[coachkecz]

Can someone explaing to me why the entire Mac-nation has been summarily excluded from the Polar HRM world? Polar USA provides this FABULOUS reponse to the question:

Polar heart rate monitors are not compatible with Macintosh computers. Windows emulating software, such as Virtual PC, can be used to run the software program. However, this will not provide the necessary support for external devices. As a result, it is not possible to use the Polar IR Interface for transferring data between monitor and software. For the same reason, it is not possible to use the IR interface for USB port on Macintosh computers.

The internal interface in Macintosh computers can also not be used, as it uses IrDA protocol in communication and Polar uses it's own protocol in the S610/S710/S810 monitors. Although emulating software can emulate Win95, it is not possible to switch from IrDA to 'direct IR' in Macs, which is required when using the computers internal infrared.

In summary, Polar Precision Performance 3.0 software has been designed for compatibility with Windows based operating systems only. Those with Macintosh computers should be made aware that emulating software will not resolve this incompatibility, due to either an incompatible internal IR interface or the fact that emulating software can only emulate basic devices, i.e. keyboard, mouse, etc, and not the Polar IR Interfaces.
​

Well, can't they just design some compatible software? Is it just prohibitively expensive? I mean, I'm not asking them to develop software for my Commodore 64 here. Anyone else perturbed by this? Any Polar techs or computer people out there that might be able to clarify this for me?
-ck

 

[LBmtb]

My response: it's a freggin' mac for chrissake!

But really . . . cost is an issue. What's the percentage of computers users with a Mac? Like 5%? It's the same thing with games. Game developers are going to develop their games so that 95% of the people out there can play and buy them. This is also why Mac is relatively free of virii . . . why would a hacker write a malicious program for a Mac when the possible victims are only 5% of the population?

You choose to buy a Mac and I hope you researched your decision. Compatibility issues is one of the worst, if not the worst, problems with Macs. That problem has been there, is here now, and will continue to plague Mac's for some time to come.

Good luck to you and maybe they'll release some mac software. Maybe get a petition going and if it gets enough signatures then who knows . . . maybe they'll spend some $$$ and come out with some software for you Mac people.

 

[xctico]

That's what really sux about mac.
try this website, www.sourceforge.net , they develop all kinds of opensource software, there might be one that can help you set the IrDa port to "direct" in the emulator, or an emulator that works with the IrDa ports. You can also post your problem there, and perhaps one of those guys (read: computer gurus) can give you a better solution.
Hope it helps

 

[Trajan]

Can someone explaing to me why the entire Mac-nation has been summarily excluded from the Polar HRM world? Polar USA provides this FABULOUS reponse to the question:

Polar heart rate monitors are not compatible with Macintosh computers. Windows emulating software, such as Virtual PC, can be used to run the software program. However, this will not provide the necessary support for external devices. As a result, it is not possible to use the Polar IR Interface for transferring data between monitor and software. For the same reason, it is not possible to use the IR interface for USB port on Macintosh computers.

The internal interface in Macintosh computers can also not be used, as it uses IrDA protocol in communication and Polar uses it's own protocol in the S610/S710/S810 monitors. Although emulating software can emulate Win95, it is not possible to switch from IrDA to 'direct IR' in Macs, which is required when using the computers internal infrared.

In summary, Polar Precision Performance 3.0 software has been designed for compatibility with Windows based operating systems only. Those with Macintosh computers should be made aware that emulating software will not resolve this incompatibility, due to either an incompatible internal IR interface or the fact that emulating software can only emulate basic devices, i.e. keyboard, mouse, etc, and not the Polar IR Interfaces.
​

Well, can't they just design some compatible software? Is it just prohibitively expensive? I mean, I'm not asking them to develop software for my Commodore 64 here. Anyone else perturbed by this? Any Polar techs or computer people out there that might be able to clarify this for me?
-ck

Try this:

http://www.otag.co.uk/TrainingLog/Beta/

 

[pimpbot]

Uh.... well...

My response: it's a freggin' mac for chrissake!

But really . . . cost is an issue. What's the percentage of computers users with a Mac? Like 5%?

They account for 5% of computers sold, but Mac users typically hang onto them for much longer. I think I read somewhere that 20% of all internet use is done from a Mac.

 

[Trevor!]

They account for 5% of computers sold, but Mac users typically hang onto them for much longer. I think I read somewhere that 20% of all internet use is done from a Mac.

If only PC user knew what they were missing. Oh but thats a whole other thread.

Trevor!

 

[huddled_mass]

Mac is very fussy about what software can claim to be Mac compatable. To make that claim the software needs to go through rigorous testing. Mac is a nitch market, so many vendors do not want the extra work/expense to be Mac compliant. But, what you can get for a Mac is good. They are rock solid machines.

If your Mac is OS X, the underlying OS is some form of BSD and there is probably some open source software to do what you want.

 

[Trajan]

Mac is very fussy about what software can claim to be Mac compatable. To make that claim the software needs to go through rigorous testing. Mac is a nitch market, so many vendors do not want the extra work/expense to be Mac compliant. But, what you can get for a Mac is good. They are rock solid machines.

If your Mac is OS X, the underlying OS is some form of BSD and there is probably some open source software to do what you want.

If it runs on a Mac it is mac compatible. Simple as that. And I would hope that all software on all computers goes through rigorous testing, but I have a feeling it does not!

 

[coachkecz]

thanks

thanks for the help guys. i downloaded the Training Log program and will play around with it this weekend; i also subscribed to Source Forge and will see if someone there can help out. if i get this all worked out, i'll make a post to let other mac users know.
have a good ride- chris

 

[never_was]

so did it work?

 

[gstahl]

Polar HRM and Macs

so did it work?

I use my Polar 720i and my mac almost everyday.... I use virtual PC (98 edition), keyspan serial to USB interface and the Polar serial IR adaptor. It was a bit fussy to configure but works with out issue and have all my rides for the past year in machine. Macs work great for 99% of the uses out, would never use Windows use I absolutely had to (in this case I launch Windows and use it for the HRM software only the rest of it is useless to me). I searched for my own post on the net about this and found (posted about a year ago)...

---

There has been some talk previously about using a Polar HRM (like S710 or S720i) with Mac OS X. Polar has come out and said they were not able to make it work with Virtual PC and it was not supported. They are wrong....

I have been able to very reliably connnect to the HRM with Mac OS X using the Polar Serial IR Interface and a Keyspan Serial to USB adaptor. While the solution is a little complicated to initially set up, it is straight forward and very nice to have if your preferred OS is Mac OS X. Here is info on setting it up.

- Install VirtualPC 6.0 (I updated to 6.0.1 but do not think this is required). VirtualPC 5.0 may also work but I did not test it. (Windows 98 version BTW)

- Get a Keyspan multi-OS Serial to USB adaptor (you will really be using on the Windows side so it must be the multi-OS version).

- Follow the install instructions for Option 2 VirtualPC support (well documented in the Keyspan manual). This means that you will NOT install the Keyspan software on Mac OS X.

- Install the keyspan Windows software as part of the option 2 virtual PC setup

- Connect the Keyspan adaptor and enable it in the USB settings of VirtualPC.
(I had a standard Windows issue with it recognizing the adaptor (new hardware), keyspan's web site had good help for this). In the end I deleted the existing device (with ? in devices list), restarted and then pointed Windows to the CD-ROM with the drivers. It took a little to get the right combination of options for Windows to find the driver but in the end Windows found it and installed drivers for the Keyspan.

- I left it set up as COM3 and plugged in the Polar IR interface to the keyspan.

- Go into Windows, install the latest Polar software.

- Set the Polar software to use COM3.

- Follow normal HRM setup for connection and conect with Polar software. Everything works like a champ and is rather quick. Once the COM3 port got stuck on busy and had to restart the PC but otherwise had no problems with uploads or downloads from the HRM. I have had to use a cloth to cover the watch and interface during transfers to keep light out (but this has been a reported problem for many users depending on watch, interface and environment).

The software works fine but as others have said it's interface is a little cumbersome (especially compared to other OS X software interfaces =).

Hope this helps folks who have Macs and want to use the HRM.

Now I can use my PowerBook and have to totally portable solution, this really rocks!!!

Regards,
Geoff Stahl

 

[wXman]

I'm considering a HRM monitor myself (never used one) and was disappointed to learn that except for Nike (which gets horrible reviews) none of the HRM's out there are compatible with the MAC - or more correctly - unless you use virtual PC to interface the software with the hardware.

Googled about and found THIS

Which, in theory, basically allows you to run training software on the best PC platform, Mac , with the best HRM's, Polar out there. Per the Otag website, the same Keyspan Serial to USB adaptor that gstahl speaks of to use the Polar software running under Virtual PC is required.

Have I done any of this? No...so I can't tell you if it works ok or not, or if the software measures up to that provided by Polar. Any Mac users out there had the occasion to try this? Or better yet, since he has a Mac, the Serial USB converter, and Polar HRM already maybe Gstahl will be a great guy and D/L the "demo" version of iSMARTtrain from the website and test it out for all his fellow Biking - Mac users *wink wink*

 

[Samurai Dave]

When the Intel-based Macs arrive they should be able to run Windows apps natively. This should provide a better solution than the somewhat cumbersome VPC work-arounds.

I would guess that many such vendors are waiting to see how the Intel Macs will pan out. I'm certainly going to wait at least this long to buy a new Mac.

 

[markburnt]

I'm considering a HRM monitor myself (never used one) and was disappointed to learn that except for Nike (which gets horrible reviews) none of the HRM's out there are compatible with the MAC - or more correctly - unless you use virtual PC to interface the software with the hardware.

Googled about and found THIS

Which, in theory, basically allows you to run training software on the best PC platform, Mac , with the best HRM's, Polar out there. Per the Otag website, the same Keyspan Serial to USB adaptor that gstahl speaks of to use the Polar software running under Virtual PC is required.

Have I done any of this? No...so I can't tell you if it works ok or not, or if the software measures up to that provided by Polar. Any Mac users out there had the occasion to try this? Or better yet, since he has a Mac, the Serial USB converter, and Polar HRM already maybe Gstahl will be a great guy and D/L the "demo" version of iSMARTtrain from the website and test it out for all his fellow Biking - Mac users *wink wink*

Wow thanks for this, I will head off and try now.

I purchased the s725 read the heavy instruction manual and then found out no mac WTF!!

But Polar Cycling Coach (https://www.polarcyclingcoach.com/) works on a mac....well it views at least!

I'll download this and let you all know how it goes...give me a week or so though.

 

[Steveorocks]

garmin 305

Has any one used a garmin 305 on a mac? thoughts?

 

[pimpbot]

Uh, that's not true

Mac is very fussy about what software can claim to be Mac compatable.

I used to work for a company that produced Mac software and peripheral hardware, and some of our stuff sucked something awful. Apple had nothing to do with giving their stamp of approval to us, that's for sure.

 

[pimpbot]

Well, sorta

When the Intel-based Macs arrive they should be able to run Windows apps natively. This should provide a better solution than the somewhat cumbersome VPC work-arounds.

I would guess that many such vendors are waiting to see how the Intel Macs will pan out. I'm certainly going to wait at least this long to buy a new Mac.

The Intel Macs, which I heard from somebody who has a developer box, run an Intel version of OSX with an emulator to run older PPC code. He says that you can make an Intel Mac dual boot into Windows (like an Intel box can dual boot Windows and Linux), but you can't run Windows apps in OSX without using something like Virtual PC. Windows apps require a Windows OS of some flavor to talk to the hardware or virtual hardware as in VPC.

BTW, he says the Intel Macs are crazy screaming fast. I also read somewhere that Apple is planning to make PPC Macs until at least 2007.

 

[wXman]

Bump! - Gstahl or MarkB

Gstahl, or MarkB

Any effort or results in testing that software with Polar / Mac combo?

Thanks!

 

[forkboy]

As anyone who has seen....

As anyone who has seen the movie Independance Day knows, the only things compatible with Macintoshes are the computer systems of hordes of Aliens bent on intergalactic domination.

Your pathetic Polar is not worthy of being connected to a Macintosh.

 

[wXman]

wow.....

very helpful....thanks!