Woolamaloo

Welcome to the Woolamaloo website!

What's Woolamaloo?

Woolamaloo is a general-purpose utility designed to help you configure and manage an iTunes U site—it's the right tool for you whether you're a seasoned iTunes U administrator or someone completely new to iTunes U.

Simply put, Woolamaloo can access your iTunes U site without requiring that you construct a web portal or any transfer CGI—it accesses your site directly from the desktop. What's more, Woolamaloo knows how to access iTunes U using your administrator credential—indeed, Woolamaloo can access your iTunes U site using any credential. If you've just activated your site, then allowing Woolamaloo to open it using your administrator credential stops Apple's thirty-day time-clock from ticking down to zero—and that keeps your site alive while you work on your design. And ccessing your site using other credentials allows you to verify the correctness of your system of credentials. This gives you a bit of breathing room as you hone your iTunes U portal web site and refine your transfer CGI.

But even if you already have your portal website and transfer CGI working, Woolamaloo remains helpful as a debugging tool. For example, Woolamaloo can verify that any changes you've made to your CGI continue to generate the URLs that Apple's iTunes Store expects. And along with its own debugging powers, Woolamaloo allows you to easily inspect Apple/s iTunes U debugging web page.

Finally Woolamaloo offers a number of other useful features apart from those already mentioned. For example, you can use Woolamaloo to upload content to an iTunes U site, or even display and browse your iTunes U site's XML.

Download Woolamaloo

Woolamaloo disk image (dmg) file
Woolamaloo manual

Please note that Woolamaloo is a Core Data application and requires a Macintosh running Mac OS X 10.4 ("Tiger") or later. Woolamaloo has been tested, and is known to work with, Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard").

iTunes U Access

An earlier version of Woolamaloo was known as "iTunes U Access". The data model that Woolamaloo uses is an augmented form of the one that iTunes U Access used. If you need to access files created with iTunes U Access, you can download that application here.

MACE Edit

Woolamaloo's sister application is MACE Edit. MACE Edit is useful for designing and re-editing your set of iTunes U credentials. Using MACE Edit, you edit a credential using GUI tokens. Tokens are easily moved and rearranged. The result is a set of MACE URNs that are in the correct format for iTunes U. MACE Edit also contains a great search facility.

Please visit the MACE Edit web page for more information on MACE Edit.

Woolamaloo Listserv

I have created a listserv for you to discuss problems, workarounds, solutions, and whatever else you'd like to when it comes to using Woolamaloo with iTunes U. Subscribing is easy.

Yes, I Plan a Windows Version

Seriously, I am working on a Windows version of Woolamaloo. Really, honest and for true! Here's a screen capture of the running application to prove it:

I promise that that is not a doctored picture, but the real deal! The Windows version of Woolamaloo is a bona-fide .NET 2.0 application written in glorious C# (I feel so...unclean). I know more about Visual Studio 2005 than is probably good for a man or woman. Good for the resume, bad for the soul.

Miscellaneous

Prod, Cajole, Praise, Complain, Ask, or Say Hi

If you want to say hi, or "encourage" me to get cracking on a Windows version of the Woolamaloo, drop me a line here.

Why's it called "Woolamaloo"?

Woolamaloo is named in honor of a Monty Python sketch. If you listen closely, you can hear John Cleese says he's from The University of Woolamaloo.

T-Shirts 'n' Stuff

I know this sounds weirdly egocentric, but people really have asked about Woolamaloo t-shirts and such. I'm all about giving the customer what he/she wants, so I've setup a CafePress site for this kind of swag. Although some have generously suggested I take a small cut from each t-shirt sold, I decided against it. I've been compensated for my work on Woolamaloo in many, many, ways. What you pay is what CafePress charges. So if you'd like a shirt, look here for Woolamaloo Swag.

 

 

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