yorkspace.com

Ok, so there are a ton a websites out there that talk about synchronizing podcasts with a Pocket PC. However, I didn’t find one that’s exactly like the solution I came up with. Here’s what I did.

What I wanted to do seems simple: download podcasts and transfer them to my Pocket PC. If I listen to a podcast, I’ll delete on the Pocket PC and I don’t ever want it to get synced up again. In fact, I don’t need it on my PC anymore either.

So, the first step is to get the podcasts downloaded on my PC. For this, I used iPodder. Very simple program. I don’t need or want anything fancy, so this is great. I have it configured such that it will check for podcasts when started. I also have a shortcut for iPodder in my Startup program group.

The next step is to set up the sync. I chose to sync up with my
SD card using a USB flash card reader. From what I’ve read, trying to use ActiveSync is really slow and complicated. If you always just want to sync with main memory, then you can just setup iPodder to save to the “Pocket_PC My Documents” folder on your desktop. However, that’s not really practical since main memory fills up quick. So really, this process can apply to any mass storage device.

To accomplish the sync, I used Microsoft’s SyncToy. It’s very simple to set up. Just pop the storage card in your PC, then use SyncToy to set up the folders. It’s very simple. The only part you have to think about is if you want the podcasts to be removed from the PC when you delete them from the PPC. If so, then select “Synchronize” when asked “What do you want to do?” To keep them on your PC, but not sync them again when deleted from the PPC, then select “Contribute”

Most articles I’ve read just stop there. However, I wanted to make it REALLY easy to sync up. So, I’ve actually found a use for that annoying Autorun dialog that pops up when you insert removable media. Download and install the TweakUI PowerToy for Windows XP.

Look under My Computer -> Autoplay -> Handlers. Select Create. Enter in the information like the screenshot below. The SyncToy program should be located in C:\Program Files\Microsoft\SyncToy. In the Args box, make sure to replace “Podcasts on PPC” with whatever you called your Folder Pair in SyncToy.

Save your changes and close down TweakUI. Now, next time you insert your SD card, the AutoPlay box pops up and you just double click synchronize. Then SyncToy runs and closes and your done!

That should do it. Hope it works out for you too!

This entry was posted on Friday, September 2nd, 2005 at 8:57 pm and is filed under Podcasting, Pocket PC, Electronics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.