Infrared Support on Non Windows Systems?

An anonymous reader asks: "So I've bought myself a brand spanking new dive computer to keep tabs on my dive profiles, decompression, and all the other fun things like that. Nifty! The dive shop owner assures me that it's Mac compatible; if the software isn't in the box, he'll get an appropriate disc from his supplier, and if he can't get the disc, he'll replace it with a model that does work. There's only one problem: the only connectivity it has is an infrared port. There is no Bluetooth, no USB and no Firewire...not that you'd expect any of that on something that's going to be submerged in salt water on a regular basis. Is there a viable infrared option for the Mac? Although the support people haven't been able to tell me yet if it's Mac compatible or not, might something like the Belkin USB to Infrared Smartbeam work? Are drivers included in Mac OS X 10.3, or am I going to be SOL? Bluetooth is all very well and good, but it doesn't help you if the hardware you want to play with doesn't support it. What about Linux IRda support, for that matter -- just to make it cross platform?"

Comments

Do I get an Ask Slashdot now?

[NardofDoom]

Made4Mac product guide

Seriously, you read slashdot and you don't know about this yet?

Re:Do I get an Ask Slashdot now?

[redJag]

page not found

try here ;)

Re:Do I get an Ask Slashdot now?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll freely admit that I didn't know about the Made4Mac product guide, but I'll also point out that, having checked it out, it doesn't answer my question. I found exactly two products that fulfil my needs. In the first case, the product in question is manufactured by a Japanese company, and I can't read or comprehend Japanese -- not even enough to email the company to ask a question in English. In the second case, I had googled for devices; Higoto was one that I found.

So I emailed them, asking where I could source it that would ship it to Australia (where I live). I also asked what the exact OS requirements were -- OS X 10.1.2, as they said, or would 10.3 work? Their reply was, in essence, that the company manufacturing the adapter had changed the chipset used, and it is no longer compatible with Mac. :(

So it's not a case of me asking a question without doing any research first. Rather, it's a case of me looking, finding all my leads stonewalled, and trying to find out what Slashdot readers might know.

Re:Do I get an Ask Slashdot now?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, missed the Lexmark product. Doesn't matter -- it's been discontinued in any case (and they won't support it outside of the specified use: connecting to Lexmark printers.)

Powerbooks

[thejoelpatrol]

G3 Powerbooks, which support OS X (and run it quite decently), have built in IRda ports

Re:Powerbooks

[ignorant_newbie]

G4 Powerbooks, which support OS X ( and run it quite decently), have built in IRda ports

Re:Powerbooks

[Moofie]

Mine doesn't.

Re:Powerbooks

[Anonymous Coward]

My G4 12" doesnt have an IRda port.

Re:Powerbooks

[Hes Nikke]

The first generation of G4 PowerBooks have IRda ports. thats 400 MHz or 500 MHz. only.

I also happen to have a 500 MHz TiBook... one of the hinges is busted (and has been amputated) but if you are interested, we can talk price. (since i made that post, the AirPort card, and 256 MiB of RAM moved over to the iBook)

Re:Powerbooks

[steeviant]

I used to have a 667Mhz PBG4 with an IR port.

Re:Powerbooks

[Hes Nikke]

well, i know they removed it from the TiBook some time after they mine was discontinued, i just assumed it was the next generation - yours. ;)

Re:Powerbooks

[Anonymous Coward]

They removed it from the 2nd generation, which started at 667Mhz. However, the first generation topped out at 667Mhz. The last iteration of G1 offered both 500MHz and 667Mhz systems.

Despite the lack of IRDA, the 2nd generation offered numerous improvements, the biggest of which, to me, was a much higher resolution screen.

Re:Powerbooks

[Hes Nikke]

*BZZZZZ*
First PowerBook G4 Titanium: 400 MHz or 500 MHz
Second PowerBook G4 Titanium: 550 MHz or 666 MHz (AKA Gigabit Ethernet)
Third PowerBook G4 Titanium: 666 MHz or 800 MHz (AKA DVI)
Fourth PowerBook G4 Titanium: 867 MHz or 1000 MHz (the other one)

and here is a Link that is not a 404

[microcars]

with more betterer goodness: Made4Mac product guide

Google irda osx

[goombah99]

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20030 72008542035

and

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=200 30 72008542035

Re:Google irda osx

[goombah99]

and http://www.macintouch.com/pbg4irda.html (mind the lameness filter gaps in the URLS)

Re:Google irda osx

[Anonymous Coward]

All of the above have been discontinued, or are 404 compliant (in the case of the IrDA Adapters page.) Belkin's adapter is no longer being made; I asked about the latest one, and they specifically said it is not Mac compatible. Whether that's just them covering themselves, or the actual truth, I can't tell.

KCTI might be worth chasing up, but the DNS isn't responding to queries atm.

Hm. Think I might have found something that might suit ... I'll post as a new thread if it pans out.

IRTrans

[hcsteve]

Found this through a quick google: IRTrans. It's basically an IR transceiver with a USB interface. They say their software is Windows & Linux compatible, and open source. They have a number of different client programs available, so one might work on a mac. I found this site through a site for some software called iRed, which is a Mac program that can interface with this device, but alas, it isn't free. Good luck!

Re:IRTrans

[tinb]

The iRed license is for free if you purchase an IRTRans.

Cheers, Robert, developer of iRed

What computer did you buy?

[otterboy]

There are a number of USB irda readers out there for Mac. As several have noted, check http://guide.apple.com/action.lasso?-database=maco sguide&-layout=cgi_detail&-response=/ussearch/deta il.html&prodkey=55651&-search for one example. But I have another question, since I'm a diver using a Mac as well, which computer did you buy?

Re:What computer did you buy?

[Anonymous Coward]

Uwatec Smart Pro. The software is currently Windows only, but they've allowed a few developers to receive copies of the transfer protocol under NDA. I'm told that software for Wince is available now; software for Linux and OS X is well advanced, and they're hoping to have it available by Christmas.

As for the Higoto adapter -- I actually emailed that company. They've informed me that the company they source the adapter from has changed the chipset, and that it isn't compatible with Mac OS X any more. :(

Linux IRDA

[fozzmeister]

seems very good, I had my phone sync'ing with it at one point. It was pretty a case of the port on my laptop just working, after I modprobe'd and used the IRDA tools.

Let me get this straight...

[Anonymous Coward]

So you bought it before finding out how it connects to your Mac. Then you find out that it needs an infrared connection. Then you find an infrared connector made specifically for the Mac.

The only real problem I can see is that you bought it without any clue of how it hooks up to your computer.

Re:Let me get this straight...

[wheezl]

Actually I have never found a dive computer that works with anything but windows.

There is nothing stopping a person from watching the protocol on a windows machine an implementing it on a mac however.

I started such a thing with my Oceanic dive computer before I realized that I just plain didn't care.

I use the oceanic as a bottom timer for the most part now.. though the VR3 does look appealing.

Re:Let me get this straight...

[Anonymous Coward]

IrDA is not exactly a new technology. But there are two items here that I am concerned about: getting a dive computer; and connecting the dive computer to my Mac.

In the first place, I invite you to find a dive computer that connects to a PC or Mac via a cabled connection. Preferably USB or Firewire. I can just about guarantee you that you won't find one; any device manufactured to be immersed in salt water on a regular basis, especially at relatively high pressures (up to five atmospheres, or around 72 psi) isn't going to have such connectivity. That leaves wireless; there are two choices for that: IrDA, or Bluetooth. IrDA is a hell of a lot cheaper to implement than Bluetooth; I very much doubt you'll find any dive computer that supports Bluetooth.

In the second place, I know -- for a fact -- that there is software coming for the Mac for this computer. Hell, I'd happily sign an NDA and write it myself. But at the end of the day, I do have access to a PC if need be; the Mac aspect is something that would make my life a lot easier, but it's by no means essential.

Re:Let me get this straight...

[cvdwl]

Some random link chasing gave me: linuxdiving.org and somebody's mac page. Looks like some Suunto and Uwatec support, though it's "pretty thin", and the info is sort of evenly split between Mac and Linux.

If you're a true diehard, you could always try a windows emulator, or WINE if it's available for Apple, though I guess that misses the hardware issue. Ok, that's getting twisted, never mind, I'll go home now.

ARGH

[Bastian]

I'd *BANG* offer *BANG* an *BANG* answer *BANG* but *BANG* I'm *BANG* too *BANG* busy *BANG* slamming *BANG* my *BANG* head *BANG* against *BANG* the *BANG* wall *BANG* to *BANG* tell *BANG* you *BANG* how *BANG* to *BANG* use *BANG* Google *BANG* or *BANG* Apple's *BANG* website.

Re:ARGH

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey that's pretty good! Now you know how *I* feel when people can't tell the difference between its and it's, your/you're, and use 's for plurals!

Re:ARGH

[Anonymous Coward]

I've already done the obvious things; Apple's website didn't have any obvious link to products that would work with OS X (I easily could have missed it), and Google didn't bring up any links that had much of value. All the queries I found before submitting the ask slashdot were sufficiently old that the products they referred to were, by and large, discontinued, or modified to be unsupported on OS X.

Don't know what brand...

[aaarrrgggh]

...but most of the companies have a proprietary format for the data. If I recall correctly, with Suunto you can just get some really basic data (max depth, time, duration?), and everything else is requires their own software to run.

So, your data transfer is one problem, then reading the data won't be easy either.

Good luck!

Re:Don't know what brand...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, I know. The first part is getting hold of an IrDA USB dongle that will work with OS X. I can use that with a Windows system in the interim, until Mac software is released (as I've said elsewhere, the expectation is for it to be available very soon now.)

If something goes belly up, and it turns out that Mac support won't happen for far too long, I have enough programming skills that I'd be willing to try to write my own code, under NDA (the only way Uwatec is likely to let me go ahead with documentation; I'm not crazy enough to reverse engineer the protocols.) It'd be an interesting proposition, in any case. So I'm basically trying to get over what, to me, is the hardest part: actually getting a data link from the Mac to the dive computer. The rest is a simple matter of code.

Douglas Adams said...

[students]

You need another Dongly Thing to go with your mac.

Lego Mindstorms! Cheap, common, and dual purpose!

[Nomihn0]

Lego Mindstorms uses an infrared transceiver. You can find Lego IR boxes in toystores anywhere in the world. They can be hacked into loving your Macintosh.

Bull

[Anonymous Coward]

I visited both those pages. You probably didn't mind the lameness filter gaps in the URL. try again.

Re:Bull

[Anonymous Coward]

The first page -- and there's only one in the first post -- refers to the Belkin F5U230. I have just double checked Belkin's Australian website (I'm an Australian resident), and it lists only the F5U235. Different model number == suspect. No mention of Mac support. As I said, I rang Belkin; they specifically said that it is not supported on the Mac.

That leaves the second page. Going through methodically, and accessing every single URL mentioned on it, I removed all those that are in a language I do not understand, that do not have IrDA products that I can find relatively easily, and that do not state clearly and categorically that they support Macs on the product pages relating to their IrDA devices. That left me with just two companies: Alpha Smart and ZephIR. ZephIR's website doesn't have a working Store link; and their support information regarding OS compatibility was last updated in July 2000. Hardly a ringing endorsement.

Alpha Smart is therefore the only company left, by elimination. Checking their products reveals a couple of IR pods that may be useful. They say that they will work with Mac OS 8.6 or later. They do not say anything about Mac OS X. Given that OS X's architecture is so radically different to OS 9 and earlier's, I'm not about to buy without checking with them first.

So now I need to contact them, and ask them what's what with their IR pods. If they support Mac OS X, especially 10.3, great -- my problem's solved, at least inasmuch as hardware is concerned. If they don't, I'm back to square one. Every other page that is referenced on either of those aforementioned URLs either does not have anything remotely resembling what I want (ie: an IrDA device that hooks in via USB), or does not have a clear commitment to Mac OS X support. If you want to dispute that, put your money where your mouth is, and point to one -- just one -- website that disagrees with me. I'm not asking for a long list. Just one URL will do the trick just fine.

Which Dive Computer did you get?

[ByteHog]

Do you like it so far? I'm kinda in the market for a new one...

Titanium 1st & 2nd gen PowerBook G4

[Anonymous Coward]

The 1st & 2nd generation Titanium PowerBook G4 have IR-DA ports built-in and all newer G4 PowerBook don't have IR-DA ports built-in. On these you can use external like Belkins IR to USB. The Mac OS X has this as part of system. I use my IR port to sync to my Palm Pilot. It was sad to see Apple remove the IR port in all the newer models.

Re:Titanium 1st & 2nd gen PowerBook G4

[Ruzty]

I have a 667Mhz Onyx TiBook and synch my PalmIIIxe via IRDA because I didn't want to spend the money on an OSX compatible USB-> serial adapter. Works great for me.

-R

And useless!

[Anonymous Coward]

Because they're not IrDA!

Re:And useless!

[janoc]

Mod the parent up!

Mindstorms do not work with IRDA protocols, they use something more like a conventional remote control. No chance to use that with IRDA device - different modulation, different carrier, completely different cirquitry. Even the photodiodes and LEDs are usually different for IRDA and remote controls.