How to make the Mac play nice with my Sansa?

June 22, 2009 2:44 PM

How to sync Macbook with a non-iPod MP3 player?

I have a Sansa e250, and I love it. I also love my new Mac. However, I've been having a small issue with syncing music onto the Sansa.

On my old Windows machine, I used to have a Sansa folder on my hard drive and then would just sync both folders each week using a program called Allway Sync, which removed listened to MP3's and added on the new stuff I'd downloaded that week.

With the Mac, I can't find a similar program, possibly due to the dominance of iTunes.

So, Hive Mind, is there a program or method I can use to get this functionality on my Mac?

posted by reenum to computers & internet (9 comments total)

If you don't mind working with the command line, you could write a script that utilized rsync.
posted by Alterscape at 2:46 PM on June 22

I'm not terribly savvy with the command line, so that might be out unless there's a simple script out there I could just execute.
posted by reenum at 2:55 PM on June 22

Maybe this Automator action will work. (I haven't used it. And you don't say what OS version you have.)
posted by The Deej at 3:17 PM on June 22

There is a program called SyncTwoFolders for the Mac. You could possibly set up the program to monitor both your HD and your Sansa and then sync them periodically. I'm not sure how it would do with a device that disappears on a regular basis though.

The program offers a feature that deletes files that begin with specific characters. Perhaps you could use this to have it delete music you had listened to.
posted by talkingmuffin at 4:31 PM on June 22

I have a new MacBook, so it is the latest version of OSX Leopard.
posted by reenum at 5:05 PM on June 22

I'd use rsync, but if you want a gui for it you could use Arrsync.
posted by pompomtom at 5:06 PM on June 22

ChronoSync is the slick/friendly one, but it's not free.
posted by rokusan at 5:26 PM on June 22

If you want to use iTunes (and your music isn't DRM'd), itunemywalkman works well and is free. Just create a playlist with the music you want to transfer. I use it with my sansa fuze.
posted by kickingtheground at 6:46 PM on June 22

You might take a look at XNJB.
posted by hippybear at 8:50 PM on June 22