The FredCast Cycling Podcast - Bicycle Podcast for Endurance and Recreational Cyclists

In case you couldn’t tell from last night’s (er, this morning’s) post, I was more than a little miffed at our friends from Olathe, Kansas and their most recent press release. So today I set out to try to get Training Center working on my Mac once-and-for-all without rebooting into Boot Camp.

I understood from The MacCast that a new beta of Parallels was available, but one look at their forums and it became clear that the begging and pleading by Garmin/Mac users still hasn’t convinced the Parallels folks to get this working. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Parallels (especially their new Coherence feature that allows PC applications to run in Mac OS X windows), but they have been totally deaf to the fact that their software does not fully support many USB devices, including Garmin GPS units.

Then I came across a blog post today that said that this should work with VMWare’s new Fusion beta product.

In case you’re not familiar with VMWare Fusion, it is virtualization technology (like Parallels Desktop for Mac) that allows Intel-based Macs to run x86 operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, NetWare and Solaris, in virtual machines at the same time as Mac OS X.

So I installed VMWare along with my copy of Windows XP Home (SP2), my favorite Windows anti-virus software (Nod32 by Eset) and Garmin’s Training Center software.

Guess what? It worked! I am finally able to use my Edge (or Forerunner for that matter) with Mac OS X without needing to reboot the computer into Windows.

So after 12 months of Garmin’s promises and Parallel’s assurances that they would have full compatibility, our wait is over. Just head on over to VMWare’s web site and join the public beta program. You’ll be glad you did.

Now I’m going for a ride. Happy New Year everyone!!

What follows is nothing short of a rant against a company whose products and support I generally love. As you know, I have been an ardent fan and supporter of Garmin and their incredible line of GPS products. In fact over the years I have owned no fewer than eight different Garmin GPS units that I have used for hiking, Geocaching, sailing, flying and cycling. I have raved about each and every one of the Garmin units I have owned and have, as a result, probably helped sell dozens (literally) to friends and family, as well as perhaps hundreds or maybe thousands to you, my valued listeners. Please keep this in mind as you read the rant that follows because it is nothing short of the musings of a customer and fan who been a supporter and apologist for the company, but who now has been let down one too many times and just can’t take it anymore.

With a small amount of fanfare, Garmin announced on Friday that their Mac OSX version of Training Center was finally available for users of its Forerunner and Edge fitness GPS units (the ones used by cyclists and runners). Being an avid fan of Garmin’s Edge GPS as well as the geek that you all know me to be, as soon as I arrived home from my family vacation I jumped onto Garmin’s web site, hoping to download and install this wondrous new software. So what did I find there? . . . .

Absolutely nothing.

Confused, I re-read Garmin’s December 29th press release. Buried deep within the superlatives and P.R. mumbo-jumbo, I finally found this little tidbit of information:

“Garmin will distribute complimentary Mac compatible Garmin Training Center software CDs at Macworld, January 8-12, 2007. Those unable to attend Macworld will be able to download the Mac compatible software for free in late January 2007”

Huh?

How can you say that the software is “Now Available” (the headline straight from Garmin’s press release) and in the same breath tell us that we have to wait until next week to get the CD (if we are lucky enough to attend MacWorld) or late January 2007 for the download? Does it really take a month for Garmin’s Mac team to figure out how to use FTP software to get the file up on their web site? Or is this really just another load of marketing double-talk from Garmin? Because it sure sounds that way to me.

Now perhaps you think I’m over-reacting. If so, then perhaps you don’t remember the promises that Garmin has made over the past 12 months and how we have been let down time and time again. So for a little history, read on.

Read More

For a long time I’ve been asking you to vote for The FredCast on Podcast Alley as a way of building awareness for the show among your fellow cyclists. Lately I’ve also been asking you to write a review of The FredCast on iTunes.

Your response has been phenomenal and I really appreciate it.

Now I have another way you can show others how much you like the show and help build our audience. If you dig The FredCast as much as I think you do, then would you please consider DIGGing the FredCast?

What’s that you say? You’ve never heard of digg.com? Digg is “a user driven social content website.” What that means is that users submit news stories and other content and then other users “digg” those stories. The more diggs each story gets, the more likely it is that it will appear on the front page of the site. Digg just added a podcasting section and we’ve already got a few diggs already, but we need more.

So please go to digg.com and digg The FredCast!

I needed to call Garmin support for something today, so I asked about the forthcoming Mac software for the Edge. I was told that they are “hoping” to be able to release the Mac software in “the next 7-10 days.” Keep your fingers crossed.

By the way, have I told you how great I think their technical support team is? Sure, you sometimes have an extended wait on hold, but once you get them on the phone, they are top notch.

Not only will tonight mark the first anniversary of The FredCast and our first-ever LIVE show, I am also pleased to announce that our guests this evening will be:

• Graeme Street, creator of the very popular and successful Cyclo Core training programs. Graeme and I will be discussing his Cyclo Core and Cyclo Zen programs as well as his newest products and programs.
• Josh Horowitz, the Founder and Head Coach of Liquid Fitness, a cycling training program that includes physical and mental training as well as nutritional guidance. Josh and I will be discussing the topic of visualization as well as his line of motivational CDs.

Be sure to join me LIVE tonight on TalkShoe to listen as well as to call-in with your questions. If you can’t make the show live tonight, the entire show will be recorded and released as a regular podcast.

Hello All.

I think I’ve finally found a suitable way to celebrate the one year anniversary of The FredCast: With a LIVE show!

On Monday night (December 11) at 10:00 pm EST / 7:00 pm PST, I will be doing The FredCast LIVE online and you will be able to call-in with your comments and questions!
We will be using a new service called Talkshoe.

Here’s how it works (thanks to Leo Laporte for his excellent instructions on the Net@Nite web site!):

1.You can Listen live at Talkshoe. You don’t need to download any software to listen.

2. You can Chat with the other listeners while the show is “on the air.” This is similar to instant messaging or ICQ, and I’ll be able to see what you chat while I’m talking. You’ll need the Talkshoe Client for that.

3. You can Call into the show. To call in, sign up and pick a PIN at TalkShoe.com, then call the show at 724-444-7444. The show ID is 9426. You can call using a land line, cell phone, Skype or any other VOIP service, but you must have a pin of your own to call the show.

4. Listen to the podcast. Don’t worry if you can’t listen live, because I will be posting this as a regular podcast episode shortly after we finish the live show.

Talk to you Monday!!