A friend recently asked me if I knew of a way to synchronize his podcasts (using iTunes) on multiple computers.
Initially I had no idea, but then I remembered PodNova.
Aside: I’ve since learned that iTunes supports OPML import / export, but still think PodNova is the better way to go — online centralized repository of all your podcast feeds VS saving and moving OPML files between computers.
I’d written about it a few years ago when I was looking into a text-to-speach solution for my blog: How to convert your blog post into a podcast.
Basically, PodNova is a service that you use to subscribe to all of your podcasts. Or, you can stream your podcasts directly to your computer (or mobile device: iPhone, iPod Touch, etc).
But, if you want to keep all your computers synchronized, you simply point your iTunes subscription at ‘your personalized’ RSS podcast feed. Done.
The result is that you now have one feed to remember, but that feed now contains ALL your podcast subscriptions. All you have to do is subscribe to your PodNova feed, sit back, and enjoy your podcasts. Once per computer.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for your suggestion. I still cannot get it to do exactly what I want. I often check for new podcasts from both work and home. Even with PodNova I still get the same podcast downloaded to both computers. I am too cheap to own a real ipod that does fancy syncs so I just copy the files to my player. Thus I end up double downloading and having double copies on my player.
I need a service that remembers what I have downloaded no matter what computer I do it from . Do you know of a way to do what I want ?
Thanks
Wendell
Hi Wendell, I’m not sure how you would do that with PodNova.
One thing you may try is setting up a DropBox account. This is a secure shared directory. You install the application on both computers, and DropBox keeps specific directories synchronized. Then, when you use an applications like iTunes or Songbird, specify your DropBox directory as the podcast directory, and it should manage the sync for you.
Warning, I’ve not tested this so it may not work at all; I’m just cobbling the various features of the applications together to take a stab at a solution. If you try it, let me know how it worked for you.
– Brad