I have an imac and am thinking of buying a GPS. I have absolutely know knowledge of them and how they work. I have also seen memory map at a show, and think I am correct in thinking that this works with a GPS. Any tips, ideas?

you would need to check the makes spec for the Mac driver. Without it, you'll either get lock-ups, crashes or no transfer rate.

Hi Mark, as far as I'm aware, none of the currently available mapping software works with a Mac - I don't review it because I can't run it.

You have a few options, one is to use a PC emulator like Virtual PC with your Mac and run Memory Map in PC mode. In my experience it's slow and clunky though.

Another is to embrace the dark side and buy a PC, but you don't want to do that.

Finally, there is some simple GPS software available for Macs, but as far as I know nothing of any great sophistication. You should be able to track it down with Google.

Macs are great in most respects, but compatibility with GPS and related software isn't one of them.

Mark, its a minefield out there..
you will have to get a special Keyspan connector lead to convert to USB as nearly all the GPS manufacturers are still in the dark ages when it comes to connectivity. And you may just get away with it if you have enough horsepower to run Virtual PC as most GPS software dont run on MacOS any version... I can run Anquets Maps ok [not 3d version tho] quite smoothly on a Powerbook G4
Have a look at
http://www.gpsy.com/
for some Mac friendly, but dated advice.
Its probably easier and less fraught to buy a cheap 3rd hand PC just for this purpose.
If I had a GPS I'd probably just use it to show me where I was using a map.

Ah Jon,
You're a Mac man after me own heart as they say!

And me too..... I love Macs. : ) I make my money out of making Wintel stuff work but when I get home I use Mac.

Anyway... Mark, this is an area I'm just about to look into as I've got a couple of PowerBooks and have just bought myself a Garmin GPSMAP 176c.

From my initial investigations, I've come to the same conclusion as Mike - i.e. the GPS guys are still in the dark ages as far as connectivity is concerned. I've noticed a couple of useful resources on the WWW but not had time to dig further yet.

Fortunately, I've got VPC on my machines so if all else fails I can use that but obviously I'd like to do things natively...

I'll let you know how I get on.

Mark.

PS.... Any of you Mac guys after a 5GB iPod. I've just upgraded to a 40GB so my old one's up for grabs. : )

I, too, have an iMac that runs on OS 10.4 Tiger. I have come across an interesting site (www.macgpspro.com) which seems to offer the facility to key in waypoints onto a Mac using almost any national grid. The download seems reasonably priced at $49.99.

Because I am both old-fashioned and a technophobe but a reasonably competent navigator with map and compass, and can only cope with a Mac I have never investigated Anquet, MemoryMap or TrackLogs.

Would some of you more knowledgeable people have a look at MacPro and tell me whether I am correct in thinking that if I scan an Explorer map I can then download waypoints into my Garmin Gecko 201?

Also, I have read somewhre that it is possible to download Explorer maps,from the OS website but I cannot trace this facility. Can anyone enlighten me?

Resurrection thread!
I can run MMaps on me Powerbook and MacMini with Virtual PC to plan routes and print off stuff. Still can' connect direct to me Etrex, BUT.. I can transfer stuff to me iPaq 4700 via the excellent Missing Sync application.
However.. the new ability of Macs to run Windows XP [Intel Mac needed] should negate all these problems!

Google 'Bootcamp' for further info.

Re-resurrection thread, having just spotted this handy link for Garmin and Mac OS X software. Presently I use VMWare Fusion for Tracklogs, and it looks like I will be doing so for the foreseeable future, but the Mac s/w for GPS connectivity seems to be at least moving along now.

Thanks for that Martin - I was giving up on ever being able to down / upload stuff to my GPS. The thought of having to boot into Windoze to run mapping software filled me with dread; I mean, I like my Mac, so why would I do that to it?

If you're using an Intel Mac you can use either VMWare Fusion or Parallels to run a copy of Windows as an application on your desktop.

I've got Fusion on my 2.4GHz iMac and it works like a dream so I now don't have to worry about stuff not being Mac compatible!

Even through Bootcamp (a cheaper option than Fusion or Parallels) you still need a licenced copy of M$ Windoze, which adds to the cost of the mapping software - I wouldn't need Windows for anything else, so it works out pretty expensive.

I have followed this thread with interest for I, too, am a Dirty Macintosh man and have an iMac G4 running Tiger 10.4.11.

I also have a Garmin Gecko 201 which I rarely use but like to carry with me when I'm leading walking trips just in case an incident should occur and I can show that I was properly equipped.

I'm not interested in loading routes into my receiver but I like to enter significant waypoints in upland countryside just in case the clag comes down and my overseas clients get nervous.

I have recently discovered http://www.bdcc.co.uk/XMarksTheSpot.htm which has the advantage over OS Get-a-map in that it will provide a 10-figure grid reference. I should be grateful for answers to the following questions (please note that I'm a technophobe and a string of acronyms means nothing to me but spell it out in full and I might be able to grasp the meaning).

1 XMarks The Spot is a Multimap product but is awkward to use because it seems that the only way to access the area of interest is by zooming out from a small-scale map and then clicking on the appropriate area. Is there another way of doing it (Get-a-map provides several methods).

2 If I purchase the appropriate cable, is there any way that I can download the grid references from MultiMap directly as waypoints into my receiver, or do I need another piece of software, and if so, what is it?

All advice and information gratefully received!

Hugh, I don't use GPS or mapping software and am not that good with computers but this site might help.

You can plan a route on a multimap map, then by clicking "GPX" it generates and downloads a GPX file (which I presume is what a GPS will be able to read). This other site is a bit nicer and has similar GPX functions but from what I can see, it creates this GPX data as text so I have no idea how you'd transfer the data it gives you to a GPS.

Hopefully someone here can pick up on where I've fallen short.

For all those frustrated Apple fans it might be worth pointing out that the new iPhone has GPS built in, along with Google Maps so hopefully someone will look to develop a proper mapping application!?!?

Thanks Ben!

Both sites look interesting. At first I thought that this site would do exactly what I wanted but, unfortunately, it gives latitude and logitude co-ordinates, not OS grid references. Or have I missed something?

I suppose that I could select latitude and longitude on the receiver's setup page and once the waypoints are downloaded I could then switch to OS grid references.

Thank you, rogerb!

I've had a look at http://www.macgpspro.com/ and it looks as though the product is exactly what I need.

The next puzzle I have solve is the model number of the interface cable I require. Some seem to cost about £45.00 but others no more than a few pounds. The site you mentioned gives lots of information about cables but it's all Greek to me. Can you advise, plese?