Automatic Linux program to break large photo folders into DVD-sized increments?

[Vitaly Butusov]

Is there an existing freeware program which can *automatically* break
large photo folders into single-layer-DVD-sized increments?

A single-layer DVD is about 4.7GB; but, it holds only about 4.3GB in
practice, so, all I want is a program that automatically breaks large
(always <32GB, and usually less than 16GB) folders of pictures into 4GB
increments.

I do *not* wish to save to external USB drives, even though terabyte
drives are relatively cheap (and, I certainly realize that many of you
have long ago given up on DVD and you will insist I do the same).

I happen to *like* archiving onto DVD (I have stacks of photo DVDs all
neatly categorized, and easy to find because they're all sorted by date).

My process today, on Linux, is to copy the photo and video files over
USB from cameras and cellphones and tablets onto a huge folder on Linux,
and then I burn with Brasero onto well-labeled single-layer DVDs.

Today, I manually break them into roughly 4.3GB increments (I've found
that anything larger is a pain because it might not fit onto 4.7GB DVDs).

I also realize many of you will insist I use double-layer DVDs, but I
don't want double layer DVDs (I don't even have the right equipment for
that). I just want to archive to single-layer DVD. I certainly realize
many of you will advocate Blu-Ray, but, again, this question is not a
hardware question. It's a software question, namely:

Q: Is there a program that automatically breaks a large folder of picture
and video files into convenient single-layer DVD-sized increments?

[Chris Ahlstrom]

Vitaly Butusov wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

> Is there an existing freeware program which can *automatically* break
> large photo folders into single-layer-DVD-sized increments?
>
> A single-layer DVD is about 4.7GB; but, it holds only about 4.3GB in
> practice, so, all I want is a program that automatically breaks large
> (always <32GB, and usually less than 16GB) folders of pictures into 4GB
> increments.

Command line app: split

man split

Not sure what the name of the Debian package is, but that one is already
installed on my system.

I also see a "gnome-split", if you want a GUI.

--
"Anyone attempting to generate random numbers by deterministic means is, of
course, living in a state of sin."
-- John Von Neumann

[nospam]

In article
<8c1cb$53fa8068$43da7656$32...@nntpswitch.blueworldhosting.com>, Vitaly

Butusov <Vitaly...@commandocenter.de> wrote:

> Is there an existing freeware program which can *automatically* break
> large photo folders into single-layer-DVD-sized increments?
>
> A single-layer DVD is about 4.7GB; but, it holds only about 4.3GB in
> practice, so, all I want is a program that automatically breaks large
> (always <32GB, and usually less than 16GB) folders of pictures into 4GB
> increments.
>
> I do *not* wish to save to external USB drives, even though terabyte
> drives are relatively cheap (and, I certainly realize that many of you
> have long ago given up on DVD and you will insist I do the same).

why not?

why make things more difficult and less reliable?

> I happen to *like* archiving onto DVD (I have stacks of photo DVDs all
> neatly categorized, and easy to find because they're all sorted by date).

it's not anywhere near as easy as you think, and if a kid or pet has
their way, or even an earthquake like in california last night, game
over.

> My process today, on Linux, is to copy the photo and video files over
> USB from cameras and cellphones and tablets onto a huge folder on Linux,
> and then I burn with Brasero onto well-labeled single-layer DVDs.

oh, linux. why do linux users always do things in the most difficult
manner possible?

> Today, I manually break them into roughly 4.3GB increments (I've found
> that anything larger is a pain because it might not fit onto 4.7GB DVDs).
>
> I also realize many of you will insist I use double-layer DVDs, but I
> don't want double layer DVDs (I don't even have the right equipment for
> that). I just want to archive to single-layer DVD. I certainly realize
> many of you will advocate Blu-Ray, but, again, this question is not a
> hardware question. It's a software question, namely:
>
> Q: Is there a program that automatically breaks a large folder of picture
> and video files into convenient single-layer DVD-sized increments?

no, the question is why use such a primitive, time consuming and
unreliable method when many easier alternatives exist.

[Vitaly Butusov]

On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 20:20:09 -0400, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:

> Command line app: split

Sounded good, at first ...

$ which split
=> /usr/bin/split

$ man split | col -b > /tmp/split.man
$ view !$

Drat.
It's for splitting files, not for organizing files into folders.

SPLIT
(1)
User
Commands
SPLIT(1)
NAME
split - split a file into pieces
SYNOPSIS
split [OPTION]... [INPUT [PREFIX]]
DESCRIPTION
Output fixed-size pieces of INPUT to PREFIXaa, PREFIXab, ...;
default size is 1000 lines, and default PREFIX is 'x'. With no INPUT, or
when INPUT is -,
read standard input.
Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short
options too.
-a, --suffix-length=N
generate suffixes of length N (default 2)
--additional-suffix=SUFFIX
append an additional SUFFIX to file names.
-b, --bytes=SIZE
put SIZE bytes per output file
-C, --line-bytes=SIZE
put at most SIZE bytes of lines per output file
-d, --numeric-suffixes[=FROM]
use numeric suffixes instead of alphabetic. FROM changes
the start value (default 0).
-e, --elide-empty-files
do not generate empty output files with '-n'
--filter=COMMAND
write to shell COMMAND; file name is $FILE
-l, --lines=NUMBER
put NUMBER lines per output file
-n, --number=CHUNKS
generate CHUNKS output files. See below
-u, --unbuffered
immediately copy input to output with '-n r/...'
--verbose
print a diagnostic just before each output file is opened
--help display this help and exit
--version
output version information and exit

SIZE is an integer and optional unit (example: 10M is
10*1024*1024). Units are K, M, G, T, P, E, Z, Y (powers of 1024) or KB,
MB, ... (powers of 1000).

CHUNKS may be: N split into N files based on size of input K/
N output Kth of N to stdout l/N split into N files without
splitting lines l/K/N
output Kth of N to stdout without splitting lines r/N like 'l'
but use round robin distribution r/K/N likewise but only output Kth of
N to stdout

[Vitaly Butusov]

On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 20:30:51 -0400, nospam wrote:

> why make things more difficult and less reliable?

What I'm asking about is a program that copies files into a directory
until that directory reaches 4.3 GB, and then copy files into the next
directory, and so on.

The directory names don't matter (1, 2, 3, etc. would work just fine).

One option I may try is to create 4.3GB file systems, and then manually
copy pictures into them until they are full. One way to do that is by
using Truecrypt to create a Truecrypt "folder" of 4.3GB size.

But, I was hoping that there was a program which looks at the directory
size, and then looks at the next file in the sequence and if that file
wouldn't blow the directory over 4.3 GB, then to move the file into that
directory.

I'm pretty sure I can write a dumb shell script to do this, but, I
figured I'd ask if that script already existed first.

[nospam]

In article
<33da9$53fa8a78$43da7656$8...@nntpswitch.blueworldhosting.com>, Vitaly

Butusov <Vitaly...@commandocenter.de> wrote:

> > why make things more difficult and less reliable?
>
> What I'm asking about is a program that copies files into a directory
> until that directory reaches 4.3 GB, and then copy files into the next
> directory, and so on.

what for, when you can get a hard drive and clone it all, with minimal
effort.

and burning to cd/dvd is a bad way to archive anything anyway.

> The directory names don't matter (1, 2, 3, etc. would work just fine).

that means it's going to be very hard to find stuff.

> One option I may try is to create 4.3GB file systems, and then manually
> copy pictures into them until they are full. One way to do that is by
> using Truecrypt to create a Truecrypt "folder" of 4.3GB size.

even more work.

and you didn't mention encryption.

> But, I was hoping that there was a program which looks at the directory
> size, and then looks at the next file in the sequence and if that file
> wouldn't blow the directory over 4.3 GB, then to move the file into that
> directory.

why skip it? that wastes space.

if you're actually going to do that, it's more efficient to split the
file to maximize all discs to 4.3 gb (or whatever size).

> I'm pretty sure I can write a dumb shell script to do this, but, I
> figured I'd ask if that script already existed first.

cd/dvd burning software does it automatically but the better ones won't
run on linux.

[Shadow]

What I do is make a TrueCrypt container exactly the size of
the DVD (DVDs vary slightly in size, so there is a bit of trial and
error involved in getting the exact size for a particular batch of
DVDs). Then I move (or copy - safer) the files into it and burn them.
If they fit in the container, they fit on the DVD. You will get a "no
space left on device" when the container is full.
You can make multiple containers (just copy the empty one,
once you've got the size right), and delete the contents/containers
once the files have been backed up.
There is probably an **easier way in Linux, but this is OS
independent.
[]'s

** making 4.x GB files with dd and mounting them would probably also
work.
--
Don't be evil - Google 2004
We have a new policy - Google 2012

[Vitaly Butusov]

On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 21:13:26 -0400, nospam wrote:

> and burning to cd/dvd is a bad way to archive anything anyway.

If I had asked which compact 2-door car fits a college-sized
refrigerator, an answer like that is like you telling me to buy a Ford
1.5 ton pickup.

I *know* a Ford 1.5 ton pickup fits a college-sized refrigerator - but
the question was which compact car fits a refrigerator.

Likewise, my OP shows I *knew* some people prefer other means of
archiving (and that's fine) and that some of those people would still
*insist* I do it the way *they* prefer, but again, that wasn't the
question.

I can *write* a script (and I might have to), but I was asking for
*existing* programs that fit photo & video files into conveniently sized
folders.

The flow chart for the script, off the cuff, might be something like:
1. Make a 4.3 GB empty directory, and name it "dir1".
2. Compare file1 size to available space in dir1.
3. If file1 fits, then move it into dir1.
4. If file1 does not fit, then increment the counter & goto step 1.

It doesn't seem all that difficult to write, but, again, no sense in
writing a script to fit files into specific-sized folders if that program
already exists.

[nospam]

In article
<730dd$53fa9225$43da7656$8...@nntpswitch.blueworldhosting.com>, Vitaly

Butusov <Vitaly...@commandocenter.de> wrote:

> > and burning to cd/dvd is a bad way to archive anything anyway.
>
> If I had asked which compact 2-door car fits a college-sized
> refrigerator, an answer like that is like you telling me to buy a Ford
> 1.5 ton pickup.
>
> I *know* a Ford 1.5 ton pickup fits a college-sized refrigerator - but
> the question was which compact car fits a refrigerator.

that's a very bad analogy.

a better analogy would be how do you take apart a refrigerator into
pieces small enough that it fit in a bicycle saddlebag, rather than
find the proper vehicle that can transport it, including ones with
hydraulic lifts so you don't need to lift it.

> Likewise, my OP shows I *knew* some people prefer other means of
> archiving (and that's fine) and that some of those people would still
> *insist* I do it the way *they* prefer, but again, that wasn't the
> question.

the question is why you are fixated on a convoluted method that is more
work and less reliable than vastly simpler methods.

what is the true goal here, other than make more work for yourself for
no apparent reason?

> I can *write* a script (and I might have to), but I was asking for
> *existing* programs that fit photo & video files into conveniently sized
> folders.

there are plenty of apps that do exactly that. why reinvent the wheel?

backup apps do it automatically, as do most cd/dvd burning apps.
they'll split files (not skip which is wasteful) to maximize what fits
per disc and keep track of it all.

however, they probably don't run in linux. roxio toast certainly
doesn't.

> The flow chart for the script, off the cuff, might be something like:
> 1. Make a 4.3 GB empty directory, and name it "dir1".
> 2. Compare file1 size to available space in dir1.
> 3. If file1 fits, then move it into dir1.
> 4. If file1 does not fit, then increment the counter & goto step 1.

actually the flow chart is enumerate the hard drive and create a
database for which files go on which discs, then enumerate the list of
discs and burn.

extra credit for dealing with any changes that might occur during the
time it takes to burn it all, particularly if one or more files changes
in size or is not available.

this has already been done, so why reinvent it?

> It doesn't seem all that difficult to write, but, again, no sense in
> writing a script to fit files into specific-sized folders if that program
> already exists.

then go write it if it's that simple.

linux is all about doing things the hard way because the software that
already does it won't run on it.

[Mayayana]

I use a VBScript for that on Windows. It would be fairly
simple to write such a script, though I think what I've
done in the past is just to generate a list of subfolder
sizes, and then split those up manually.

If you know any kind of scripting that deals with
file system operations you should be able to do something
similar in Linux. (You can also run the Windows Script
Host under WINE, but that's probably more trouble than
it's worth for what you want.)
For what it's worth, in case you can use
it for guidance, here's my script to generate a
list of folders by size:

Dim FSO, s2, TS, sDriv, APath(), ASize(), iCnt, iTotal, i2

sDriv = InputBox("Enter path of folder to list sizes of all subfolders. For
a drive enter X:\, where X is the drive letter.", "List Folder Sizes")

If Len(sDriv) < 3 Then WScript.quit

Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

On Error Resume Next

iTotal = 500
ReDim APath(iTotal)
ReDim ASize(iTotal)
iCnt = 0

GetFolderSizes(sDriv)

iCnt = iCnt - 1
ReDim Preserve ASize(iCnt)
ReDim Preserve APath(iCnt)

QuickSort ASize, APath, 0, 0

For i2 = iCnt to 0 step -1
s2 = s2 & APath(i2) & " -- " & CStr(ASize(i2)) & " MB" & vbCrLf
Next

s2 = "Sizes of folders in " & sDriv & vbCrLf & "(Note: Sizes are in MB. A
size of 0 indicates the size is between 0 and 1 MB.)" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & s2


Set TS = FSO.CreateTextFile("C:\Folder Sizes" & left(sDriv, 1) & ".txt",
True)
TS.Write s2
TS.Close
Set TS = Nothing

MsgBox "List for " & sDriv & " is saved to C:\Folder Sizes.txt", 64

Sub GetFolderSizes(sPath)
Dim oFol, oFols, oFol1, iSz, sList, s
On Error Resume Next

APath(iCnt) = sPath
Set oFol = FSO.GetFolder(sPath)
iSz = oFol.Size
If iSz > 1024 Then iSz = iSz / 1024: Else iSz = 0
If iSz > 1024 Then iSz = iSz / 1024: Else iSz = 0
iSz = CInt(iSz)
ASize(iCnt) = iSz

iCnt = iCnt + 1
If iCnt + 10 > iTotal Then
iTotal = iTotal + 200
ReDim Preserve APath(iTotal)
ReDim Preserve ASize(iTotal)
End If

Set oFols = oFol.SubFolders
If oFols.count > 0 Then
For Each oFol1 in oFols
GetFolderSizes(oFol1.Path)
Next
End If
Set oFols = Nothing
Set oFol = Nothing
End Sub

Sub QuickSort(AIn1, AIn2, LBeg, LEnd)
Dim LBeg2, vMid, LEnd2, vSwap1, vSwap2
On Error Resume Next
If (LEnd = 0) Then LEnd = UBound(AIn1)
LBeg2 = LBeg
LEnd2 = LEnd
vMid = AIn1((LBeg + LEnd) \ 2)
Do
Do While AIn1(LBeg2) < vMid And LBeg2 < LEnd
LBeg2 = LBeg2 + 1
Loop
Do While vMid < AIn1(LEnd2) And LEnd2 > LBeg
LEnd2 = LEnd2 - 1
Loop
If LBeg2 <= LEnd2 Then
vSwap1 = AIn1(LBeg2)
vSwap2 = AIn2(LBeg2)

AIn1(LBeg2) = AIn1(LEnd2)
AIn2(LBeg2) = AIn2(LEnd2)

AIn1(LEnd2) = vSwap1
AIn2(LEnd2) = vSwap2

LBeg2 = LBeg2 + 1
LEnd2 = LEnd2 - 1
End If
Loop Until LBeg2 > LEnd2
If LBeg < LEnd2 Then QuickSort AIn1, AIn2, LBeg, LEnd2
If LBeg2 < LEnd Then QuickSort AIn1, AIn2, LBeg2, LEnd
End Sub



"Vitaly Butusov" <Vitaly...@commandocenter.de> wrote in message
news:8c1cb$53fa8068$43da7656$32...@nntpswitch.blueworldhosting.com...

[Mayayana]

| > and burning to cd/dvd is a bad way to archive anything anyway.
|
| If I had asked which compact 2-door car fits a college-sized
| refrigerator, an answer like that is like you telling me to buy a Ford
| 1.5 ton pickup.

Think of nospam as the Monty Python Argument Service.
He'll keep going as long as you do. Sense and relevance
have nothing to do with it. He simply can't help himself. :)

[nospam]

In article <lte513$as$1...@dont-email.me>, Mayayana

<maya...@invalid.nospam> wrote:

> Think of nospam as the Monty Python Argument Service.
> He'll keep going as long as you do. Sense and relevance
> have nothing to do with it. He simply can't help himself. :)

only when people post ludicrous and nonsensical crap, which you can't
help yourself doing.

[Vitaly Butusov]

On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 22:19:13 -0300, Shadow wrote:

> You can make multiple containers (just copy the empty one,
> once you've got the size right)

Hi there Shadow,
I was thinking along the same lines (great minds, and all that) of using
Truecrypt freeware to limit the container to a single-layer DVD size.

The "realistic" directory size limit, for me, given Costo blank DVDs, is
about 4.3 GB, so, a Truecrypt folder of a size anywhere between 4 GB and
4.3 GB would probably work.

I was unaware that you can simply *copy* a Truecrypt container file, so,
that is a *great* idea, since any Linux script would keep a 4.3 GB
"original" as the template.

> There is probably an **easier way in Linux

Here's what I'm thinking ... at the moment ... for a flowchart:
0. Create a "virgin" 4.3 GB Truecrypt folder & copy it to "dir1".
1. Move/copy file{1,2,3...} into dir1 until there is a dir-full error.
2. At the dir-full error, increment the directory counter & repeat.

Seems to me that this script would have generally useful results, so, it
must already exist.

[Savageduck]

Every once in a while it seems appropriate to look to Dr. Johnson, Mark
Twain, or H. L. Mencken for suitable words. This time I believe Mencken
fits:
"There is always an easy solution to every problem - neat, plausible,
and wrong."

--
Regards,

Savageduck

[Vitaly Butusov]

On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 22:00:37 -0400, Mayayana wrote:

> Think of nospam as the Monty Python Argument Service.

Oh, OK. Thanks. I was unaware of that. Thanks.

[Shadow]

On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 21:07:16 -0500, Vitaly Butusov
<Vitaly...@commandocenter.de> wrote:

>On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 22:19:13 -0300, Shadow wrote:
>
>> You can make multiple containers (just copy the empty one,
>> once you've got the size right)
>
>Hi there Shadow,
>I was thinking along the same lines (great minds, and all that) of using
>Truecrypt freeware to limit the container to a single-layer DVD size.
>
>The "realistic" directory size limit, for me, given Costo blank DVDs, is
>about 4.3 GB, so, a Truecrypt folder of a size anywhere between 4 GB and
>4.3 GB would probably work.

I settled for 4.27 GB, but as I said, depends on the blanks.

>
>I was unaware that you can simply *copy* a Truecrypt container file, so,
>that is a *great* idea, since any Linux script would keep a 4.3 GB
>"original" as the template.
>
>> There is probably an **easier way in Linux
>
>Here's what I'm thinking ... at the moment ... for a flowchart:
>0. Create a "virgin" 4.3 GB Truecrypt folder & copy it to "dir1".
>1. Move/copy file{1,2,3...} into dir1 until there is a dir-full error.
>2. At the dir-full error, increment the directory counter & repeat.
>

Sure, that would work. I do it manually, I don't have that
much p0^%$%, I mean, data to backup.
;)

>Seems to me that this script would have generally useful results, so, it
>must already exist.

Dunno about that, but it would be trivial to write one in
bash, or whatever you are familiar with.
[]'s

[Vitaly Butusov]

On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 23:51:00 -0300, Shadow wrote:

> Dunno about that, but it would be trivial to write one in
> bash, or whatever you are familiar with.

Yeah, Bash.
The key part would be to check for the Truecrypt disk-full error.
I'll have to experiment to figure out how to trap that.

[nospam]

In article <XnsA3945FA6CBDC9X...@94.75.214.90>, Dustin
<abugh...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Sorry, I don't see any real harm in backing up to reliable DVD media as one
> form of storage. It's more reliable than a mechanical hard disk.

dvd is definitely not more reliable than a hard drive plus it's a lot
of work for little gain.

> Ritek is
> still decent media...

it never was, although it is a little bit better than it used to be.

[android]

In article <lte513$as$1...@dont-email.me>,
"Mayayana" <maya...@invalid.nospam> wrote:

nice of u 2 clear things up. u're obviously in his domain...
--
teleportation kills
http://tinyurl.com/androidphotography

[android]

In article <ltdvfp$3gl$1...@dont-email.me>,

Chris Ahlstrom <OFee...@teleworm.us> wrote:

> Vitaly Butusov wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:
>
> > Is there an existing freeware program which can *automatically* break
> > large photo folders into single-layer-DVD-sized increments?
> >
> > A single-layer DVD is about 4.7GB; but, it holds only about 4.3GB in
> > practice, so, all I want is a program that automatically breaks large
> > (always <32GB, and usually less than 16GB) folders of pictures into 4GB
> > increments.
>
> Command line app: split
>
> man split
>
> Not sure what the name of the Debian package is, but that one is already
> installed on my system.

Preinstalled on OSX (/usr/bin/split)...

>
> I also see a "gnome-split", if you want a GUI.
--

teleportation kills
http://tinyurl.com/androidphotography

[nospam]

In article <c602uv...@mid.individual.net>, android <he...@there.was>
wrote:

> > > A single-layer DVD is about 4.7GB; but, it holds only about 4.3GB in
> > > practice, so, all I want is a program that automatically breaks large
> > > (always <32GB, and usually less than 16GB) folders of pictures into 4GB
> > > increments.
> >
> > Command line app: split
> >
> > man split
> >
> > Not sure what the name of the Debian package is, but that one is already
> > installed on my system.
>
> Preinstalled on OSX (/usr/bin/split)...

if someone is running osx, they can run a real app that splits it for
them, like roxio toast.

[android]

In article <250820140228563347%nos...@nospam.invalid>,

no need to install linux to test split... just a communtie masage! ;-)

[Jasen Betts]

so you want to group the files into 4.3GiB sized groups.
is it ok to do this randomly or is there some ordering that
should be maintained?

--
umop apisdn


--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ne...@netfront.net ---

[Jasen Betts]

On 2014-08-25, Chris Ahlstrom <OFee...@teleworm.us> wrote:
> Vitaly Butusov wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:
>
>> Is there an existing freeware program which can *automatically* break
>> large photo folders into single-layer-DVD-sized increments?
>>
>> A single-layer DVD is about 4.7GB; but, it holds only about 4.3GB in
>> practice, so, all I want is a program that automatically breaks large
>> (always <32GB, and usually less than 16GB) folders of pictures into 4GB
>> increments.
>
> Command line app: split
>
> man split
>
> Not sure what the name of the Debian package is, but that one is already
> installed on my system.
>
> I also see a "gnome-split", if you want a GUI.

looks like a file spiltter not a grouper...


--
umop apisdn

[p-0''0-h the cat (ES)]

On Mon, 25 Aug 2014 00:11:22 -0400, nospam wrote:

> In article <XnsA3945FA6CBDC9X...@94.75.214.90>, Dustin
> <abugh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Sorry, I don't see any real harm in backing up to reliable DVD media as one
>> form of storage. It's more reliable than a mechanical hard disk.
>
> dvd is definitely not more reliable than a hard drive plus it's a lot
> of work for little gain.

I agree. Life is too short.

>> Ritek is
>> still decent media...
>
> it never was, although it is a little bit better than it used to be.

Verbatim. I've never had a toaster.

--
p-0.0-h the cat

Internet Terrorist, Mass sock puppeteer, Agent provocateur, Gutter rat,
Devil incarnate, Linux user#666, BaStarD hacker, Resident evil, Monkey Boy,
Certifiable criminal, Spineless cowardly scum, textbook Psychopath,
the SCOURGE, l33t p00h d3 tr0ll, p00h == lam3r, p00h == tr0ll, troll
inf�me, the OVERCAT [The BEARPAIR are dead, and we are its
murderers], lowlife troll, shyster [pending approval by STATE_TERROR],
cripple, sociopath, kook, smug prick, smartarse, arsehole, moron, idiot,
imbecile, snittish scumbag, liar, total ******* retard, and shill.

Honorary SHYSTER and FRAUD awarded for services to Haberdashery.
By Appointment to God Frank-Lin.

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[nospam]

In article <ltepko$to2$1...@news.mixmin.net>, ES

<super...@furryfreeware.invalid> wrote:

> >> Sorry, I don't see any real harm in backing up to reliable DVD media as
> >> one form of storage. It's more reliable than a mechanical hard disk.
> >
> > dvd is definitely not more reliable than a hard drive plus it's a lot
> > of work for little gain.
>
> I agree. Life is too short.
>
> >> Ritek is still decent media...
> >
> > it never was, although it is a little bit better than it used to be.
>
> Verbatim. I've never had a toaster.

note that there are two grades of verbatim, one is azo and the other is
not. the azo is their own and good stuff. the non-azo can be anything.
they also buy from suppliers.

[Jasen Betts]

On 2014-08-25, Vitaly Butusov <Vitaly...@commandocenter.de> wrote:

> On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 21:13:26 -0400, nospam wrote:
>
>> and burning to cd/dvd is a bad way to archive anything anyway.
>
> If I had asked which compact 2-door car fits a college-sized
> refrigerator, an answer like that is like you telling me to buy a Ford
> 1.5 ton pickup.
>
> I *know* a Ford 1.5 ton pickup fits a college-sized refrigerator - but
> the question was which compact car fits a refrigerator.

How about A 1984 laser with a good strong roofrack :) BTDT

> Likewise, my OP shows I *knew* some people prefer other means of
> archiving (and that's fine) and that some of those people would still
> *insist* I do it the way *they* prefer, but again, that wasn't the
> question.

Have you tried this one: http://sourceforge.net/projects/filegrouper/

[p-0''0-h the cat (ES)]

Thanks for the tip.

[Chris Ahlstrom]

Vitaly Butusov wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

> On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 20:20:09 -0400, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:
>
>> Command line app: split
>
> Sounded good, at first ...
>
> $ which split
> => /usr/bin/split
>
> $ man split | col -b > /tmp/split.man
> $ view !$
>
> Drat.
> It's for splitting files, not for organizing files into folders.

Oh gee. My bad, I had missed the folder part. Doh!

--
That must be wonderful: I don't understand it at all.
-- Moliere

[Chris Ahlstrom]

Vitaly Butusov wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

> On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 22:00:37 -0400, Mayayana wrote:
>
>> Think of nospam as the Monty Python Argument Service.
>
> Oh, OK. Thanks. I was unaware of that. Thanks.

After a little looking... check this out:

http://dar.linux.free.fr/

In Debian it is the "dar" package.

Also found:

dvdbackup http://dvdbackup.sourceforge.net
HomeUserBackup https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HomeUserBackup
dkopp http://www.kornelix.com/dkopp.html

I think they're all command-line, so you'll likely get more disparagement
from the "nospam" wuss.

Hmmmm, the Debian description of dkopp indicates it has a GUI.

--
I like being single. I'm always there when I need me.
-- Art Leo

[Chris Ahlstrom]

Jasen Betts wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

That's... <gulps> ... Java!

--
The Beatles:
Paul McCartney's old back-up band.

[JoeWillis]

On 8/25/2014 1:16 AM, p-0''0-h the cat (ES) wrote:
> On Mon, 25 Aug 2014 03:59:14 -0400, nospam wrote:
>
>> In article <ltepko$to2$1...@news.mixmin.net>, ES
>> <super...@furryfreeware.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>>> Sorry, I don't see any real harm in backing up to reliable DVD media as
>>>>> one form of storage. It's more reliable than a mechanical hard disk.
>>>>
>>>> dvd is definitely not more reliable than a hard drive plus it's a lot
>>>> of work for little gain.
>>>
>>> I agree. Life is too short.
>>>
>>>>> Ritek is still decent media...
>>>>
>>>> it never was, although it is a little bit better than it used to be.
>>>
>>> Verbatim. I've never had a toaster.
>>
>> note that there are two grades of verbatim, one is azo and the other is
>> not. the azo is their own and good stuff. the non-azo can be anything.
>> they also buy from suppliers.
>
> Thanks for the tip.
>

Burn to the Brim at Sourceforge might work for you. Dreeware and you can
add any size media to it.

[Rikishi42]

On 2014-08-25, Vitaly Butusov <Vitaly...@commandocenter.de> wrote:

> Is there an existing freeware program which can *automatically* break
> large photo folders into single-layer-DVD-sized increments?
>
> A single-layer DVD is about 4.7GB; but, it holds only about 4.3GB in
> practice, so, all I want is a program that automatically breaks large
> (always <32GB, and usually less than 16GB) folders of pictures into 4GB
> increments.
>

> I do *not* wish to save to external USB drives, even though terabyte
> drives are relatively cheap (and, I certainly realize that many of you
> have long ago given up on DVD and you will insist I do the same).
>
> I happen to *like* archiving onto DVD (I have stacks of photo DVDs all
> neatly categorized, and easy to find because they're all sorted by date).
>
> My process today, on Linux, is to copy the photo and video files over
> USB from cameras and cellphones and tablets onto a huge folder on Linux,
> and then I burn with Brasero onto well-labeled single-layer DVDs.
>
> Today, I manually break them into roughly 4.3GB increments (I've found
> that anything larger is a pain because it might not fit onto 4.7GB DVDs).
>
> I also realize many of you will insist I use double-layer DVDs, but I
> don't want double layer DVDs (I don't even have the right equipment for
> that). I just want to archive to single-layer DVD. I certainly realize
> many of you will advocate Blu-Ray, but, again, this question is not a
> hardware question. It's a software question, namely:
>
> Q: Is there a program that automatically breaks a large folder of picture
> and video files into convenient single-layer DVD-sized increments?

I have a tool like that. Wrote it a long time ago to split dir structures in
block of a specified size.

Are you still looking, or have you found a solution?

Go to http://rikishi42.net/SkunkWorks/Junk/ and look for the xplit scripts.

If you need help, just mail me. (I made them for me, so not much help
included)


--
When in doubt, use brute force.
-- Ken Thompson

[p-0''0-h the cat (ES)]

On Mon, 25 Aug 2014 22:52:28 +0000 (UTC), Dustin wrote:

> "p-0''0-h the cat (ES)" <super...@furryfreeware.invalid> wrote in
> news:ltepko$to2$1...@news.mixmin.net:

>
>> On Mon, 25 Aug 2014 00:11:22 -0400, nospam wrote:
>>
>>> In article <XnsA3945FA6CBDC9X...@94.75.214.90>, Dustin
>>> <abugh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Sorry, I don't see any real harm in backing up to reliable DVD media
>>>> as one form of storage. It's more reliable than a mechanical hard
>>>> disk.
>>>
>>> dvd is definitely not more reliable than a hard drive plus it's a lot
>>> of work for little gain.
>>
>> I agree. Life is too short.
>>
>>>> Ritek is
>>>> still decent media...
>>>
>>> it never was, although it is a little bit better than it used to be.
>>
>> Verbatim. I've never had a toaster.
>

> Verbatim is another good brand.. however,
>
> I wouldn't say I've never had a coaster with one. I must burn a hell of
> alot more discs than you. :)

Probably, lemme guess, 10,000 in one afternoon on a crock of shit made up
from parts sourced from Newegg a.k.a a Dusty special.

[nospam]

In article <XnsA394C1EA05701C9...@94.75.214.90>, Dustin

> Uhh...
>
> You did notice I wasn't even discussing SSD hard drives, but the old tried
> and true mechanical and magnet based ones.. right?

who said anything about ssd?

i said:
> > dvd is definitely not more reliable than a hard drive plus it's a lot

do you see ssd in that sentence? no.

[Dustin]

"p-0''0-h the cat (ES)" <super...@furryfreeware.invalid> wrote in

news:ltgf9p$7sf$1...@news.mixmin.net:

> On Mon, 25 Aug 2014 22:52:28 +0000 (UTC), Dustin wrote:
>
>> "p-0''0-h the cat (ES)" <super...@furryfreeware.invalid> wrote in
>> news:ltepko$to2$1...@news.mixmin.net:
>>
>>> On Mon, 25 Aug 2014 00:11:22 -0400, nospam wrote:
>>>
>>>> In article <XnsA3945FA6CBDC9X...@94.75.214.90>, Dustin
>>>> <abugh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Sorry, I don't see any real harm in backing up to reliable DVD media
>>>>> as one form of storage. It's more reliable than a mechanical hard
>>>>> disk.
>>>>
>>>> dvd is definitely not more reliable than a hard drive plus it's a lot
>>>> of work for little gain.
>>>
>>> I agree. Life is too short.
>>>
>>>>> Ritek is
>>>>> still decent media...
>>>>
>>>> it never was, although it is a little bit better than it used to be.
>>>
>>> Verbatim. I've never had a toaster.
>>
>> Verbatim is another good brand.. however,
>>
>> I wouldn't say I've never had a coaster with one. I must burn a hell of
>> alot more discs than you. :)
>
> Probably, lemme guess, 10,000 in one afternoon on a crock of shit made

> up from parts sourced from Newegg a.k.a a Dustin special.

I run custom clones, yes. I built/sell custom clones, yes. I service them
and all name brand makes models, too. Yes. No big deal. I prefer a clone.
I know exactly what's under the hood. I know it's not going to be built by
parts from the lowest bidder that week; unlike Dell and HP machines that
can be purchased at your typical big box store. No serious system builder
uses BestTec power supplies for anything; Dell does.

You would have to be the only person I know of that's never coastered a
Verbatim disc vs another brand in s/h/i/t's entire lifetime if your
statement was true. It's just not mathematically sound, Sorry.




--
Take it easy... Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.
Lighten up while you still can. Don't even try to understand. Just find a
place to make your stand and take it easy!

[p-0''0-h the cat (ES)]

On Mon, 25 Aug 2014 23:20:31 +0000 (UTC), Dustin <abugh...@gmail.com>

You're not a system builder sonny. You know jack shit about building
tin. Tell us again about your QC process, your approvals process, what
product insurance you have if your kit caused a fire.

>You would have to be the only person I know of that's never coastered a
>Verbatim disc vs another brand in s/h/i/t's entire lifetime if your
>statement was true. It's just not mathematically sound, Sorry.

I changed to Verbatin about eight years ago. I grew tired of coasters,
so I did a bit of research. Verbatim's name came up again and again. All
good. Why would I lie about this Newegg kiddie.. I used to do ~200
CD/DVD's per year. Now I do ~50. I write on a number of machines. 5 in
total. Mainly on 2, both Dell, Vista and Windows 7. I don't write on XP.

Sent from my iFurryUnderbelly.

--
p-0.0-h the cat

Internet Terrorist, Mass sock puppeteer, Agent provocateur, Gutter rat,
Devil incarnate, Linux user#666, BaStarD hacker, Resident evil, Monkey Boy,
Certifiable criminal, Spineless cowardly scum, textbook Psychopath,
the SCOURGE, l33t p00h d3 tr0ll, p00h == lam3r, p00h == tr0ll, troll inf�me,
the OVERCAT [The BEARPAIR are dead, and we are its murderers], lowlife troll,
shyster [pending approval by STATE_TERROR], cripple, sociopath, kook,
smug prick, smartarse, arsehole, moron, idiot, imbecile, snittish scumbag,

liar, total ******* retard, shill, pooh-seur, and scouringerer.

NewsGroups Numbrer One Terrorist

[p-0''0-h the cat (ES)]

On Wed, 27 Aug 2014 02:43:53 +0000 (UTC), Dustin <abugh...@gmail.com>

wrote:

>"p-0''0-h the cat (ES)" <super...@furryfreeware.invalid> wrote in

>news:l6hov957cdarfjbkf...@4ax.com:

>
>> You're not a system builder sonny.
>

>I beg to differ. I spent ten years working for a Microsoft certified OEM
>partner system builder as exactly that. Before I went out on my own and
>acquired the same paperwork.

Ten years. Yet, you couldn't spec a cluster. LOL. Why is that?

>> You know jack shit about building tin.
>

>Wrong.

Sonny, the only certs that matter at that level of tin building are
HP's. Guess what. Yep. LOL.

>> I changed to Verbatin about eight years ago. I grew tired of coasters,
>> so I did a bit of research. Verbatim's name came up again and again. All
>> good. Why would I lie about this Newegg kiddie.. I used to do ~200
>> CD/DVD's per year. Now I do ~50. I write on a number of machines. 5 in
>> total. Mainly on 2, both Dell, Vista and Windows 7. I don't write on XP.
>

>So you burn roughly two hundred pack spindles in a years time?

Nope, I said about 50 nowadays.

>That's not
>much burning, dumbass. Like I said. I tend to use a spindle of DVD-R media
>once every couple of months, sometimes they don't last that long. depends
>on the service work load for the month. As I still service old machines
>that can't even read a DVD, I burn alot of CD-R media too... have too. Need
>tools, need ISO's sometimes.
>
>You obviously don't actually do tech work if you can get by burning so few
>discs.... You can't put everything on USB sticks.

What part of embedded systems development didn't you understand, apart
from all of it.

>That doesn't even include burns for entertainment for myself and others.
>Cripes, you don't burn anything by comparison.

I have better things to do. I don't collect music. I only really like
live music so youtube suits me. I don't care how crap the sound is, it's
the energy and excitement I'm interested it. I rarely buy DVD's
nowadays. Netflix is easy and available everywhere I go. Even on my
phone.

>And why not on XP? It works just fine. Nero 6 (enterprise edition, baby!)
>and Ashampoo r0x0r. I wouldn't use the built in hatchet job roxio engine
>for anything, personally.

Roxio works fine. The reason you get coasters is you use underpowered
old kit running XP. Get a life sonny and some horsepower.

[Robert Newson]

On 28/08/14 01:16, Dustin wrote:
> "p-0''0-h the cat (ES)" <super...@furryfreeware.invalid> wrote in

> news:et1rv9dt56tvcmf8k...@4ax.com:

>
>> On Wed, 27 Aug 2014 02:43:53 +0000 (UTC), Dustin
>> <abugh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> "p-0''0-h the cat (ES)" <super...@furryfreeware.invalid> wrote
>>> in news:l6hov957cdarfjbkf...@4ax.com:
>>>
>>>> You're not a system builder sonny.
>>>
>>> I beg to differ. I spent ten years working for a Microsoft
>>> certified OEM partner system builder as exactly that. Before I
>>> went out on my own and acquired the same paperwork.
>>
>> Ten years. Yet, you couldn't spec a cluster. LOL. Why is that?
>

> Re-read what I wrote. I was employed for ten years at one particular
> place. I worked prior to that at another MS oem certified partner
> system builder. It's really NOT that big a deal.

I think what s/he's trying to imply is that being a certified MS system
builder means you can only build "toys", but if you were asked to build
a cluster (of, say, 5 GEC 4190s or 32 Linux boxen) to handle 160 users
simultaneously working on different things, you would fail miserably.

[Mayayana]

| I think what s/he's trying to imply is that being a certified MS system
| builder means you can only build "toys", but if you were asked to build
| a cluster (of, say, 5 GEC 4190s or 32 Linux boxen) to handle 160 users
| simultaneously working on different things, you would fail miserably.
|

I don't see what any of that has to do with anything.
Does one need to be certified to succeed in writing DVDs?

I'm no expert, but I've used CD/DVD backup
since the early 00s and never had a disk fail. I also
don't remember the last time I had a write fail. I'm
using ImgBurn on an $18 Samsung DVD writer from
TigerDirect, running XP on a homemade box with specs
that are unremarkable. The only care I've taken is to
always buy Memorex disks and avoid store brands. (I
once bought a whole stack of Sony disks that wouldn't
write, so I steer clear of those.) I have dependable
backup that's far cheaper, easier and more stable than
using external hard disks. It's easy to maintain redundant
backup. I just write new copies of my disk images and bulk
data every few years. And 10 years worth of redundant
backup takes up very little room.
It may be that people writing large numbers of disks
for work see a difference between products, but I really
don't see what the big deal is. The problem of not doing
a backup is far more common than the problem of backup
media failure.

[p-0''0-h the cat (ES)]

On Fri, 29 Aug 2014 09:33:08 -0400, "Mayayana" <maya...@invalid.nospam>
wrote:

> I'm no expert, but I've used CD/DVD backup
>since the early 00s and never had a disk fail. I also
>don't remember the last time I had a write fail.

I'm sorry but both you and I must be liars because Dustin has spoken.

[nospam]

In article <ltpv31$kio$1...@dont-email.me>, Mayayana

<maya...@invalid.nospam> wrote:

> | I think what s/he's trying to imply is that being a certified MS system
> | builder means you can only build "toys", but if you were asked to build
> | a cluster (of, say, 5 GEC 4190s or 32 Linux boxen) to handle 160 users
> | simultaneously working on different things, you would fail miserably.
>
> I don't see what any of that has to do with anything.
> Does one need to be certified to succeed in writing DVDs?
>
> I'm no expert, but I've used CD/DVD backup
> since the early 00s and never had a disk fail. I also
> don't remember the last time I had a write fail.

that's a lie, which you confirm below.

> I'm using ImgBurn on an $18 Samsung DVD writer from
> TigerDirect, running XP on a homemade box with specs
> that are unremarkable. The only care I've taken is to
> always buy Memorex disks and avoid store brands.

memorex doesn't make discs. they buy from various suppliers, the same
suppliers that the store brands do.

in other words, one week they could be the same and the next week they
could be different. if the latter, the store brand might be better or
it might be worse.

what matters is who *makes* the disc, not whose name is on it.

> (I once bought a whole stack of Sony disks that wouldn't
> write, so I steer clear of those.)

so you did have a write fail.

> I have dependable
> backup that's far cheaper, easier and more stable than
> using external hard disks.

no you don't.

cd/dvds are more expensive, more work and less stable than using a hard
drive. 3 out of 3 wrong.

> It's easy to maintain redundant
> backup.

no it's definitely not.

what's easy are straight clones to other hard drives.

> I just write new copies of my disk images and bulk
> data every few years.

you update it every few *years* ??

do you not use your computer?

> And 10 years worth of redundant
> backup takes up very little room.

actually, it's much more room than a hard drive, but more importantly,
finding something in particular is a pain.

> It may be that people writing large numbers of disks
> for work see a difference between products, but I really
> don't see what the big deal is.

you don't consider reliability to be a big deal?

> The problem of not doing
> a backup is far more common than the problem of backup
> media failure.

that part is true.

[Rikishi42]

On 2014-08-25, Vitaly Butusov <Vitaly...@commandocenter.de> wrote:
> Is there an existing freeware program which can *automatically* break
> large photo folders into single-layer-DVD-sized increments?

Now that the usual side-tracking has passed, just checking; did you find a
solution to your problem?

Of course, asking that will - again - stirr up all kinds of unrelated
debates (actually, bickering), but hopefully you get to read this post.


I do have a little tool that takes files/dirs from a source and move them to
a destination, in subdirs of a defined size (at most, some will be smaller).
It's a Python script, so it'll run on Linux.


Just give us a yell if you're still searching.