10 Comments to “PodNova – Another Free Desktop Podcast Client”

1. 

   Posted by: luc-mobile

   December 26, 2007 at 7:06 pm EST

   Man, I was trying to avoid this topic and maybe look a little less bitchy and grumpy to your readers, but you mentioned my name and… oh dear. Here we go.
   .
   I hate Python apps. They never really just rely on Python. They usually also require
   py-this
   py-that
   py-thisonetoo
   py-somethingelse
   py-optional (note: will not work work without it)
   py-dontforgetthis
   py-andalsothat
   py-ikidyounot
   .
   OK, now I have downloaded this PodNova thing, which is not an installable package. It is a tarball instead. Then we wonder why Linux never becomes popular… :-\
   .
   I still have no idea how many dependencies it will require to work. I’ll find out as soon as I try to run it on a command line. But heck if I know how to install this thing! Am I supposed to compile this thing? It doesn’t look like it. I open the tarball and there are 76 files in it. No sight of any “make” or “configure” files. I proceed to skim through the folder in search of a “readme” file… No, there isn’t any. Oh! Oh! Maybe an “install.txt” file! No, there isn’t any. A “docs” folder… No, there isn’t any either. Ha! Here is an “index.html” file! Hum. It won’t open. I inspect it with a text editor. It looks like a Web interface to PodNova (which apparently will run as a server when and IF I ever get this thing running). There is a “podnova-install.nsi” file. NSI must be for Windows. Inspect it with text editor. Yes, it is for Windows. There is a “PodNova.pyc” file. It is binary. I make it executable and run it. I get some short garbled output. Oh, “build_linux_pyc.pyc”. It’s binary. Let’s run it! Short garbled output again. I slap my forehead! Of course it doesn’t have any instructions! I am supposed to visit their Web site! Open source developers do that all the time: force us to go online to get the thing running, probably to read some manual in wiki format. Let’s go! I see “Help Center”. This is it! Hum… “Take the quicktour to learn more about blah blah blah…” Nothing about installation. Ah! Frequently Asked Questions! Hmm… Hmm… No mention of installation either… Hmm… Hmm…
   .
   Pardon my manners, guys, but what the hell??? Seriously, is this really developed by humans? FOR humans? Geez. Maybe it really works on Linux, but beware: requires CrystalBall.tar.gz. Which I don’t have.
   .
   Grumble.
2. 

   Posted by: Ronen Halevy

   December 27, 2007 at 10:08 am EST

   Yeah python has always been a pain in the… But I had a few people confirm that it works
3. 

   Posted by: Barkhat

   December 29, 2007 at 2:27 am EST

   Can someone advise how to install this software? Like luc-mobile, I don’t have a clue. I’m a newbie and so any help is very much appreciated.
4. 

   Posted by: Ronen Halevy

   December 31, 2007 at 1:26 pm EST

   Honestly Python is beyond my understanding. All I know is how to install it and maintain it on a server level but even that is minimal. I never had much interest in it but I know many users who swear by it. Let me see if I can get a friend to respond…
5. 

   Posted by: vpspr

   February 17, 2008 at 3:35 pm EST

   to launch:
   # python PodNova.pyc
6. 

   Posted by: Luciano

   February 17, 2008 at 5:38 pm EST

   ——————————————————–
   $[801]~> python /home/luc/progs/PodNova-2.4-linux-py25/PodNova.pyc
   Exception: No module named wx

   In order to run PodNova Desktop Client, you need to have the wxPython library 2.6.3 or higher installed.
   This library provides the GUI interface.
   To download and install the wxPython library, please visit http://www.wxpython.org/download.php
   Make sure you download and install the ‘unicode’ version of the library.
   ——————————————————–

   Apparently, installing wxPython-2.6.3.2 didn’t help. Neither did installing wxPython-2.8.6.1. Very typical of Python.
7. 

   Posted by: Ronen Halevy

   February 17, 2008 at 9:29 pm EST

   Luc I guess you had a fun weekend
8. 

   Posted by: Carlos

   February 25, 2008 at 3:06 am EST

   Thanks vpspr!

   Your solution worked perfectly.
   “to launch: # python PodNova.pyc”

   There is no installation required. Just unzip the tar, navigate to it via the terminal and type in the above command provided by vpspr. Make a launcher and you won’t have to do that every time you want it started.
9. 

   Posted by: Tom Purnell

   April 6, 2008 at 6:44 am EST

   I fail to see how the lack of documentation for one application is the fault of python. I downloaded PodNova and ran into the same issues, but surely trying to pin the blame on Python is like blaming a rice farmer for your inability to operate your microwave to cook your dinner.
10. 

    Posted by: Luciano ES

    April 6, 2008 at 8:48 am EST

    The lack of documentation has to do with the application only. The problem with Python is that Python applications always have too many dependencies.
    .
    And there is more: you had better install that one very specific version of the extension, or the application won’t work. I’ve even run into more than one Python application that refused to work without an extension and also refused to work after I installed *a newer* version than the one that was required! The application absolutely required a very specific version that was already old! Then what if another finicky Python application rejects that old version and requires the new one? I can’t have both applications work. Lame.
    .
    I am biased. I am a Tcler. Tcl applications don’t usually require extensions because they are already there. It is incredibly easy to embed a Tcl extension into a Tcl application. And even if you don’t, any reasonably recent (last 4 years) version of the extension will work. Unfortunately, Tcl didn’t attain popularity. Developers preferred Python or Java, probably because it is so difficult to do anything with them that developers that work with these difficult languages automatically become more valuable and have their jobs more secure.
    .
    Actually, Linux applications should be like GoogleEarth, Firefox or Windows applications: require no extensions. OK, offer the stripped down version for the Gentoo propeller heads that are going to whine and moan about the 0.004% lost CPU performance and 0.013% lost disk space. But make a headache-free version available too, for those who have better things to do than troubleshoot extensions of a language that nobody gives a rat’s ass about unless you’re a programmer (and that applies to any programming language).