Derby Talk

Has anyone successfully used GPRM on Mac OS X? If so, how did you do it -- with Boot Camp, Parallels, or VMWare (via Windows XP)? What did you use for the USB-to-serial adapter?

Thanks for any help.

Any reports of experiences regarding GPRM on a Macintosh?

(Is there any derby race management software that natively operates under Mac OSX?)

FatSebastian wrote: Any reports of experiences regarding GPRM on a Macintosh?

I did have a user call me not too long ago that was running GPRM on his Mac using VMware.

FatSebastian wrote:(Is there any derby race management software that natively operates under Mac OSX?)

Not that I am aware of.

The Mono Project is getting to the point that GPRM can use that to run on Macs and Linux. It's not quite there yet, at least the last time that I checked (I'll have to check again this off season).

I would have to talk Stan and Cory into coming out with a .NET version of the PPN scheduling DLL, or let me do that conversion.

Thanks for the update, and thanks for keeping Mac OS in mind.

Darin McGrew wrote:Thanks for the update, and thanks for keeping Mac OS in mind.

Actually, it is not something that I am eager to do. It is hard enough to support multiple versions of Windows, much less multiple OS's (and versions thereof) and to work around the quirks of each. Of course, I would need to be able to test the software against each, so I'd need computers configured for that. I already have to maintain Windows XP, Vista and 7 environments for testing. It is easier for the big companies to do all that. Not so much for smaller companies.

I just wanted to share that I have installed and configured GPRM (and DerbyDMV, and RaceReplay) with absolutely no problems or anything out of the ordinary (including USB->serial converter to a Fast Track Timer, and logitech 9000 webcam for replay) on a Mac (2010 Macbook Air) in Parallels desktop 7 under both Windows XP and Windows 7.

Go for it. It's actually a good configuration for me as my backup laptop becomes a second Mac, with the same VM copied over.

dschur wrote:I just wanted to share... Go for it.

Thanks for the feedback, dschur! And

I'm able to run GPRM v10 on my MacBook using Parallels ver 6 and Windows XP SP 3. I had to install some driver for the USB to Serial adapter and some other Microsoft thing that I was missing. After that it was smooth sailing.

Good to know, my wife and I just switched to a Mac, it's fairly easy to transport, could use it to run a race. Easier than buying a new laptop.

Another tip for Mac that came in quite handy at the race I ran this year. I was using 2 Macs, 1 for checkin/registration via DerbyDMV, and one for racing with GPRMS. To transfer the files between the tow (to import racer data with photos), I simply used AirDrop (a feature of Lion), it worked beautifully. Also I had the same VM replicated on both systems for ease of setup, and so that each was a backup of the other.

It all worked very well.

I am actually working on a GPRM version that will run on Mac and Windows. It is a rather large project, as the software has to be totally rewritten in a different programming language. I do not have an estimate on when it will be ready.

I can run GPRM on Linux, under Wine. Haven't tested a hardware link, though.

I see the biggest hurdle in a cross-platform race manager platform as being the interface with the timer. Otherwise, I'd suggest an GUI toolkit like wxWidgets or Qt.