Starting to do some research on a new laptop. Curious about a Mac, but, want to ensure it will run my tri toys. Can anyone comment on compatibility with:
Computrainer.
SRM.
PowerTap.
Training Peaks
Training Peaks Device Agent.
Most importantly - Slowtwitch =)
I recall posts in the past that indicated there were issues with some of these, but, I believe they have been corrected. I know there are a number of Mac users on here. Can you give me a quick thumbs up/thumbs down on compatibility?
I had some difficulty finding a program to download my Garmin data…the best I found is Ascent. You have to pay $40, but it was the best I’ve seen for a Mac
I recall posts in the past that indicated there were issues with some of these, but, I believe they have been corrected. I know there are a number of Mac users on here. Can you give me a quick thumbs up/thumbs down on compatibility?
you will want to use Firefox as your browser for ST instead of Safari. that way you can load images. MACS RULE!
It’s not a complete hack at all. It’s using software you can buy from apple.
As far as I know, the iBike is the only powermeter compatible with a mac.
EDITED:
And Greg got his post in before me, probably knows more about it than me
Mac user with Garmin 305 and powertap. Garmin Training Center works fine, cycleops (powertap) Power Agent Software works fine.
Don’t like the idea of a windows hack either, so I’m not using Training Peaks. Here’s what you will miss:
Normalized Power
TSS Score
Quadrant Analysis
BUT, you can always export the file and use an excel sheet to get these scores. When that gets too onerous for me I will probably get Philbert’s Race DAy software, which also runs Mac native.
Man, this looks like a pain in the ass. I want to be one of the cool kids (actually, I cannot stand Vista and the more Macs I see the more intrigued I get), but, this all looks like a pain in the ass. That said, I have never used a Mac, so, perhaps it is not a big a deal as it sounds.
Hey, if you’ve already got a windows OS disk, you can run it on your Mac. In either parallels or bootcamp. At one point about 2 years ago, either PC Magazine or PC World (forget which) actually rated the macbook as the best WINDOWS laptop. I just refuse to pay for vista, especially for only one program. Here’s two other options…
If you have lots of money to spend and want to be cool…buy a Mac.
Don’t worry about compatibility, there’s always a work around. Virtualize, Parallels, Boot Camp, Web apps…it’s all good.
Why give $300 to Microsoft when you can give $2000 to Apple?
And this is where discussions of this nature end up. The less then informed PC user assumes it is all about money. If it was always about money we would not be spending thousands of dollars on a bike when a cheaper version would do.
We have had Macs for many years now and would never buy a PC. Sure there are 1 or 2 apps that we have to run on Windows, but that is not a problem now that Macs can dual boot. AT best it’s a minor inconvenience. But having the ability to vitualise the operating systems means that there is no problem moving seamlessly between the 2.
Simply put, you have a choice to stick with your WIndoze apps running in Boot Camp or virtualising software, or find a Mac equivalent and dump the Windoze apps. I have Windoze to run SportTracks as I am just not satisfied with other offerings at that price that run on the Mac. If it wasn’t for that 1 app, I would not have any need for Windoze on my Mac.
Has anyone mentioned OpenOffice? Why pay for MS Office even if it is designed to run on a Mac? The number of open source programs available for the Mac for free or very inexpensive more than makes up for any price difference between a Windoze PC and a Mac.
What makes the Mac so superior to the PC? Whenever I see this debate, the Mac users say “Mac is far superior.” The PC users say, “way too expensive.”
So, for those who went from PC to Mac, why is the Mac so superior?
I will be honest - I have always used a PC b/c they are far less expensive, nearly every “mainstream” program is PC, and it is just easier to stick w/ PC. That said it drives me nuts how damn long it takes to turn on and turn off my PC. Programs do not always work flawlessly. The damn thing freezes up and crashes (honestly, not very often at all, but, still infuriates me when it happens."
Here is the other thing - I have Norton protection up the ying-yang and paid for it. So, if I were to switch, I would lose all the programs loaded on my PC, right?
And this is where discussions go when an ignorant Mac-head jumps to talk about off-topic issues…
Back on topic. Regarding the apps Mr. JSA mentioned…there’s no reason to run a Mac other than wasting money. None. A $240 Netbook running XP will do just fine…spend the remaing $2000 on a coach, power meter or something other than trying to be cool.
But…of course if you want to talk about where Mac provide value, I’m more than happy to have that conversation…and be honest.
As for Open Office, are you kidding me? It’s doesn’t print on Tuesdays for Pete’s sake! Taken them 9 months to address the issues and still not resolved. Please. You’re better with Word 1.0 than the current version of Open Office/Star Office. Do your homework…it’s the biggest example why Open Source apps suck. Office 2008 is the most popular software for the Mac…
Anyways…that’s good stuff for the Lav roon, but let’s stay on topic.
Here is the other thing - I have Norton protection up the ying-yang and paid for it. So, if I were to switch, I would lose all the programs loaded on my PC, right?
Yes, but you won’t wind up spending all that money to begin again. You don’t NEED norton on the Mac. Security updates are included in their regular software updates for free. At least, the security updates for Mac OS. You will still be on your own (and need norton) if you run Windows on it.
