Last time I showed you how to Automate tasks in Mac OS with Automator. I used Automator to create a simple workflow that helps moving MP3 files to iTunes folder. Check that here.

Now I have another task to Automator.

This is the description of what I want to accomplish or the problem description if you prefer:

I often download some free legal MP3 files from the internet for evaluation, more specifically from Indie Rock Cafe (great great site by the way :D - check it out if you like Indie Rock music). I use IndieRockCafe mainly to discover bands that I’ve never heard about. It’s being a great experience so far. I’ve come to know some really good bands that, else I would never hear a song of theirs.

To download those MP3s I use DownThemAll that is a really nice piece of software that works beautifully with Firefox. I wrote about DownThemAll in Automate the download of a list of URLs/links. Although I didn’t write how to download only MP3 files with DownThemAll, this post gives you an idea about the purpose of DownThemAll. I’ll write about how to download only specific kind of files (MP3 in this case) using DownThemAll, but that’s another post. Probably I’ll detail this download process I’m mentioning here.

As I was telling you, I often do the same task, that is, I go to IndieRockCafe, click on DownThemAll icon in my Firefox toolbar and tada, the download of IndieRockCafe’s recently added MP3s just start. DownThemAll will download only page links that point to MP3 files saving these MP3 in a single folder called IndieRockCafe.

After the download I used to select all the files within that folder and drag and drop them inside an iTunes playlist called IndieRockCafe. iTunes is wise enough to tell me that some files are already part of the playlist and gives me the option to skip them adding only new files into that playlist. Doing so I always have a fresh playlist with the latest files of IndieRockCafe. It works, but it has a lot of manual steps.

Yesterday I thought: the above steps are a perfect fit to be automated with Automator.

Let’s create a workflow:

1 - Go to the Applications folder and select Automator.

2 - You’ll be presented with the following screen to choose a template for your workflow. Select Folder Action as the template.

Figure 1 - Types of templates available to create an Automator workflow (Folder Action)

3 - In Folder Action receives folders and files added to, select the folder you want. In my case it is the IndieRockCafe folder.

4 - Now select Music in Library list and then select Import Files into iTunes under the Actions list. Drag this action to the workflow area in the right.

5 - Select Existing playlist and the playlist you want the files to go to. As I wrote above I already have a Playlist called IndieRockCafe inside iTunes. So I selected it.

6 - Go to the File menu and select Save. Give the workflow an appropriate name, e.g. IndieRockCafe.

The following screenshot shows the Folder Action workflow configured:

Figure 2 - IndieRockCafe.workflow configured according to the six steps described above

7 - Now that the workflow is created, there’s a last step required to orchestrate things: go to the IndieRockCafe folder and right-click it. Select Services > Folder Actions Setup… Make sure you attach the IndieRockCafe workflow to this folder as shown in Figure 3:

Figure 3 - Attaching IndieRockCafe.workflow in Folder Actions Setup

Make sure you click the Enable Folder Actions checkbox too:

Figure 4 - Enabling Folder Actions and turning IndieRockCafe.workflow ON for the IndieRockCafe folder

… and we’re done! As you see this is totally life saver.

Every new MP3 that gets added in my IndieRockCafe folder through DownThemAll or that I manually place in this folder will be automatically added in IndieRockCafe playlist.

Task successfully automated!

I’m a music lover and I hope you can take advantage of it too.

Important
DownThemAll creates file segments ( *.dtapart files ) while downloading. DownThemAll splits the file into several parts and then downloads each segment of the file individually, which gives you better speed from servers, especially those that choose to limit your download speed. This behavior will cause the workflow created above to fail because iTunes won’t recognize those parted files when trying to import them. To solve this problem, do the following:

In Firefox Tools menu choose More dTa Tools and then select Preferences.

In tab Advanced and under Temporary files choose a directory to store those dtapart files. See screenshot below to have an idea:

Figure 5 - Using a temporary folder to store DownThemAll file parts or segments

Doing the above, DownThemAll will store those partial files in a separate folder. When it finishes downloading a file it will join its parts and then will move that file to the IndieRockCafe folder I specified in the workflow. Now iTunes will import the MP3.

Note
Folder action workflows are saved in
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Workflows/Applications/Folder Actions

Download
You can download this workflow at:
https://sites.google.com/site/leniel/blog/IndieRockCafe.workflow.zip

If you wanna follow the explanation of this post by looking at cell references, go to this post: Taking Microsoft Office Excel Web App for a spin

I’ll show you a practical use of the CountIf function that you can apply in both Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and Google Docs spreadsheets.

Let’s start with this sample spreadsheet:

I’m using the above spreadsheet to keep track of my progress during the course for my first driver’s license.

The CountIf function is being used in column Remaining classes for each discipline. For example, the actual formula in cell I17 is this:

I17 = H17 - countif(D3:I14, B17)

Let’s break this thing and explain each piece:

H17 is a fixed value = 18. I know it beforehand. In this case for the Transit Legislation discipline I must have a total of 18 classes.

The countif function has this form: COUNTIF(range, criteria). So the above countif(D3:I14, B17) is telling us that:

D3:I14 is the range of cells we’re searching and B17 is what we’re after… The range encompasses all the disciplines’ acronyms from 11/23/2010 to 12/9/2010 for all the timetable.

B17 is the discipline’s acronym, in this case it is TL.

Easy to understand, isn’t it?

Doing the above with countif I can tell how many classes I have scheduled for that discipline. Then I just subtract this value from the total necessary classes to have a picture of how many classes I still have to go through to fulfill the necessary ones.

Let’s do the math:

CountIf returns 18 because LT appears 18 times in the timetable. Making the substitution of values:

I17 = H17 - countif(D3:I14, B17)
I17 =  18 - 18 = 0

Now I know that if I follow the above schedule I’ll probably finish the theoretical course by 12/9/2010. Pretty good.

This was a simple and practical use of the countif function that came in handy in this situation.

Permit me to go a little bit "off topic" with this post… is it really off topic to a computer professional?

I know this is kinda of cliché and that it may scares you, but physical activity is a human necessity and as such it deserves special attention. So here I am writing about it hoping that someone that reads this takes notice and start acting right away. Do not leave for tomorrow what you can do today! Yet another cliché I know but it is perfect in this phrase.

People of my "professional class" and also from my generation also known as generation Y are the ones most impacted by the lack of physical exercises in this modern age of ours. In our age we are completely immersed in technology with products that make us want to avoid the outsides. Just to name a few: computers, internet, video games, delivery services, etc.

One thing that I as a computer engineer "have done" in the past 7 to 8 years was not moving my body to the extent needed.

When I was a kid ( 6 to 11 years old ) I used to play soccer almost 7 days a week. I lived near a soccer field. Then I moved to Volta Redonda where I live now and it ceased to happen.

In Volta Redonda I used to go to school every day cycling, that was about 6 KM (this route in Google Maps) each day. I used to play soccer with my street friends in front of my house (this green field seen in Google Street View) at least once a week, but as we all grew up we just did not keep contact and then the soccer games disappeared. I also used to go to Águas Quentes Country Club Resort "near" my house that has a lot of pools to practice swimming and that is now just past as well. I am not a member of the club anymore.

People that work with computers pass a lot of time fixed in a single place (programmers do it more frequently) as is my case and this tends to cause bad consequences to the body. Lots and lots of articles and TV programs debate this theme and lots and lots of people just do not give the necessary attention to this subject.

I am writing about this because I think it is crucial to our lives, that is, we were made to be in constant movement and it makes sense to expose my point of view since I am an avid user of computers and everything in between. Maybe this post will even serve as a start point to someone studying the impact of modern life in human health. What does a generation Y guy think about the subject? So here it is…

I definitely started to pay attention to this only after almost 2 years working at Chemtech. The work rhythm is intense and for someone that is starting in the job market, exercising can be a point of no interest and if you do not wake up to reality things can get worrisome. We had gymnastics at the workplace but that was not really something that I would call exercising, you know. While at Chemtech, on the weekends I was always inclined to rest since I was tired of working the whole week.

OK. What have I found? We need a way of moving our body, working out for at least 30 minutes a day. You can do the kind of exercise that is a best fit to you, but the thing is: do something to move your body. Do not tie yourself to the same routine each and every day - car/bus to workplace, seat, a little walking to have lunch, in a sitting position again and then car/bus to home.

Since I started college in 2003 my exercising level downgraded to unacceptable levels. To correct this, one thing that I started doing lately was going to the gym to stretch my muscles – 5 days a week – 1/1.5 hours a day.

I am in the 3rd month mark now and I am really satisfied with the results because my overall mood got better and now I know I am contributing to my body and health. Body, Mind and Soul must be in synchrony.

The benefits of physical exercising are numerous and if you want to know more about them, refer to this article.

If you can not go to the gym: go walking/cycling to your workplace, do stair climbing (avoid elevators), but definitely do something that puts your body in movement. Start slowly and then increase the pace. You will see that as times goes by it starts to be a part of your day and the day you do not exercise you feel something is wrong/missing. Your body will ask for it. Amazing, isn't it? This is only a part of what we need to keep a healthy life. Of course, what you eat will have great impact in your health. Exercising alone will not be sufficient. Watch out for your way of life.

I think the point is: we all know that these are difficult days and that arranging all this stuff seems daunting enough. We already have a bunch of things to do but what if we do not keep close attention to our body health? We will not have anything else to be preoccupied with because maybe we will not be able to do that bunch of things again without a capable body. Did you get the point? I hope so.

An advice from an intensive computer user to everyone out there that thinks that exercises are not important: exercises do make a difference in life even more if you are a computer professional that depends on computers to get things done. It is better to start early and to keep it a constant in your life. You will save yourself and your money from doctors, medicines, hospitals, etc., that is, while it is not a guarantee it is most probably that you will save yourself from suffering. You will get a better quality of life having fun along the way.

Shake Yourself! I am linking to a Yes song titled Owner of a Lonely Heart that passes the message.

Updated on 12/30/2013

I’ve quit the gym because after 2 to 3 years there things started to get boring. I prefer the outdoors and cycling is my favorite exercise. The feeling I get while pedaling is inexplicable.

If you happen to own a mobile device, there’s a great app to keep track of your activity be it running or bike riding. It’s called Strava.

Here’s my latest activity:

Complementary reading

Sitting is Making You Fat and Killing You by Phil Haack

While applying to a masters degree course I had to write an essay of no more than 500 words containing:

1. Personal appreciation about the evolution of my academic and professional activities up to now, avoiding the mere repetition of information already contained in my resume/CV.
2. Succinct description about the reasons I have to take a post-graduation course and what I expect from the course.
3. My expectations regarding the post-graduate course's influences in my future professional activities.
4. Specification of topics of interest, trying to correlate them with the research area of the program I'm applying to.

So far so good.

I have sent my enrollment docs to two of the best universities in the Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil, namely: UFRJ and PUC-Rio. Both of them have the highest assessment grades ( 7 ) conferred by CAPES. CAPES is the Brazilian government agency responsible for the evaluation of post-graduate courses.

I applied for two research areas: Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence.

The essay I'm posting here (English and Portuguese versions) is from the UFRJ enrollment process (Software Engineering one) in which I applied to the Systems and Computer Engineering Program (site in Portuguese).

Now I hope to be called for at least one of these institutions. UFRJ process requires the applicant to take some tests: language test (English) and specifics test (the research area you're applying to) and both counts towards the acceptance.

---

Essay
I have been trying for almost three years now (since the graduation in Computer Engineering in Dec/2007) to apply at work and in my life the content I learned.

I succeeded in my last job at Chemtech because I had a good background provided by the Computer Engineering course. During the course, the disciplines that really caught my attention were those related to software. In this last job experience I could put into practice the theory seen at the university in my first level degree. I participated in several interesting software projects. I found this way the importance of theory in the activities of a computer professional.

My motivation to continue the studies through a masters course exists since I finished the first level degree. Meanwhile, between the graduation and the master's degree, I got a job. One of the reasons that made me quit that job was simply because I wanted to continue studying. I attended great part of the university only studying, which allowed me to have a good performance. Likewise, I wish to attend the masters in full time.

I want to take the post-graduate course to:

1 - Learn and get a deep understanding of the software area;
2 - Improve what I know;
3 - Grow as a computer professional;
4 - Get better opportunities in the job market.

My expectations for the course are the best. I know the the course and institution reputation and I know I can learn a lot. This is my main goal: to learn more and with quality. I am hungry for knowledge!

After the masters and possessing more advanced knowledge, I intend to pursue a career in software. The software engineering market is "young" compared to others and has shown steady growth in recent years. I believe that this market will provide excellent opportunities for the professional who has a post-graduate degree in the area. Money Magazine and Salary.com site rated the area of Software Engineering as the best area to work in 2006. This demonstrates and attests this area's power and influence in the global market. When I mention a career, I think of software companies or even in educational institutions as a teacher/university researcher. Any of these options I choose will satisfy me as a person and as professional. If I decide to go with a software company, I hope to contribute with a deeper view on the aspects involving software projects. Otherwise, I hope to be able to disseminate advanced knowledge in the area, teaching people. Brazil in particular has a deficit of engineers and particularly in the area of software engineering, which is a technology area that adds greater value and therefore contributes more effectively to the growth of our country.

My interest in the area of software engineering is focused on the development of software products. I love writing code, and consequently the programming languages, solve programming problems, study the software tools used in development and all the metrics involved and any possible subject that is related to software engineering.

See:

http://www.leniel.net
http://stackoverflow.com/users/114029/leniel-macaferi

---

Redação
Tenho buscado nestes quase 3 anos de formado em Engenharia de Computação aplicar no trabalho e nada vida o conteúdo que aprendi.

Tive êxito em minha última experiência profissional devido à base proporcionada pelo curso de Engenharia de Computação. Durante o curso, as matérias que mais chamaram minha atenção foram aquelas ligadas a software. Nesta última experiência profissional pude colocar em prática a teoria vista na faculdade. Participei em vários projetos de software interessantes. Constatei dessa maneira a importância da teoria nas atividades do profissional de computação.

Minha motivação para dar continuidade nos estudos através de um curso de mestrado existe desde que terminei o curso de graduação. Neste meio tempo, entre a graduação e o mestrado, consegui um emprego. Um dos motivos que me fez sair desse emprego foi justamente o de querer continuar os estudos. Cursei a maior parte da graduação somente estudando, o que me permitiu ter um bom aproveitamento. Da mesma forma, desejo cursar o mestrado com dedicação exclusiva.

Quero fazer o curso de pós-graduação para:

1 - Aprender e me aprofundar mais na área de software;
2 - Aprimorar o que sei;
3 - Crescer como profissional da área;
4 - Conseguir melhores oportunidades no mercado de trabalho.

Minhas expectativas quanto ao curso são as melhores. Conheço a reputação do curso e da instituição e sei que poderei aprender bastante. Este é o meu principal objetivo: aprender mais e com qualidade. Sou faminto por conhecimento!

Após o mestrado e de posse do conhecimento mais avançado, pretendo seguir carreira na área de software. O mercado de engenharia de software é "jovem" se comparado a outros e tem apresentado constante expansão nos últimos anos. Creio que este mercado proporcionará excelentes oportunidades para o profissional que possui uma pós-graduação na área. A revista Money Magazine e o site Salary.com, classificaram a área de Engenharia de Software como a melhor área para se trabalhar no ano de 2006. Isso mostra e atesta o poder e influência da área no mercado global.Quando menciono seguir carreira, penso em empresas de software ou até mesmo em instituições de ensino como professor/pesquisador universitário. Qualquer uma dessas opções que eu escolher me satisfará como pessoa e profissional. Caso eu siga em uma empresa de software, espero contribuir com uma visão mais ampla sobre os aspectos que envolvem os projetos de software. Caso contrário, espero ter a possibilidade de disseminar o conhecimento avançado na área, ajudando a formar pessoal capacitado. O Brasil em especial tem um déficit na área de engenharia e particularmente na engenharia de software, que é uma área tecnológica que agrega maior valor e portanto contribui de maneira mais eficaz para o crescimento do nosso país.

Meu interesse pela área de engenharia de software é centrado no desenvolvimento do produto de software. Amo escrever código e consequentemente as linguagens de programação, resolver problemas de programação, estudar ferramentas de software usadas no desenvolvimento e todas as métricas envolvidas e qualquer outro assunto possível que seja relativo à engenharia de software.

Veja:

http://www.leniel.net
http://stackoverflow.com/users/114029/leniel-macaferi

Here I’ll point you to great iPhone apps that I use. As I discover new ones I'll update this post to showcase them.

Use the comments section bellow to point me to great iPhone apps you use. Let's share them with the world.

Note
App here means any kind of application including games.

App - A to Z	Description
Analytics Pro	Finally a Google Analytics App that has all the features you want and need. Your data is presented in a useful and meaningful way rather than just listing the data like some other apps.
Aqueduct	Introducing Aqueduct - a world of jumbled waterways and mixed-up pipelines. It's up to you to rearrange the tracks and restore the flow. Locked gates, shifty conveyor belts, puzzling warp portals, and more stand between you and order. With over 190 unique puzzles, spanning 8 chapters of difficulty, Aqueduct delivers hours of neuron-jolting fun.
Download Manager Pro	Download Manager Pro is an ultimate download manager application which allows you to download files by using your iPhone OS device. You can view and share them.
Guitar Hero	Guitar Hero - the biggest music videogame franchise ever created is now available for the first time on your iPhone or iPod Touch! It’s your chance to experience the original, addictive guitar game that over 40 million people have jammed out to worldwide.
HP 15C Calculator	Developed by HP, the HP 15C Scientific Calculator app for your iPhone or iPod Touch is an exact replica of the original layout, functions, algorithms and calculation sequences you trusted to help you through college and your career.
iBabylon	With iBabylon you have translation @ a touch! Babylon the world’s leading provider of dictionary and translation software, brings you iBabylon for iPhone and iPod. iBabylon gives you quick and comprehensive dictionary results in over 75 languages, as well as effective full-text translations between dozens of languages.
Plants vs. Zombies	Winner of more than 20 Game of the Year awards! A mob of fun-loving zombies is about to invade your home. Use your arsenal of 49 zombie-zapping plants — peashooters, wall-nuts, cherry bombs and more — to kill 26 types of zombies before they break down your door. Get ready to soil your plants!
Scrobbl	Scrobbl is useful for Last.fm users. Its is an update of Tony Hoyle's Scrobble daemon for iPhone iOS 3.0. Music you listen to using your iPhone gets scrobbled so that you won't miss a song in your profile. You can find it in BigBoss' repo on Cydia. It is compatible with the SBSettings Scrobble Toggle so you can turn scrobbling on and off quickly.
Tetris	Now celebrating over 100-million paid downloads on mobile! Discover why millions of players around the world have made the TETRIS® game one of the biggest blockbusters in mobile gaming history.
Twitter	Discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world with the official Twitter for iPhone app. Realtime search, top tweets, trending topics and maps show what's happening now everywhere and nearby. Tweet, send DMs, share photos, videos and links to your friends and the world. Don't have an account? Just sign up from the app!
Wi-Fi Sync	Wi-Fi Sync enables wireless syncing with iTunes at the touch of a button. Never go looking for that USB cable again. Sync from the car, bed or shed whenever it suits you. Available now on Cydia Store for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. You won't find it on the App Store.

This post is to offer consulting services in the area of computer engineering with a tendency toward software development. Whatever fits the bill is also of my interest.

During the rest of 2010 and the start of 2011 I plan to work as a freelance developer.

Next year I want to get back to studying with a Master's degree. Though probably not an online masters.

What I want to do in the meantime...
I'm willing to work from home in a home office arrangement. Something that won't take up all my day. I prefer to have control over my work and time. So, I'm offering consulting services for whatever need you may have regarding your presence on the internet.

I can help you leverage your business putting you online. I can build your website and configure Google Analytics and AdSense if you're also interested in these services.

I can assist you with problem solving and technical issues.

Although I'm a native Brazilian, technology standards and English are my super power when it comes to software development.

If you think that outsourcing your development is rewarding, don't think twice. You'll get a great result with the work I do.

My specialties
ASP.NET MVC/P
C++, C#, Java, Objective-C, JavaScript
CSS, jQuery
LINQ, Entity Framework (EF), N/Hibernate, NoSQL
WCF, WebServices
Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL
Visual Studio, Eclipse, PL/SQL Developer
IIS, Tomcat
iPhone

I'm a rapid learner. This way if you need something done using any other technology, drop me a line and I'll consider it.

Note
I already have the tools necessary to implement any solution based on the above technologies.
Feel free to contact me using the link at the top of this page for further discussion.

My references
This blog
CV/Resume
StackOverflow profile
LinkedIn profile

Sincerely,
Leniel Macaferi
johnleniel

This one is about an incredible application that comes with Mac OS X. Its name is Automator.

Jesus Christ, this is a life saver app!

This is the description of Automator:

With Automator, you can accomplish time-consuming, repetitive manual tasks quickly, efficiently, and effortlessly. Automator lets you skip the complex programming and scripting that is normally required to create automations. Instead, you assemble individual steps into a complete task by dragging these actions into an Automator workflow. Automator comes with a library of hundreds of actions. And with the Watch Me Do action, you can record an action — such as pressing a button or controlling an application without built-in Automator support — and replay it as an action in a workflow.

I have lots of MP3 files that I need to go through analyzing if I really want to keep them in my media library. During the last year I stored all those MP3 in a folder and such a folder is now 55.56 GB and contains 11840 files to be precise. That’s a lot of MP3! I keep postponing this open/listen to task but today I thought I’d start. That’s where Automator fits the job.

In this post I’ll show you how to create a simple workflow that helps moving the MP3 files to iTunes folder /Users/leniel/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Automatically Add to iTunes. The folder Automatically Add to iTunes is a special folder that iTunes keeps watching for new files added to it. When a file is added in this folder, iTunes automatically adds it to the media library using MP3 metadata to organize the library. When added files will reside in /Users/leniel/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music.

Let’s create the workflow:

1 - Go to the Applications folder and select Automator.

2 - You’ll be presented with the following screen to choose a template for your workflow. Select Service as the template.

Figure 1 - Types of templates available to create an Automator workflow

3 - In Service receives selected, select audio files. “In” select Finder.

4 - Now select Files & Folders in Library list and then select Move Finder Items under the Actions list. Drag this action to the workflow area in the right.

5 - In Move Finder Items select the folder where you want the files to be moved to. You also have the option of showing the action when the workflow runs.

6 - Go to the File menu and select Save. Give it an appropriate name as Add to iTunes and you’re done.

The following screenshot shows the Service workflow configured:

 
Figure 2 - Add to iTunes.workflow configured according to the six steps described above

Now, let’s use this service workflow. To do this, go to Finder and open any folder that contains audio files such as MP3. Right click the MP3 file and voila. Now there’s an extra context menu option called Add to iTunes. What a marvelous thing.

Figure 3 - Add to iTunes context menu option in Finder when right clicking MP3 file(s)

What happens when Add to iTunes is clicked? The workflow we created will be executed and the selected file(s) will be moved to the folder specified in the workflow, in this case /Users/leniel/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Automatically Add to iTunes.

As you see this is totally life saver.

I can play the MP3 in iTunes and if I decide that I want to keep it in my media library I just have to select Add to iTunes.

The possibilities with Automator are endless given the amount of options in its Library and Actions lists and workflow template types.

I hope you could get an idea of what Automator can do.

Updated on 12/16/2010

If you make a slight change in step 3 above you can have this workflow add not only audio files but even entire folders to iTunes and better yet, iTunes will ask if you want to replace existing files so that you don’t end up with duplicate files in your iTunes library. This is great.

So what do you have to do? Instead of audio files, select files or folders. Just this. Save the workflow. Now right click over any folder in Finder and you’ll see that you get a new menu option under Services called Add to iTunes.

Figure 4 - Add to iTunes context menu option in Finder when right clicking a folder

Notes
Service workflows are saved in /Users/YourUserName/Library/Services.

In prior versions of Mac OS, there was an option to save the workflow as a plug-in. This was necessary so that you could have a context menu option (right-click) in Finder to run the workflow. I tried to go this way but this option isn’t available in Mac OS X 10.6.4. I realized that I had to create a Service workflow when I read this question at Apple’s Support site: No Automator plug-in in 10.6?

Download
You can download this workflow at:
https://sites.google.com/site/leniel/blog/AddtoiTunes.workflow.zip

References
Automator - Your Personal Automation Assistant

Automator - Learn by example

Automator at Apple’s Mac OS – All Applications and Utilities

Automator article at Wikipedia