Problem with particular feed RSS

[Mojoski]

I'm getting the following messages in my log when I try to add this Podcast (url in log message below) but the feed never updates and I never see any items in the feed.

Any suggestions? Is their RSS feed just too long and causing the parser to choke?? It seems huge..

----------------------------------------
981: Attempting at Wed Dec 16 16:36:32 America/New_York 2009
981: Desktop.bbhttp: 1 of 10
981: Desktop.bbhttp unable: Not Connected to Desktop Downloader
981: Wifi.wifi: 2 of 10
981: Wifi.wifi unable: Out of coverage
981: bisdesktop.bbhttp.GPMDSNA01: 3 of 10
981: bisdesktop.bbhttp.GPMDSNA01 unable: Out of coverage
981: bisdesktop.bbhttp.GPMDSNA5C: 4 of 10
981: bisdesktop.bbhttp.GPMDSNA5C unable: Out of coverage
981: mdsdesktop.bbhttp.S45852230: 5 of 10
981: mdsdesktop.bbhttp.S45852230 unable: Out of coverage
981: bisota.bbhttp.GPMDSNA01: 6 of 10
981: Attempting
981: Beginning download of http://www.cfact.org/rss.asp?ca=1 after 0 redirects and time
981: 0 seconds have elapsed since the start of this attempt
982: Full download, no previous parts
988: Response code is 200: OK
988: Response content type: text/xml
988: Server did not send range header, starting from 0 with size 213996
990: Downloaded ended after downloading 213996 bytes
991: startDownload: Download doesn't need more
991: No more downloaders to try
991: Control returned to queue
991: Download succeeded complete
991: Beginning to parse feed
------------------------------------

That is all that ever happens..

Help!

[Mojoski]

Could anyone else try adding this podcast manually and see if you get the same issue I'm having?

http://www.cfact.org/rss.asp?ca=1

Thanks!

Mojoski

[arkolbus]

CFACT has not set up this feed to be podcast-friendly. There is no easy way to directly download the audio. The links in the feed take you to pages where you can listen to the audio through what appears to be a flash player. It's unfortunate that they call it a podcast, because it's not really a podcast. In order to be a podcast, the RSS feed should contain a link to directly download the audio.

[Mojoski]

DOH! Thanks for the clarification! I should have realized that myself.. I think I missed that because both of the web browsers I have on my PC (Firefox and IE) try to get too fancy by half when they see an RSS feed.. They try to figure out what I want to do with the feed and present those options instead of just showing me the XML, like they used to back in the day.. That is most aggravating, but I still should have known better.

I'll have to hunt around on their website and see if there isn't a URL I can use to get a real podcast feed instead..

Thanks!

Mojoski

CFACT has not set up this feed to be podcast-friendly. There is no easy way to directly download the audio. The links in the feed take you to pages where you can listen to the audio through what appears to be a flash player. It's unfortunate that they call it a podcast, because it's not really a podcast. In order to be a podcast, the RSS feed should contain a link to directly download the audio.

[arkolbus]

I'll have to hunt around on their website and see if there isn't a URL I can use to get a real podcast feed instead..]

I checked the CFACT website, Marcus's podcast directory, and iTunes, and couldn't find anything. Best bet is to send CFACT an email and ask for a real podcast feed. Good luck!

[Mojoski]

Thanks for the follow up. I have already sent the CFACT guys a message requesting they consider making a real podcast feed. I'll let you guys know if I hear anything back!

Mojoski

I checked the CFACT website, Marcus's podcast directory, and iTunes, and couldn't find anything. Best bet is to send CFACT an email and ask for a real podcast feed. Good luck!