rickkober:hello, i am in the market to upgrade my computer and was wondering if anybody knows of any manufacturs that have software designed to allow dive information to be downloaded to apple computers. thanks
I recently upgraded to a MacBook Pro (has an Intel Core 2 Duo). I also have an Oceanic Pro Plus 2 dive computer.
I used Apple's Bootcamp to set up a Windows XP Partition on my computer.
I installed the Oceanic Ocean Log software and the supplied USB drivers while my Macbook was running Windows XP via Bootcamp. The Ocean Log software and Pro Plus 2 worked well on this setup.
I tried using Parallels to run the Ocean Log software while OS X was running, but Ocean Log could not "see" the Pro Plus 2 when it was connected with the USB cable. I had resigned myself to having to reboot from OS X to Windows XP if I wanted to download dives from the Pro Plus 2.
A couple of days ago, I tried Fusion RC1 from VMWare. Fusion is a competitor to Parallels. Fusion worked great! I'm now able to run Ocean Log in a XP window along with OS X. I'm also able to download dive data from my Pro Plus 2 without having to log out of Mac OS X.
If you're willing to go the virtualization route, VMWare Fusion may work for those of you out there with Intel Macs. Fusion RC1 is available as a free beta download, so you can try before you buy. They have a special where you can pay $40 for Fusion before it is released. After it is released, the cost will be $80, and, no, I don't work for them. I'm just thrilled to find a product that will let me use my dive computer software on my Mac.
Ron