Pablo Mac

One vote for Mac OS X USB compatibility, or a clear statement revealing the fact that Garmins are NOT Mac compatible!

Your approach might be a bit more economical, financially speaking, but a map-capable GPSr will save time in finding geocaches & other waypoints. Time = $, too. You can have my 60CS when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

My MacGPS Pro and MacCMConvert solution is working well with my G5 & Garmin 60CS. I wonder if there is a program that can merge two or more gpx files and delete duplicate waypoints and also strip the "GC" from the waypoint names. A PeeCee friend has a program(s) that does that (GSAK?), and it sure seems like a nice way to fine-tune things. Any ideas out there? Thanx!

I believe that's been brought up in this thread. I'd rather do my mapping and GPS uploading with a native OS X app. My goal is a Microsoft-less, especially a Windoze-less solution. Besides, I gave away my copy of VPC because it wouldn't run on my new G5.

Do the MacTopos series for MacGPS Pro not work for loading maps onto your GPS?

I wanted to provide a quick update to my earlier rants about Garmin's lack of Mac support relating to my recent purchase of their awesome 60CS. I found a solution that's working well so far: Garmin serial cable + KeySpan serial-USB adapter + MacGPS Pro. About $90 total. MacGPS Pro is a very capable program, with a great reputation for customer support, which I can vouch for personally. I called their support line got a quick and courteous bit of advice and I was up and running in minutes. I dislike having to jump through all the hoops because GPS manufacturers can't see a market other than Gates-ware in front of them, but my solution appears to be workable for the foreseeable future. I grabbed the very first iPod mini in my state, and I would be first in line for an Apple GPS receiver. They are the one company that could make GPS as ubiquitous as portable music devices, PDA's and even cell phones. Apple could absolutely kick butt with a GPS unit, and, for that matter, a PDA (Newtons were and are so cool), mobile phones... I could keep going, but I'm across the country from my home for a few days, and I have a buttload of caches to find! - Pablo Mac from Oregon

I would kick in $30, too. If enough of us did that, Garmin or a competitor, or a skilled programmer would be much better off, as would all of us Mac-loving GPS users. For now I'll be happy to serve as a contact list coordinator. Send an email to me at pablomac@bigfoot.com and make this the subject: Mac GPS Users United, and I'll collect and kick out info - let's move forward on this! Paul (Pablo Mac) T. Lebanon, Oregon

Garmin's reply to my reply: Thank you for contacting GARMIN International. Garmin has never said that they did support Mac and certainly has not said that we will never support Mac as a platform. We do not currently do so and have not announced plans to do so. As frustrating as I know this can be, when GARMIN became a public company traded on the stock exchange, major restrictions were placed on us as a company. For that reason, we are not allowed to discuss anything not announced via a Marketing memo. For our iQue devices which are Palm based, we now offer a basic Palm Desktop application for the Mac platform. I can only hope (as a Mac user at home myself) that this means that at some point in time, we will support Mac in other ways as well. However until something about this is announced, we can not say when or if that will occur. and my reply back: Thank you again for this reply. I didn't say that Garmin claims to support the Mac, but asked that they be more clear that they don't support the Mac on their GPS units. What you tell me about not discussing anything except via a marketing memo makes sense, and the iQue news is good news. And you and I both hope for Mac support in the future. If there is a need for beta testers I would be happy to volunteer for that. I didn't mean to come across harshly, so please forgive me if that tone came across too strongly in my last correspondence. You have a nice weekend and let me know if I can help get Garmin up-to-speed Mac-wise. Thanks again!

I wrote Garmin about my new 60CS and got the same stock answer I saw in this forum. Here is my reply to their reply: Kristi Jamison Garmin International Senior Product Support Specialist techsupp@garmin.com <mailto:techsupp@garmin.com> 800-800-1020 913-397-8200 913-397-0836 (fax) http://www.garmin.com/ Dear Kristi: Thank you for your prompt reply. As much as we all appreciate the stock answer to this question, we GPS Mac users think that when Garmin touts its great computer interfacing features, you should also be up-front with the fact that you do not support the Mac, and have no plans to support the platform in the future. That fact would allow us to make an informed buying decision. We Mac users are fiercely loyal to our platform of choice, and to peripheral product companies who support our platform. The GPS product manufacturer who first steps up and recognizes Mac OS X for the advanced and robust operating system of the future that it is will gain more than enough new and loyal customers to justify the software development costs involved. My specific problem relates to using my new Garmin 60CS via USB to my G5. As it sits, I must purchase a serial cable, adapter, and more software to make my Garmin work with my Mac. Garmin should supply those parts to their Mac customers to ensure they enjoy the same level of compatibility Windows users enjoy. That's just good customer service, which is one thing Mac users appreciate and reward with referrals and recommendations. Garmin should step up to the plate on this immediately. Either that, or a third party developer will step in with a great solution and Garmin will lose out. Thank you for your time. Now I have to post a copy of this letter to the forums. Paul (Pablo Mac) T. Lebanon, Oregon

I got an FTF at an underwater cache the other day: First in the Water The cache was nicely placed, against a sheer wall on the bank of a swift-moving creek that forced me to approach from the other shore, but the container was a plastic lunchbox, and inside I found a shattered glass jar that the cache owner evidenly intended as a waterproofing measure - lame!