[Sprocket]

I am on my second RS800 and firmly believe in the product. It works and works extremely well (more specifically for Triathlon work).

That been said I have switched from Windows to Mac (all offices, all staff and with the right result!).

The problem that I now face is that the tail is wagging the dog. We are moving into race season here in South Africa and I used to use the download facility to iron out wrinkles in my workout as well as optimize training results. It was also extremely useful when traveling to ensure consistent work rates. The fact of the matter is that it is extremely impractical to run a Windows based PC (or even suffer the frustration of running Parallel).

1. I was therefore wondering if Macmans software has worked for you?

Questions to all readers (or Polar product developers) out there:
1. Is there a solution that allows me to run my RS800 on Mac?
2. Has anybody had alternative results (or similar problems with Sunto)?

Comments would be appreciated as I would like to do an editorial for our local cycling and running publications.

Sprocket

[derBernd]

As I had the same problem when I switched to mac last december I started to develop my own software. It's called pulse-o-meter. It can be used to import data via SonicLink directly with the models S410 and RS200.
Data from other models can be imported via HRM-Files.

You can download the software at www.pulse-o-meter.com

have fun... and send me some feedback if you like or don't like it.

[musiljan]

I am on my second RS800 and firmly believe in the product. It works and works extremely well (more specifically for Triathlon work).

That been said I have switched from Windows to Mac (all offices, all staff and with the right result!).

The problem that I now face is that the tail is wagging the dog. We are moving into race season here in South Africa and I used to use the download facility to iron out wrinkles in my workout as well as optimize training results. It was also extremely useful when traveling to ensure consistent work rates. The fact of the matter is that it is extremely impractical to run a Windows based PC (or even suffer the frustration of running Parallel).

1. I was therefore wondering if Macmans software has worked for you?

Questions to all readers (or Polar product developers) out there:
1. Is there a solution that allows me to run my RS800 on Mac?
2. Has anybody had alternative results (or similar problems with Sunto)?

Comments would be appreciated as I would like to do an editorial for our local cycling and running publications.

Sprocket

1. You can run PPT5 under XP or Vista in Parallels, VMware or other virtualization software. That is proven to work. All other solutions you will greatly depend on 3rd party developers, their capabilities and support.

2. Yes - Suunto is also Windows only. As far as I know Garmin has Mac client, but not for their Forerunner 405 watch. Only the Forerunner 50. The ANT+ support was under development and the software was behind the schedule. Someone using Garmin TC on OS X commented that it has less features than PC version.

[webjumper]

Polar does work with Apple!!! I have polar 725 , ProTrainer5, OS X Leopard,mac book, Parallels and polar usb ir dongle all working fantastic after finding a driver that works for the IR, let me know if you need it and I will post the correct driver.

I have an rs 200 can you help??

[2Fattires]

I finally drop-kicked my 8 year old Dell into it's last PC crash. I've been an Apple user for 25+ years and there is no comparison for reliability, functionality, creativity or ease of use. However, it was sometimes necessary to run PC only software (like Polar), so I kept this clunky hardware around.

Now I've transfered everything over to Parallels and virtual XP, including the Polar software, BUT NOW I find Polar does not interface with the built in IrDA on the iMac.

Sooooooooo.... do I have to buy Polar's overpriced IrDA USB device or can I pick up a 3rd party IrDA/USB reader? Some of these can be found for < $10 USD. Any suggestions?

---------------
That said, when is Polar going to come into the 21st century and produce Mac-friendly hardware and software? A very large slice of Polar users are young, athletic and very computer literate. The percentage that use Mac is high, and growing.

[BlackRussian]

<snip>

Sooooooooo.... do I have to buy Polar's overpriced IrDA USB device or can I pick up a 3rd party IrDA/USB reader? Some of these can be found for < $10 USD. Any suggestions?

<snip>

It looks to me like you not only can use a 3rd party device, you must. The advice from this Product Support page states:

"Because Windows emulating software only completely supports the most common devices (e.g. a mouse, a keyboard, a printer), Polar IR Interface cannot be used to transfer exercises from Polar products to Mac computers via WebLink."

Or have I misunderstood this?

[finnipinni]

You can use any IRDA dongle.
IRDA is a protocol and is implemented in all new OS - Windows or Mac. It is not in XP so use the miniCD.

Whether the buildt in IRDA will work, depends on softwareissues. Is there a possebillity in the OS for IRDA signals from WINE ?
http://www.winehq.org/search/?cx=par...&q=mac+os#1088

[MisterTea]

On Windows PC I used the standard ProTrainer5 s/w that was shipped with my monitor, and was very happy with it. now I don't have windows option any more and have moved over to Mac 100%, so when looking at options (such as VMware etc.) I came across a 3rd party product for the Mac, compatable with Polar, Garmin, Suunto etc... - it's called iSmartTrain. and so now I'm trying out http://www.ismarttrain.com on MacBook Pro/OSX with a polar USB IRDA device and a Polar S625x monitor.

seems a good setup! and great value for money

[qpnetwork]

Polar does work with Apple!!! I have polar 725 , ProTrainer5, OS X Leopard,mac book, Parallels and polar usb ir dongle all working fantastic after finding a driver that works for the IR, let me know if you need it and I will post the correct driver.

yes, please!

thanks
qpnetwork

[shaka_family]

yes, please!

thanks
qpnetwork

I would also like to have the driver. Just converted to Mac. I' trying Parellel, but I can't download. The driver would be awesome if it allows me to download my watch.