Download Media using Browser addon

jeadorf
September 29, 2010, 01:58 AM posted in General Discussion

I grew tired of manually downloading the lesson media. WLCP brings relief to this issue. Yet, a browser addon would be nice that allows you to integrate the fast-download-everything-and-shelve feature within the browser.

I created a Firefox addon prototype that lets you download all media files with a single click. There is a picture attached which describes the process.  It is mature enough for my personal usage. As I love sharing, my questions are:

  1. Is there any interest in such an addon?
  2. I conceive that WLCP and I are currently duplicating efforts. Solution?
  3. Currently, I am hacking the DOM to gather information. Is there any progress with a ChinesePod API?
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matthiask
September 29, 2010, 08:36 AM

hey jeadorf,

sounds like you are shooting sparrows with canons.

Your lesson feed does exactly the same - just get itunes or any other podcast software to download your lessons daily and automatically.

The lessons feed is this funny orange symbol in the grey bar of your dashboard.

Oh, and yes, the Chinesepod API is quite nice already.

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jeadorf
October 02, 2010, 01:15 PM

Thanks for your answer. Yes, you are absolutely correct about "shooting sparrows with cannons", and the reason I did it this way was partly because it was actually fun producing the browser addon.  Your idea of accessing the links via the lesson feed is quite simple and (thus) very nice, though I still somewhat prefer to precisely select what I download at what time.

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eupnea63355

jeadorf, can you download the individual mp3's from , say, the Expansion page with your addon? Like we used to do with WCLP before CP shut it out? I am increasingly frustrated with the changes at CP and am hoping, hoping someone will write another WLCP soon. Ah, if only great things would have been left alone. (If it ain't broke...)

CP assumes everyone has some kind of "podcast software" which I never needed (still don't have) when I first subscribed to CP.

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jeadorf

No, I am sorry. It currently does not support downloading single media files that correspond to the phrases on the dialogue page. Just the lesson audio file (CD quality), the audio review, the dialogue and the transcript PDF. I share your opinion that you are required to buy certain gadgets and use external software to use ChinesePod. For example, Linux users are unable to use with learning the pronunciation using the Pinyin chart as it is written in a OS-dependent way. There might be a Linux version coming, I am waiting for this. I think ChinesePod should really give a warning ahead that people should consider buying Windows or Mac-OS to make use of all the elementary ChinesePod services when subscribing.

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eupnea63355

Thanks for your reply. I used to be so in love with CP but have been considering dropping it for a while, then trying it again for maybe a month to see how convenient or more inconvenient it may have become.

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jeadorf
October 10, 2010, 02:45 PM

I have uploaded an alpha-version, you can download the cpodfetcher Firefox addon here. On YOUR own responsibility, it is provided as-is. Please read the wiki instructions first. Feedback is  welcome, as always.