I found the time to start on integrating the ability to download podcasts in RSS Bandit today. One of the things I realized is that we can't make the blanket assumption that every enclosure we see in an RSS or Atom feed is a podcast. I decided that instead of only exposting enclosures as podcasts, it would be more generic and maybe more useful to treat them as file attachments to feed items.

Below is a screenshot of what this looks like

There are other bits of UI we have to add such as a download queue and a podcasts inbox. I've also been thinking of adding the option to enqueue downloaded podcasts in iTunes or Windows Media Player. I wonder if the Zune player will provide an API so I can add that as an option as well. I should ask around at  work.

I also explicitly decided against any sort of podcasts directory functionality. If we don't typically use 'blog directories' why do we need feed directories? We're about two weeks from being done with this feature after which we'll ship a beta of the Jubilee release. My current thinking is a beta before Thanksgiving in the U.S. and the final release just before the Christmas holidays.


 

Categories: RSS Bandit
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Sunday, 22 October 2006 03:14:41 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
Hi Dare,
Will RSS Bandit show the file name (sometimes meaningless) or the clip title.
Monday, 23 October 2006 15:18:26 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
I love RSSBandit and use it everyday for all my RSS needs! One thing that I don't see that I would like to do is to be able to export all the items in a feed to a file so that I can save them for reference. Right now I worry that some feeds where I want to keep all items might be lost should a hard disk failure, file corruption, or some other unforseen problem occur. Is this already in the product and if not is is planned for this upcomming release.
ZeroHour
Monday, 23 October 2006 16:17:06 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
Robin Caper,
I'm not sure what is meant by 'clip title'. Is that the title of the RSS item/blog post?

Either way, the answer to your question is "it depends". In the example above when right-clicking from the item in the feed we show the file names. In the download queue/podcast inbox we will show the file name, post title and feed title.

ZeroHour,
The feed cache is located in C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\RssBandit\Cache
Tuesday, 24 October 2006 05:46:51 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
Some Podcasts use non-human naming so the file name is little use; Clip Title (seen when playing or in File Properties>Title) "Sci Talk October" might be a file 061013abc702.mp3 so have no idea what it refers to from the filename. It won't be a problem if you show the detail you state.

Will RSS Bandit use a folder heirachy to store downloaded podcasts?
Will it support transfer to a media folder/device from within the application?

(One unrelated wish, Any change a i.e./explorer style address line (with Icon) that allows drag 'n drop to other applications?)
Tuesday, 24 October 2006 07:59:47 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
wow it looks really nice can't wait to try it out. Why dont you look at songbird and get some inspiration on how to handle podcasts :D.
Tuesday, 24 October 2006 13:57:58 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
Will there be a way to configure RSS Bandit to automatically download enclosures to a specific directory?

One of the selling points of podcasts is the ability to just connect my iriver to my computer each morning and sync the podcasts which have downloaded overnight. If I'm subscribed, I want the enclosure. I shouldn't need to perform an extra step to get it.
Dave
Tuesday, 24 October 2006 16:34:38 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
Robin Capper,
>Will RSS Bandit use a folder heirachy to store downloaded podcasts?

Yes. The structure will be "My Documents\RSS Bandit\My Downloaded Files\[feedname]"

>Will it support transfer to a media folder/device from within the application?

You will be able to specify the base folder name you want files downloaded to (e.g. H:\My Device\Podcasts instead of My Documents\RSS Bandit\My Downloaded Files). I'm still debating on whether it is a good idea to support customizing the download folder per feed.



Dave,
> Will there be a way to configure RSS Bandit to automatically download enclosures to a specific directory?

Yes. See above.

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