diving computers and mac computers

[reo]

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

 

[ZenSquirrel]

Java software is very slow because it runs in a virtual machine. (how it works on multiple platforms)

Current Java implementations run just as quickly as native apps. I know this b/c I just finished doing some benchmark research for my job.

Someone from this board should write software that can run on a MAC. I don't think it would be all that difficult to write a program that could grab the data from any brand of computer.

Actually, the only hard part of writing a dive log is getting the data from the computer. And that part is really, really hard. Notice that all the software that is currently out there is made by the manufacturer and only supports their computers, is made by a third party and only supports 1 or two computers, or is made by a third party and supports a lot of computers but you have to have to use the manufacturer's software to download the data first.

If it was easy to get the data off the various dive computers, then the perfect dive log software would have been written long ago.

There is a basic market force that prevents dive log software from being high quality. That is, the manufacturers make money when they sell hardware. They give the software away or charge you $100 for a custom cable, but that is still selling hardware. Hardware companies are famous for producing crappy software that is just "good enough" to let you use their hardware.

It would be difficult to make money selling a 3rd party dive log software if you had to license the communication protocols from all the manufacturers since the market cap for that kind of software is probably really low to begin with.

 

[mfalco]

Current Java implementations run just as quickly as native apps. I know this b/c I just finished doing some benchmark research for my job.

That is impossible. Java has to basically be compiled on the fly. If you really understood how a virtual machine worked you wouldn't have said this. If that were true all software would be written to run in virtual machines.

Actually, the only hard part of writing a dive log is getting the data from the computer.

If it was easy to get the data off the various dive computers, then the perfect dive log software would have been written long ago.


It would be difficult to make money selling a 3rd party dive log software if you had to license the communication protocols from all the manufacturers since the market cap for that kind of software is probably really low to begin with.

License the communication protocols? It is a serial connection! No need to license that. The hard part would be to know how each manufacture formats the data on their computer.

It would be difficult to make money selling 3rd party software because you would be selling it to such a small market. Believe it or not the smaller the market you are selling software to, the larger the profit margin has to be on each copy.

 

[jchull]

I am tired of Java is slow crap. Show me the numbers. JIT does not compile constantly, and it does not recompile everything. Java is precompiled, just like C, but to an intermediate bitcode. JIT Hotspot just helps optimize where needed, the entire application is not compiled every time. If we are on the subject of virtual machines, what is the .NET framework? Bladed server clusters are run on VM's for stability and performance, check out Sun Cool Threads. I think you will find Java is owning the server space, but Swing is just a big turd, easy to work with, compared to MFC and Motif, but a turd in terms of performance. I don't think that dive log software requires much in the way of fancy graphics, so performance should be more than adequate for this application. I work on large client/server apps with over 7,000 classes and it would take 5+ minutes to start if you were compiling every time. Not all virtual machines are the same, broad generalizations are however the same, they are generally incorrect. I assume that you are only talking about the JVM, and not all VM's, because then there would be some serious flaws in that logic.

 

[paulwlee]

It would be difficult to make money selling a 3rd party dive log software if you had to license the communication protocols from all the manufacturers since the market cap for that kind of software is probably really low to begin with.

IF the log software is able to establish a large (for the dive community) user base that is loyal enough that users would consider compatibility with said software in their choice of dive computers, then it's conceivable that the manufacturers might provide such protocols, if not for free, then at least at a reasonable cost.
But I don't really see it happening given the relatively low number of people who keep an electronic logbook, or even any logbook, for that matter.

 

[mfalco]

I am tired of Java is slow crap. Show me the numbers. JIT does not compile constantly, and it does not recompile everything. Java is precompiled, just like C, but to an intermediate bitcode. JIT Hotspot just helps optimize where needed, the entire application is not compiled every time. If we are on the subject of virtual machines, what is the .NET framework? Bladed server clusters are run on VM's for stability and performance, check out Sun Cool Threads. I think you will find Java is owning the server space, but Swing is just a big turd, easy to work with, compared to MFC and Motif, but a turd in terms of performance. I don't think that dive log software requires much in the way of fancy graphics, so performance should be more than adequate for this application. I work on large client/server apps with over 7,000 classes and it would take 5+ minutes to start if you were compiling every time. Not all virtual machines are the same, broad generalizations are however the same, they are generally incorrect. I assume that you are only talking about the JVM, and not all VM's, because then there would be some serious flaws in that logic.

No it doesn't totally recompile, it translates the half compiled code into machine code. An extra step that compiled executable programs don't have to do. Java is mostly used as a training language to tech college students the basics of object orientated programming. They do this because the want to concentrate on how to program, and not the particular programming language. Before OOP they use to teach Pascal in all the beginning programming courses for the same reason.

 

[jchull]

Training with Java sounds like something a community college may do, or a diploma mill. I learned with C++, which is what I think all CS students should have to learn because it is the basis for so many modern languages. I would say that it is not mostly a training language. Check out Amazon, or eBay for some examples of non-educational implementations. The DOD uses Java a lot, so does NASA and the FAA.

 

[mfalco]

Training with Java sounds like something a community college may do, or a diploma mill. I learned with C++, which is what I think all CS students should have to learn because it is the basis for so many modern languages.

They do this because they want to concentrate on how to program, and not the particular programming language.

Hmmm. Did you read my post or just try to argue against it?

If you knew so much about computers, then why are you so obsessed with apple computers? Yes I did check out your web site.

[RANT]
Are you one of those that is sure OSX is the best operating system ever made, and most of the world just doesn't know? Before it was OSX it was Rhapsody, before that it was Open Step which is what the named Next step when they bought next computing. Back then I had a copy of Open Step, except it only ran on PCs, and not Macs.[/RANT]

The point of that rant is to point out that I was an Apple developer at the time, otherwise I would have never seen Open Step. So back in 1998 I was a professional programmer, how about you?

 

[rickkober]

when i originally posted this thread i was curious about any hardware/software that would allow me to download dive data to my mac, but instead i got a bunch of computer nerds bickering back and forth about programing and languages, awesome. the only thing i got from this was to just go to a friends place and download the info to their pc...good job guys

 

[mislav]

Rick, use JTrak with the original IrDa for Uwatec dive computers (works but has it's flaws) or Mac DiveLog for Suuntos with their original cables (works but not in every instance).

You may also go the ReefNet way and get yourself a dive tracker which will download the dive data to your Mac but isn't a true dive computer itself.

Otherwise - BootCamp, Parallels or VMWare are your friends. :shakehead