A couple of months ago I mentioned PodcastUtilities. This month we have produced a new version of PodcastUtilities that now supports downloading and synchronising podcast media files. You can download a compiled version of PodcastUtilities in a zip file from BitBucket

For the last five years I have been using Juice and it has provided sterling service as a podcast downloader, however it appears to have been dormant for the last six years since the run in with Apple. Sometimes Juice gets confused and downloads podcasts that it has already downloaded. Also, I download to a flash drive which means that I can use my main computer or my netbook to keep up to date with my podcasts, I use a portable version of Juice from the utterly wonderful folk over at portable apps, however it does not seem to play well with Windows 7 and can sometimes get confused about where to store its downloads.

PodcastUtilities has now reached the stage where I can stop using Juice and move over to using my own app. If anyone else would like a downloader then head over to BitBucket and give it a whirl.

The main advantages of PodcastUtilities

· Portable
Podcast Utilities is a “portable” application, in that it does not need to be installed and can be run from any drive type, local network or removable flash drive

· Configurable
Almost any synchronisation solution can be configured, for example copy 3 of this podcast, all of these podcasts, in this order, and leave a certain amount of space on the device. The number of concurrent downloads can easily be configured.

· Lightweight
The application does not use large amounts of memory in a system tray icon all the time its not being used, it only uses system resources when its being run.

· Scriptable
Podcast Utilities lends itself to being run as a scheduled task or from a script. The API is “headless” and can easily be called and used from other applications

· Open Source
The source is open and available

· Free
There is no cost to using Podcast Utilities for any use.

· No need for an iTunes account
Podcasts promoted on iTunes can be downloaded however there is no need to have an iTunes account.