future improvements to this little tool. Also, if an experienced forum hand who knows Python cares to vouch for the code's security, much appreciated.

Thanks,


Brian M

[bvmou]

Hi again!

I made a few little improvements to the podcast updater and have posted the new version to Google code (link).

No changes to basic function, just cleaned it up and made it easier to adjust defaults.

[jdoom]

can you do playlists too? great idea

[bvmou]

There is a free app called SyncTunes that does playlists, you can get it here. It is much more complete than what I put together, my motivation was just to have a single-button, single function tool that keeps the podcast folder updated based on a fixed allocation of space. If you do end up testing SyncTunes leave a comment about how it works, I think it would be ideal for one big smart playlist. When I tested it it did a true sync, so if your podcast folder is small enough to fit on your phone, it could probably take care of both the playlist and the podcast syncing.

[bvmou]

Jdoom,


I added some podcast playlist support in an experimental download on the Google Code page, I agree that it would be a good feature. The experimental version works with filenames but I want to make it work cleanly with ID3 tags, if there is an easy way to do that in apple script or some such please let me know or point me to a relevant resource. Thanks!


Brian

[jckadyk]

Thank you , bvmou. Does Blackberry Podcast Updater work on the Pearl? My client wants to know. Thanky.

[bvmou]

jckadyk --

I would love to test and get it working on the Pearl. All the iTunes stuff is universal -- the only possible difference is in the media setup of the BlackBerry. What the program does is that it checks the attached drives for one with a top level folder called 'BlackBerry' and subfolder called 'music' -- these are created automatically when you put a media card in a BlackBerry Curve. If it is the same on a Pearl, it will work with no changes -- also I wrote it so that it won't matter whether the device or shortcut name is 'MyBB' or 'BobsPearl' or whatever, it only matters what what you see when you open up the storage media of the BlackBerry. If there is a BlackBerry/music folder, it should work, if it is a little different, it may need a couple of changes to a few lines of the program, I'm happy to help if you send me the info or post here -- there is contact info at the bottom of the homepage linked above. Let me know how it goes, and give it a few minutes to run the first time if you do test it, it has to copy a lot of files, should take 10-30 secs per thereafter.

Brian

[klfkyle]

I'll add a huge thankyou too.

I just downloaded it and tried it on my os10.5.5 and hooked it up to my Pearl 8130. Since nothing else has synced without having to work through forums and the like, I just thought I'd give it a shot even though it specified it was for the curve.

It ran, I walked away for a while, I came back and my podcasts were their, excellent. Thanks so much.

[bvmou]

You're very welcome, klfkyle, and thanks for testing on the Pearl; I just updated the project page to reflect this new info.

[supermartin]

All I get while running is a popup window that says "blackberry podcast updater" at the top, and "task completed" above the canybar stripe counter. The only option is to Quit which closes all.
Is it me? Or am I missing a step?
Thanks

[bvmou]

Just make sure the blackberry is connected via USB. Also make sure the keyboard is not locked, that also locks the USB connection. Make sure that you enter 'Settings' and enable 'Mass storage support' (or 'mode') as noted on the download page. Also, make sure your microSD card is working, is installed, etc. That is my best suggestion for troubleshooting. If the BB shows up on your desktop, it should run.