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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.

What Google Takes Away, Google Gives Back

March 5th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments

At the end of last year Google did something with its page rank algorithm that caused my site to loose most traffic from Google. I thought the problem was due to excessive load times on my site. I used Pingdom to narrow the load times to a javascirpt from a Wordpress contact form plugin. The javascript took about 4 seconds to load and was loading on every page, including pages that did not have the contact form.

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Once disabled the load times were down to a more reasonable level, although they have crept back up according to Google Webmaster Tools. As far as I can tell it’s images causing the load times. It was a good exercise for me to understand load times but it was a change made completely on Google’s part that caused the loss in traffic. The site not only got the traffic back but it increased a little. Also, when the traffic did come back the site had a significant increase in comment spam, so much that I had to turn off comments for certain posts.

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Meanwhile, I took a much need break from the blog and completely ignored everything (except approving comments) and missed that TechCrunch linked to one of my pages. Causing a nice spike in traffic.

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.

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.

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.

iPhone App Of The Week: On Point

December 13th, 2009 Greg Smith No comments

On Point is one of the simplest iPhone GPS apps available, which is why I like it. There’s many times I just want to know which direction to go to a saved location. There are several low ratings for the app but no reviews, so the developer has temporarily made the application free to get more feedback.

On Point is free from the iTunes App store
icon.

CB8CE6B7-B8E3-401C-A3F2-154E26E85DBB.jpgOn Point allows you to determine the direction and distance to a chosen location simply and easily.

Have you ever forgotten where in a large parking lot you left your car? Have you ever agreed to meet your kids at a particular spot in a theme park and then lost track of where exactly that was? Have you ever been wandering in the woods and lost track of which way led back to the trailhead? Then this application is for you!

The free download allows you to test the capability with a set of demonstration points. Full Capability to add your own locations is available via an in-app purchase.

NOTE: On Point allows you to use both the iPhone 3GS compass and iPhone GPS heading for bearing direction. The 3GS compass allows you to view direction without moving, but is also somewhat inaccurate. While using the compass, a red arc displays the estimated accuracy of the compass readings. If using the iPhone GPS heading, the user must be in motion and holding the TOP of the iPhone in the direction of motion.

Application Features:

* Simple arrow points the direction to the target location without the need to interpret compass points or maps.
* Allows user to save multiple targets easily for future use.
* Uses either the 3GS compass or the GPS heading.
* Uses metric or imperial units.
* Displays margin of error in reported location and estimated directional error.
* Automatically adjusts reporting profile to user movement to conserve battery life.

If you do not have a 3G iPhone, this app is NOT FOR YOU. GPS is required to determine precision location and use on non-3G iPhone will yield large margins of error.

Bonus iPhone App Of The Week: AT&T Mark the Spot

December 6th, 2009 Greg Smith No comments

A bonus iPhone app of the week is released by AT&T. The app lets the user provide feedback to AT&T, dropped calls, voice quality and etc, along with GPS coordinates.

AT&T Mark the Spot is free from the iTunes App Storeicon.

660C429F-B292-4856-B040-37E1AF94BCF8.jpgAT&T Mark the Spot is an application that provides customers a means to provide feedback on network user experience to AT&T.

Features

- Simplicity of operation
- Submit a real time report capturing local GPS coordinates at time and place of event
- Submit a report after the fact when a customer is not at the place of event
- Submit a report of dropped call, failed call, lack of coverage, data service failure, or poor voice quality
- Submit optional specific comments about an event
- Receive an SMS acknowledgement that the reported event was sent and received successfully

AT&T is committed to providing its customers with the best network experience possible.

This application will help contribute towards this goal and its utilization is greatly appreciated.

iPhone App Of The Week: Monopoly

December 6th, 2009 Greg Smith 2 comments

I’ve always enjoyed playing Monopoly but it’s not fun playing the board game by myself. Since the iPhone version came out, I have been playing against the AI quite a bit.

Even at the hardest levels I figured out what the AI’s strategy is but I keep playing. Technically the game plays as expected but graphically it could use some improvements. There should be the ability to turn of some of the cut scene details such as having to watch the dice or players move. It could improve battery life and get the game moving a little faster. Some of the detail could use some polish.

MONOPOLY is available at the iTunes app store fore $4.99icon.

A0E747F7-0CCC-4FDE-91BC-37A78DE501C6.jpg

PLAY THE ORIGINAL BOARD GAME
WHERE YOU CAN OWN IT ALL!
Take a ride on the Reading Railroad! Buy Boardwalk! Go directly to jail! Enjoy classic MONOPOLY play in the tradition of the beloved, best-selling board game. It’s “GO” time on your iPhone® or iPod touch®!
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BUY, SELL & TRADE FAMOUS PROPERTIES
From Marvin Gardens and Water Works to Park Place, own and manage the famous holdings of the MONOPOLY board, which comes to life with animated tokens and interactive features.

EMPLOY HANDS ON MANAGEMENT
Shake your device to “roll” the 3D dice. Tap the screen to manage your properties. Building a house on Baltic Avenue, taking a “Chance,” or opening the “Community Chest” are easy with intelligent design and intuitive controls.

CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL AND LOOK
Play through 3 levels of difficulty and save games in progress. Also customize the number of players, the “house rules,” and even the game environment.

FEELING MORE COMPETITIVE?
Challenge up to 3 friends on the same network with WiFi and Pass ‘n Play Multiplayer, and up to 2 friends with Bluetooth Multiplayer.

LISTEN TO YOUR TUNES WHILE YOU PLAY
Listen to and control music from your iTunes® library without interrupting your game.
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CHECK OUT OUR OTHER EXCITING GAMES:
TETRIS®, ROCK BAND, SCRABBLE, BOGGLE, The Sims™ 3 & MADDEN NFL 10 by EA Sports™

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