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awesome way to be more productive with ipad+torrents

M

mrathee

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 8, 2010
404
0
So, to preface this thread - I am a huge productivity nerd. I research devices for months before buying them to make sure they can live up to my excessive expectations. after purchasing, I try to get the most out of these devices by OTA syncs, apps that let them access each other, and more.

For this specific situation, the important devices I own are: an ipad, iphone, mac book pro, alienware m9700 laptop, and a drobo (in case you dont know what that is, I highly suggest you look into it. it was my solution after losing 6-7 external HDs over the course of 4 years. http://www.drobo.com)


Today, while on lunch at work, I did something new. (new for me at least)

If you use torrents, this is a huge bonus for you.

I thought of something that I needed to download while I was at work. I had my ipad and iphone with me. Here is what I did:

I visited a torrent site and located the .torrent file i wanted. Once i clicked it, i got the usual "Safari cannot download this file" prompt. So, I added "g" before the http:// to allow goodreader to download the file.

Good reader completed the file quickly and then allowed me to upload it to my dropbox. Once there, I moved the file to my "#Sync Torrents" folder.

On my alienware computer at home, as well as the mac, I have a rule setup that forces dropbox to check the #Sync Torrents folder every minute. Once it notices a change, utorrent opens.

Utorrent is set to "Load torrents from:" the #Sync Torrents folder on my local dropbox drive. It then activates said torrent, and moves the .torrent file from dropbox to my drobo for local redundant storage and continues downloading.

So - the .torrent is stored for future access on my local drive, uTorrent is downloading the file, the #Sync Dropbox folder is now empty, telling me (from my remote location) that uTorrent has loaded the file, and I can continue eating my lunch.

All in about 2 minutes.

To me, this is awesome. I love finding new ways to get thing done and be productive, and this little gem was a big step in that direction.

Hopefully this helps some of you that have the same situation.
 
M

mrathee

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 8, 2010
404
0
danpass said:
You can also remote desktop into your computer (I've been using Wyse Pocketcloud)

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/900457/





.
Click to expand...

I've done that as well using logmein, but to login to the computer then do searches and setup torrents is a laggy and slow experience (especially over 3g)

Not to mention that my girlfriend is usually home during the day, and the computer is hooked up to my HDTV which is inevitably playing sex and the city full screen.

needless to say, as soon as I login remotely and break full screen i get an, almost instantaneous, text asking what im doing and why it cant wait.


this solution bypasses that - and for those that dont have remote desktop software, it bypasses that $30+ price tag associated with many of them.
 
navajarunner

navajarunner

macrumors regular
Feb 3, 2009
152
0
That is way too much work to get your home computer to download a torrent while you are away. Seriously, look into getting a getting a remote desktop app.

I use Jump which allows me to control my pc at home with my ipad or my iphone.
 
M

mrathee

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 8, 2010
404
0
navajarunner said:
That is way too much work to get your home computer to download a torrent while you are away. Seriously, look into getting a getting a remote desktop app.

I use Jump which allows me to control my pc at home with my ipad or my iphone.
Click to expand...

it sounds like too much work in explanation maybe but first - takes under 2 minutes, second: the only added steps are: upload to goodreader and then to dropbox sync folder.

Those two steps would probably be shorter than: opening remote desktop software, connect to correct pc, open browser, search torrent, download and run torrent


Im saying from experience because I use logmeinpro and it simply is not fast enough to do this. Searching and maneuvering on the ipad native is much quicker and the goodreader upload is a sub-5 second job.
 
danpass

danpass

macrumors 68030
Jun 27, 2009
2,691
479
Glory
mrathee said:
I've done that as well using logmein, but to login to the computer then do searches and setup torrents is a laggy and slow experience (especially over 3g)

Not to mention that my girlfriend is usually home during the day, and the computer is hooked up to my HDTV which is inevitably playing sex and the city full screen.

needless to say, as soon as I login remotely and break full screen i get an, almost instantaneous, text asking what im doing and why it cant wait.


this solution bypasses that - and for those that dont have remote desktop software, it bypasses that $30+ price tag associated with many of them.
Click to expand...
p992381387.gif



At least with the Windows OS setup you can run concurrent sessions. I found the termserv.dll hack and got Vista Home Premium and Win7 Pro to run their native RD protocol concurrently with any other active profiles on the computer.

So I can log into the computer at home, on my profile, while someone else is using it at the same time.

I no longer use any VNC protocols due to the lagginess
 
tekchic

tekchic

macrumors 68020
Apr 19, 2010
2,056
1,763
Phoenix, AZ
That is a clever use of GoodReader... didn't even know you could do that. I'm using GoodReader heavily these days as my "go to" app since I can drop it there for storage and open it in any other iPad app without having to have multiple copies of documents, etc.

So, let me get this straight... if I do "ghttp://" before the file, it will download into GoodReader and then I can toss it on DropBox?
 
danpass

danpass

macrumors 68030
Jun 27, 2009
2,691
479
Glory
tekchic said:
That is a clever use of GoodReader... didn't even know you could do that. I'm using GoodReader heavily these days as my "go to" app since I can drop it there for storage and open it in any other iPad app without having to have multiple copies of documents, etc.

So, let me get this straight... if I do "ghttp://" before the file, it will download into GoodReader and then I can toss it on DropBox?
Click to expand...

yes, though it only seems to work in Safari (and not Atomic browser)
 
saberahul

saberahul

macrumors 68040
Nov 6, 2008
3,645
111
USA
It's a smart way to set up the system the way you have but lets not forget that torrents are still illegal, at least the copyrighted ones.
Thank you though, I can now download torrents for products like CrossFire and what not (the developers encourage users to download through torrents as it's free and downloading via torrent is faster generally).
 
G

gatearray

macrumors 65816
Apr 24, 2010
1,130
232
navajarunner said:
That is way too much work to get your home computer to download a torrent while you are away. Seriously, look into getting a getting a remote desktop app.

I use Jump which allows me to control my pc at home with my ipad or my iphone.
Click to expand...

It doesn't sound like too much work to me, particularly with that little drop box rule in place.

It sounds very clever, actually, and is another great use of the little know "g" trick in Safari to dowload directly to GoodReader. I use that feature all the time to download PDFs and such, and then send 'em up to iDisk or any other FTP that is stored and always ready to go in GR...

Well done, OP!
 
H

Halon X

macrumors regular
Sep 22, 2005
208
0
Malibu, CA
navajarunner said:
That is way too much work to get your home computer to download a torrent while you are away. Seriously, look into getting a getting a remote desktop app.
Click to expand...

I'll bet dollars to donuts, start to finish that the dropbox method is a lot quicker and easier than logging in via remote desktop.

It's also a lot more bandwidth friendly for those with metered or poor connections.
 
navajarunner

navajarunner

macrumors regular
Feb 3, 2009
152
0
Halon X said:
I'll bet dollars to donuts, start to finish that the dropbox method is a lot quicker and easier than logging in via remote desktop.

It's also a lot more bandwidth friendly for those with metered or poor connections.
Click to expand...

I would gladly accept that bet. I guess it all depends what "setup" anyone has.

Like I mentioned before, I use Jump, which autosaves all my login info so essentially I'm a click away from staring at my desktop. How long does it take for it to connect? Oh I don't know, I've never cared to count since it seems so seamless.

Now since I'm basically working off my computer, I don't need to worry about downloading any torrent file. I just click on the torrent I need and my bitorrent program starts to download away. Exit Jump and I'm done.

The bandwidth things is a separate issue which the OP's method would actually help.

Anyway I don't mean to dismiss this method or anything, just seems like more steps for me personally.

EDIT:Also, using goodreader-dropbox is a lot cheaper than buying a remote desktop app.
 
Gav2k

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
I do exactly Bove when I am on holiday then I use airvideo to watch my shows
 
E

etiger13

macrumors member
May 13, 2009
30
0
mrathee said:
Not to mention that my girlfriend is usually home during the day, and the computer is hooked up to my HDTV which is inevitably playing sex and the city full screen.

needless to say, as soon as I login remotely and break full screen i get an, almost instantaneous, text asking what im doing and why it cant wait.
Click to expand...

Lol I have that same situation, only now its Say Yes to the Dress as well.


You could also just leave your torrent client open and have it monitor the folder so you dont have to have something else check the folder every minutes and then launch your client
 
M

mrathee

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 8, 2010
404
0
etiger13 said:
Lol I have that same situation, only now its Say Yes to the Dress as well.


You could also just leave your torrent client open and have it monitor the folder so you dont have to have something else check the folder every minutes and then launch your client
Click to expand...

True - I love to keep utorrent open all the time - however there is a huge issue. When downloading/seeding I run about 1mb down and up to 1mb up - while running, using the Xbox to play a game is impossible, using netflix on xbox or pc is impossible, and using the iphones (girlfriends and mine) as well as the ipad, is borderline terrible because the bandwidth is spread too thin.


In retrospect, this would apply to any device connected to my wifi while utorrent is running.

This is why I like to shut it off while I am home and working, and run it while sleeping or while I am at work.

Yes, I knw about the scheduler option, but having utorrent open (even with the sched set to off) still uses bandwidth and communicates online - not a terrible use of bandwidth, but I still prefer 100% lag free hd video via netflix, or 100% lag free games.

Anyway, back on topic - Glad a lot of you found it useful, and to those that didnt: glad you already thought of a different way to do it!
 
donlab

donlab

macrumors 6502
Jun 3, 2004
305
94
USA
Here's another more efficient way...

utorrent and transmission have a web interface that you can turn on in preferences on your home computer. The interface listens over a certain port number on your network. Port forward this port through your firewall to the internet.

Connect remotely to home with your ipad / iphone and then paste the .torrent link copied from the torrent site in the upload field of the transmission / utorrent web interface. You can upload, pause, start, stop, delete right from your safari browser. I even created a web link on my ipad's home screen that points at my home computer's transmission web interface. No reason to mess around with RDP and a syncing service. I queue up a few movies and albums during the day and I can watch the progress. Its like christmas day with presents waiting under the tree when I get home.

edit: Looks like making the connection from your ipad to home is easier with uTorrent Web. I have a dyndns account and a daemon which runs on my router to update my home ip to custom dns name.
 
japanime

japanime

macrumors 68030
Feb 27, 2006
2,916
4,844
Japan
The "ghttp" feature of Goodreader alone is enough to get me to buy it. Thanks, OP, for bringing this to our attention!
 
kAoTiX

kAoTiX

macrumors 6502
Oct 14, 2008
487
0
Midlands, UK
donlab said:
utorrent and transmission have a web interface that you can turn on in preferences on your home computer. The interface listens over a certain port number on your network. Port forward this port through your firewall to the internet.

Connect remotely to home with your ipad / iphone and then paste the .torrent link copied from the torrent site in the upload field of the transmission / utorrent web interface. You can upload, pause, start, stop, delete right from your safari browser. I even created a web link on my ipad's home screen that points at my home computer's transmission web interface. No reason to mess around with RDP and a syncing service. I queue up a few movies and albums during the day and I can watch the progress. Its like christmas day with presents waiting under the tree when I get home.

edit: Looks like making the connection from your ipad to home is easier with uTorrent Web. I have a dyndns account and a daemon which runs on my router to update my home ip to custom dns name.
Click to expand...

+1 for this. This is why I love uTorrent.
However, the OPs suggestion is a very good idea and for other torrent clients that do not support a web interface it is ideal. It sounds like a lot of work but as he said, it's very straight forward once you've set it all up to work properly.
 
lucifiel

lucifiel

macrumors 6502a
Nov 7, 2009
982
2
In your basement
kAoTiX said:
+1 for this. This is why I love uTorrent.
However, the OPs suggestion is a very good idea and for other torrent clients that do not support a web interface it is ideal. It sounds like a lot of work but as he said, it's very straight forward once you've set it all up to work properly.
Click to expand...

It's good so long as you have some easy way to find your home computer's IP consistently.

If your ISP gives you a Static IP, things are easy, if not, it's a pain, but i think the post you quoted mentions dyndns which ought to do the trick.
 
87vert

87vert

macrumors 6502
Oct 7, 2008
313
0
Pittsburgh, PA
you can use the icab browser to download torrents and send them right to dropbox. Thats what I do, just setup transmission to look in that folder and the torrents are ready when I get home.
 
E

ExnomenDei

macrumors regular
Mar 2, 2010
189
0
Tsk, I can beat that.

iCabmobile; find your desired torrent; download it, upload it to dropbox folder that is synced by utorrent (and sabnzb if you use news groups) and you are done. No leaving apps, no moving files, just download and upload.

Whoops. Turns out the reply just above me does the exact same thing.

It is very convenient, and it is faster than opening my remote desktop app.
 
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