jakfrost Posted February 8, 2008 Posted February 8, 2008 I have recently 'switched' my desktop for an iMac and after some initial transition woes, enjoying the new system. Now I am thinking of perhaps 'upgrading' my laptop to a Mac Book and although Garmin Customer Support assures me the new Mac Software for Garmin is working fine, is there anyone who is actually using their Garmin maps on a Mac and can advise me as to how well it is REALLY working? Appreciate the feedback, Jim W.
rickmoen Posted February 8, 2008 Posted February 8, 2008 Last fall, I got City Nav 2008 and converted the maps to load on my Nav II from my G4 PowerBook. Works Great!!! Would have been much easier if Garmin had the Mac installer on disks that they now claim to have.
Aether Posted February 8, 2008 Posted February 8, 2008 I have recently 'switched' my desktop for an iMac and after some initial transition woes, enjoying the new system. Now I am thinking of perhaps 'upgrading' my laptop to a Mac Book and although Garmin Customer Support assures me the new Mac Software for Garmin is working fine, is there anyone who is actually using their Garmin maps on a Mac and can advise me as to how well it is REALLY working? Appreciate the feedback, Jim W. Garmin's equivalent of Mapsource for the Mac (project name "Bobcat") is still an early beta that doesn't really allow you to do routing on the Mac yet, so it's not really a replacement as of yet. However with the recent Intel based Macs you have options for still running the Windows version of Mapsource on the Mac. Both Parallels and VMware will allow you to run virtual Windows envrironments within MacOS as just another window on your Mac desktop. Another option is Apple's own BootCamp software which will allow you to alternately boot into a native Windows install on the Apple hardware. Keep in mind that you must have your own Windows install disc to install in any of these scenarios.
RedMac Posted February 8, 2008 Posted February 8, 2008 Instead of running bootcamp, I'd recommend VMWare Fusion for the Mac. Bootcamp works great, but it's a pain having to reboot your system back and forth. I've got Mapsource running on my VMWare parition and it works fine with the Garmin...
drzep Posted February 8, 2008 Posted February 8, 2008 I use Parallels 3.0 and Windows XP on my Macbook for all-things-Garmin. Works great.
ghaverkamp Posted February 9, 2008 Posted February 9, 2008 Instead of running bootcamp, I'd recommend VMWare Fusion for the Mac. Bootcamp works great, but it's a pain having to reboot your system back and forth. I've got Mapsource running on my VMWare parition and it works fine with the Garmin... And what I'd recommend is installing into a Boot Camp volume, and then using Parallels (or Fusion, if it's supported) to boot off of that. The downside: you don't get dynamically sized storage or the compression. The upside: if you need to boot into Windows for real, you can, with the same system.
RedMac Posted February 9, 2008 Posted February 9, 2008 Instead of running bootcamp, I'd recommend VMWare Fusion for the Mac. Bootcamp works great, but it's a pain having to reboot your system back and forth. I've got Mapsource running on my VMWare parition and it works fine with the Garmin... And what I'd recommend is installing into a Boot Camp volume, and then using Parallels (or Fusion, if it's supported) to boot off of that. The downside: you don't get dynamically sized storage or the compression. The upside: if you need to boot into Windows for real, you can, with the same system. It is supported by VMWare, but there is another downside. You can't suspend Windows when you boot Parallels OR VMWare from a boot camp partition. Which mitigates the usefulness of it somewhat. You have to sit through the windows boot everytime you need windows. If you boot it from a virtual disk, you can suspend the session and be back into windows in about 10 seconds or so...
BarOne Posted February 9, 2008 Posted February 9, 2008 This is getting a bit technical for me. I have a couple of questions and would appreciate answers that a techno idiot would understand (that would be me)! I have a NAV II and a MacBook w/ OS10.4.11 and Intel capable. I do not have the software (Bootcamp, etc.) you guys are talking about. I have also downloaded the new software for Macs from Garmin (the free stuff on their website). With the NAV II, I have all the cables and latest maps on CD's. I have used a neighbors PC to load the maps in the past. Can I use the Mac to do the same tasks I used to need the PC for? Do I need any different software or hardware than I already have? What specific steps do I need to take in order to load maps from my Mac to my Nav II? Help!
jakfrost Posted February 9, 2008 Author Posted February 9, 2008 This is getting a bit technical for me. I have a couple of questions and would appreciate answers that a techno idiot would understand (that would be me)! I have a NAV II and a MacBook w/ OS10.4.11 and Intel capable. I do not have the software (Bootcamp, etc.) you guys are talking about. I have also downloaded the new software for Macs from Garmin (the free stuff on their website). With the NAV II, I have all the cables and latest maps on CD's. I have used a neighbors PC to load the maps in the past. Can I use the Mac to do the same tasks I used to need the PC for? Do I need any different software or hardware than I already have? What specific steps do I need to take in order to load maps from my Mac to my Nav II? Help! Me, too !!!! Pretty much says it for me...I thought I could ( according to the Garmin Guy I spoke to over the 'land line' ) simply download the new 'free' software for Mac into my as yet unpurchased Mac Book and 'Bob's yer uncle' sorta thing. Maybe no? Maybe yes? Maybe I should keep my Sony Vaio? Jim
ghaverkamp Posted February 9, 2008 Posted February 9, 2008 It is supported by VMWare, but there is another downside. You can't suspend Windows when you boot Parallels OR VMWare from a boot camp partition. Which mitigates the usefulness of it somewhat. You have to sit through the windows boot everytime you need windows. If you boot it from a virtual disk, you can suspend the session and be back into windows in about 10 seconds or so... As one who views using Windows as an event to avoid, that limitation doesn't bother me in the least.
Aether Posted February 9, 2008 Posted February 9, 2008 I have a NAV II and a MacBook w/ OS10.4.11 and Intel capable. I do not have the software (Bootcamp, etc.) you guys are talking about. Bootcamp is free from Apple. What you would need is a Windows install disk if you wanted to go that route. I have also downloaded the new software for Macs from Garmin (the free stuff on their website). With the NAV II, I have all the cables and latest maps on CD's. I have used a neighbors PC to load the maps in the past. Can I use the Mac to do the same tasks I used to need the PC for? Do I need any different software or hardware than I already have? What specific steps do I need to take in order to load maps from my Mac to my Nav II? Help! If you were only loading maps, yes. You can currently load maps from the Mac to the GPS. However, most other functions don't work yet. For instance, the Mac software doesn't support planning and uploading routes from the computer to the GPS yet. -A
jakfrost Posted February 10, 2008 Author Posted February 10, 2008 Well now there we go...that is the info I was looking for. I know there are ways to make my new iMac imitate the Windoz environment I am trying to leave behind, I just wasn't sure what the Garmin download would do for me on my new platform. Given that my Sony Vaio P4 desktop isn't worth the effort req'd to haul it to the dump I will keep it just to run the Garmin and other assorted apps that aren't available or efficient on the Mac. Just sold the 8 month old Sony Vaio SZ450 laptop today and ordered the Mac Air. Can't wait to try that on for 'size' . Jim
RussInParis Posted February 10, 2008 Posted February 10, 2008 Yup, Garmin is getting closer, but not there yet. I think that makes about two years now that they promised a Mac software solution. I'm really interested in buying a GPS for our '02 1150, but I don't care for the Rider (or Rider2), and I promised myself I would only buy a unit that had Mac software support, so for the moment, we only have a GPS in the "cage". As soon as Garmin has a working Mac OS X solution, we'll be looking at a Zumo, but it might be a Zumo 700 on our R1300RT at the rate they're going... Russ
RedMac Posted February 10, 2008 Posted February 10, 2008 Bootcamp is free from Apple. What you would need is a Windows install disk if you wanted to go that route. Just a caveat, bootcamp is only free from Apple if you have Leopard (OSX 10.5). It was a beta download prior to Leopard but they have since pulled it. You could probably find it if you need it however. Jim, if you aren't a tech buy, the best bet IS to probably keep an old windows machine around...
RedMac Posted February 10, 2008 Posted February 10, 2008 As one who views using Windows as an event to avoid, that limitation doesn't bother me in the least. Unfortunately, there are no *really* good mapping programs for the Mac yet. As much as I hate the Borg and hate to admit this, Streets and Trips is a really good application. I use Street and Trips to plan my routes, then covert it to Mapsource format with gpsBabel. Even if Garmin DOES finally get out their rears and write a native mac app, I may still continue to use Streets and Trips. I've been an Apple guy since my first Apple ][, but I like my mapping software. *sigh*...
itchybro Posted February 11, 2008 Posted February 11, 2008 Bobcat update 2.0.0.1 Beta http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=3886 Change History Changes made from version 2.0.0.0 to 2.0.0.1: Added ability to search for addresses. Added feature to automatically update Bobcat when new versions of the software are released. Added ability to send and receive data to SD cards. Added option under the help menu to send feedback to Garmin. Added indication of which tool is selected Fixed issue that would cause Bobcat to crash when zooming. Fixed issue where waypoints with custom symbols would cause Bobcat to crash. Fixed issue where Bobcat would crash if any non-ascii characters were part of the path containing Bobcat. Fixed issue where street names would not be displayed on Power PC Macs. Fixed issue where importing or receiving data could result in the loss of previous data. Fixed issue where map names containing non-ascii characters could cause Bobcat to crash. Fixed issue where some maps would not be displayed in Bobcat on case-sensitive file systems. Fixed issue where moving data between folders could cause data corruption. Fixed issue where clicking 'Show on Map' button could cause Bobcat to crash. Fixed issue where resizing the map window when find is active could cause Bobcat to crash. Fixed issue where Bobcat crashed when preferences were opened. Fixed issue where moving a waypoint could have made it unselectable. Fixed issue where clicking find could cause Bobcat to crash. Fixed various other issues that could prevent certain map data from being loaded. They may be serious this time. WHoo hoo!!
velomoto Posted February 13, 2008 Posted February 13, 2008 Jim, if you aren't a tech buy, the best bet IS to probably keep an old windows machine around... Based on prices I've seen for some closeout and couple year old PC's it may be cheaper & easier to just buy one of these.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.