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Managing Downloaded TV Shows By Folder With Applescript

March 8th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

I’m using the TV Shows Mac application to pull torrent files of TV shows and stream them to my PS3 using the PS3 Media Server application. The flow is something like this:

  • TV Shows looks for torrent files and places them in the Media Temp directory.
  • Transmission looks torrent files in the Media Temp directory, it deletes the torrent files and puts the in-process and incomplete torrent files in the Media Temp directory.
  • When Transmission is done downloading, it moves the file to the TV Shows directory.

What neither TV Shows or Transmission does is to organize shows into separate folders by show name. To achieve this I created a folder action Applescript that parses out the TV show name from the file name and creates a folder. The folder action will then move the file into the appropriate folder.

Here is the folder action that I attach to the TV Show folder. It runs every time a file is placed into the TV Shows folder. (note: This is used on Mac OS X 10.6)

–Organize TV shows by folder

–By Gregory J. Smith http://greginthedesert.net

on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving these_items

tell application “Finder”

try

set tvshowsfolder to this_folder

set thefilelist to these_items

repeat with i from 1 to number of items in thefilelist

set thefilename to name of (item i of thefilelist)

set OldDelims to AppleScript’s text item delimiters

set AppleScript’s text item delimiters to “.”

set Pasrsedfilename to text items of thefilename

set AppleScript’s text item delimiters to OldDelims

–Hopefullug there is never a TV show named SxxExx.

set LastPartOfShowName to (count of Pasrsedfilename) – 1

repeat with x from 2 to number of items in Pasrsedfilename

if (item 1 of (item x of Pasrsedfilename) is “S” and item 4 of (item x of Pasrsedfilename) is “E”) or (item x of Pasrsedfilename) is “REPACK” then

set LastPartOfShowName to x – 1

exit repeat

end if

end repeat

set OldDelims to AppleScript’s text item delimiters

set AppleScript’s text item delimiters to ” “

set TVShowName to (items 1 through LastPartOfShowName of Pasrsedfilename) as text

set AppleScript’s text item delimiters to OldDelims

log TVShowName

if not (exists folder TVShowName of tvshowsfolder) then

make new folder at tvshowsfolder with properties {name:TVShowName}

end if

move (item i of thefilelist) to ((tvshowsfolder & TVShowName) as string)

end repeat

on error theerror

display dialog “There was an error moving TV shows: ” & theerror

end try

end tell

end adding folder items to

The applescript seems to work pretty well when there is only one show that lands in the TV Shows directory. When I have manually added several files to the TV show directory, sometimes the folder actions just stop working or give a weird error.

My next project will be to automatically delete the TV shows based the last time they were viewed. The challenge here will be that the PS3 Media Server doesn’t do anything to mark a file as read and I don’t want to delete a file unless it has been watched.

The Apple iPad Announced

January 27th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

Apple iPad

Apple announced their worst kept secret, their Apple tablet computer called the iPad. It’s exactly what what it was rumored to be, a oversized iPod Touch. The iPad will run all the apps the iPhone and iPod touch will run but it’s missing a camera and GPS. Apple says they got 10 hours of use out of it, it will come with WiFi but a 3G cellular data option is available (and unlocked).

I think every rumor, including the prototype pictures at engadget and interview with McGraw-Hill’s CEO and President (Update: McGraw-Hill might have been punished for making the comments about the iPad before it was released), were all sanctioned by Apple. It was just enough to keep the hype and Steve Job’s reality distortion field in place but not enough to actually reveal the device.

I can’t imagine I will purchase an iPad as soon as it comes out (which is not for another 60 to 90 days) I do hope that parts of it make it into Apple’s laptops before my next laptop purchase. I also was hoping for an iPhone OS 4.0 and iLife 2010 announcement.

iPhone App Of The Week: Southwest Airlines

January 24th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

Having flown a lot in the last few years I been able to fly many airlines. Anymore I pretty much won’t fly unless I can fly Southwest. It has less to do with ticket fares and more to do with how much hassle I get and Southwest gives me the least amount of hassle.

The Southwest iPhone app can alert me to their Ding deals using the notification system which very helpfull. The application can also book flights and check in, I was already doing that through the web interface. The web didn’t always work for me and I hope to have better success with a dedicated app.

Southwest Airlines is Free on the iTunes App Store.icon

1C62F572-4D27-4D4C-86B4-EA3BD2A85326.jpgTraveling with Southwest Airlines is now even more convenient with our first iPhone app. Make reservations, check in for flights, and access your Rapid Rewards account directly from your iPhone. Plus, our iPhone app has DING! functionality built in, giving you instant access to exclusive, limited-time-only air fare deals. When a DING! fare is made available, you’ll be notified immediately on your iPhone.

So now there’s no need to boot up your laptop or make a phone call to prepare for your next trip. Just pull out your iPhone to:

· View & book the latest DING! deals
· Book or cancel air reservations
· Book or cancel rental car reservations
· Check in for your flight
· Check flight status
· Review flight schedules
· Access your Rapid Rewards account
· Access helpful contact information

With many of southwest.com’s most popular features now in the palm of your hand, traveling on Southwest is more convenient than ever before.

Ford Advertises Bluetooth With iPhone Knots

January 15th, 2010 Greg Smith 1 comment

Great advertisement by Ford Germany advertising bluetooth in Ford vehicles by showing iPhone/iPod headphones in various forms of knots.

DE27A566-F917-413F-A135-2DAD60A33E30.jpg

iPhone App Of The Week: DISH Remote Access

January 10th, 2010 Greg Smith 2 comments

Have a Dish Network DVR? Have it connected to the Internet? They you should have this free iPhone app that allows remote control and scheduling of TV shows.

DISH Remote Access is free on the iPhone App Storeicon.

0729D096-0477-49EE-8637-63544B8E3010.jpgIntroducing DISH Remote Access – a whole new way to manage your DVR and record your favorite shows – anytime, anywhere with your iPhone or iTouch. With the touch of a fingertip you can easily browse the program guide, schedule DVR recordings and manage your DVR library as if you were at home. You’ll never miss your favorite shows or sporting events with this must-have application.

FEATURES

Schedule DVR Recordings
-Schedule DVR recordings from anywhere
-One-touch recording – simply chose to record one event, all events or only new events

Browse and Search the Program Guide
-Search the program guide up to 9 days in advance
-Search for shows by title, genre, network, keyword or actor
-View graphics and posters of your favorite shows and movies

Manage your DVR Library*
-Set recording priorities
-Manage recording conflicts
-Delete shows you’ve already watched
-View and adjust your recording schedule

DISH Remote Access is compatible with the following DISH Network receivers: 522, 625, ViP® 612, ViP® 622, ViP® 722, ViP® 722k and requires an online DISH account. You must first access DISH Remote Access at least once from your PC, prior to using your iPhone – login to your online DISH account and click on DISH Remote Access to get started.

*Requires high-speed internet connection to one the following compatible receivers: ViP 612, ViP 622, ViP 722, ViP 722k

If you don’t have one of these compatible receivers, upgrade today by calling 1-800-333-DISH (3474)

Intel Wireless Display Announced At CES

January 8th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

Intel CEO Paul Otellini announced a new product at CES called Intel Wireless Display, or Wi-Di. It consists as an adapter that plugs into a HD TV set and allows streaming video and audio from a computer. That’s it.

Other than purchasing the adapter, I would expect the only requirement would be that the computer has WiFi. I would be wrong.

Processor ONE of the following: Intel® Core™ i7-620M processor, Intel Core i5-540M processor, Intel Core i5-520M processor, Intel Core i5-430M processor, Intel Core i3-350M processor, Intel Core i5-330M processor

Chipset ONE of the following: Intel® HM57, Intel HM55, Intel QM57, Intel QS57

Graphics Intel® HD Graphics

Wireless ONE of the following: Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6200, Intel Centrino Advanced-N +WiMax 6250, Intel Centrino Ultimate N 6300

Software Intel® My WiFi Technology and Intel Wireless Display must be pre-installed and enabled

OS Windows* 7 64-bit, Home Premium, Ultimate or Professional

Not only does it require a computer with the very latest Intel chips, it has to have all Intel chips. I expect completing technologies to come out that do not have technical requirements around a specific brand of chips. Also note: not Mac compatible.

The Apple Tablet Computer Is Imminent

January 6th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

I wrote about an rumored Apple tablet computer as far back as 2004 and now it seems to be confirmed by the Wall Street Journal.

While the device’s ship date hasn’t been finalized and could still change, people briefed on the matter said the new product will come with a 10 to 11-inch touch screen—which would make it closer in size to Apple’s line of MacBook laptops than its smart phone.

John Martellaro at macobserver says this was part of a controlled leak because he used to do the same thing when he was a Senior Marketing Manager at Apple. I always believed that Apple did controlled leaks like this and they have figured out how to control the hype around product releases.

Supposedly this thing will be announced in a January 27th event. I’m also hoping for an updated iPhone and especially a updated Apple TV.

iPhone App Of The Week: Eclipse 500

December 20th, 2009 Greg Smith No comments

Eclipse aviation was a Albuquerque, NM company that made the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet. They went bankrupt in 2008 and the assets became Eclipse Aerospace. There were some 500-series jets made and of course there’s an app for that.

The application uses various data points: distance, weight, temperature and such to help create flight plans. If you own an Eclipse 500 jet, the $99.00 price tag is probably not significant. There are no reviews, I don’t own an Eclipse 500 so I couldn’t say how good it is.

Eclipse 500 is $99.99 on the iTunes App Store
icon.

EA8FB216-718C-425D-BC5F-16D356A8F36D.jpgIf you have ever poured through a VLJ Aircraft Flight Manual, you know performance data is contained on numerous different pages, and sometimes requires four-way interpolation between temperatures and altitudes. This program not only organizes this critical data on one page, its easy interface with scrolling wheels allows the pilot to accurately and quickly create pre-flight planning specific to the mission, number of people, baggage, seat position, and fuel load from the comfort of home in a fraction of the time it would take to look up in an AFM.

As an added bonus, the E 500 flight planner displays suggested Emergency Return To Base Vref and landing distances at gross weight. Although it is never recommended by the manufacturer to land at weights in excess of Maximum Landing Weight, in the event of a catastrophic failure on departure, these calculations provide the pilot a valuable reference for landing speed and distance required at a given density altitude, and may be an important consideration in the go/no-go decision during pre-flight planning.

We are always looking for ways to improve our products and look forward to your feedback regarding additional functions that would enhance your use of our software. We would love to hear from you:
punkstarstudios@mac.com

E 500 Planning Features:
- Full W&B with graph (based on seat configuration)
- Pressure Altitude
- Take off thrust
- Uncorrected TO distance
- TO Distance corrected for winds and slope
- Vr
- V50
- Vy
- Vyse
- Vref
- Rate of climb
- Uncorrected Immediate Return Landing distance
- Immediate Return Landing distance corrected for winds and slope
- Cold Air Calculator

FIKI and fuel/range calculations are coming soon.

* Pilots should always refer to the latest approved AFM as the final source of data used to determine the safety of flight.

The E 500 Flight Planner was developed after consultation with Eclipse instructors, Eclipse type rated pilots and Eclipse Mentors. The features emulate the data required in training for pre-flight briefings and scenario based training events. The biggest advantage of the planning tool is to accurately and quickly provide a pilot weight and balance and fuel loading within the limitation of the aircraft for a given set of assumptions prior to actually arriving at the airport and interfacing with the ACS (aircraft computer systems).

“I personally use several of the PunkStar Studio iPhone/iPod applications. Some, like the Cold Air Calculator, are incredibly useful for even the most advanced pilot, while others, like the Hold Pattern Calculator, are perfect for demonstrations with my students (who are thrilled when they see it for the first time). I’m a loyal customer/user of several of the PunkStar Studio apps (even non-aviation related) and look forward to their future releases. I highly recommend their products to all aviators, from the professional airline pilot and flight instructor to the casual pilot.”
- Ed Pasquale ATPL
Transport Canada Pilot Examiner and Seneca College Flight Instructor

Quicken Essentials for Mac Pre-order, Still Sucks

December 18th, 2009 Greg Smith 3 comments


I have been patiently awaiting the arrival the the new Quicken for Mac product. The Unofficial Apple Web Log says the Quicken Essentials for Mac (formally Quicken Financial Life for Mac, formally Quicken for Mac) is actually, finally available for pre order. It will be released February 2010. Yet, It cannot do the one single thing that I need it to do.

3. Can I pay my bills within Quicken?
While you cannot pay bills within the product itself (“direct bill pay”), you can track your bills and make sure you have enough cash to pay them when they’re due. A few alternatives available include using Quicken Mac 2007 or using the bill pay functionality on Quicken Bill Pay.

Downloading transactions from my bank is a huge time saver, but paying them directly within a single application, using several banks, is a even bigger time saver. So much more that I’m wiling to suffer using a crappy three year old application to do so. As far as I can tell, iBank doesn’t do this.

It does every thing every other financial app on the mac does, just not as good and doesn’t include the feature that I use Quicken for the most. I wonder if I will have to wait another three years for this to get added back into the product.

Apple’s Worldwide Loyalty Team aka Apple Gestapo

December 15th, 2009 Greg Smith No comments

An article on Gizmodo about how Apple tracks down leaks is very interesting, assuming it’s true.

“Apple has these moles working everywhere, especially in departments where leaks are suspected. Management is not aware of them,” he told me, “once they suspect a leak, the special forces—as we call them—will walk in the office at any hour, especially in the mornings. They will contact whoever was the most senior manager in the building, and ask them to coordinate the operation.”