Do MacBook Pro have infrared?

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On 11/30/2008 3:03 PM PT, Dave Balderstone typed:

>> A client would like to know if his two months old 15" MacBook Pro (model
>> is from early 2008 I believe) can do infrared with his old portable HP
>> printer, old Palm Pilots, etc.
>>
>> Thank you in advance.
>
> Is he unable to read the manual that came with it?

He's a computer newbie.
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Ant wrote:

> ... Are there any cards/addons to use the old devices?

Yes, but they're probably more of a hassle to obtain and use than
they're worth. You can find USB infrared adapters that'll work with OS
X, but they're few and far between. I have an old USB IrDA dongle that
I used with my MBP's predecessor but which doesn't have a Mac driver for
its chipset-which means I could still use it to sync my PDA if I wanted
to go to the trouble of installing another copy of Palm Desktop on my
Windows virtual machine and then fire it up every time I wanted to sync.
It's easier to just plug in the USB cable from the cradle and sync it
in OS X.

And if the portable printer you mentioned is close enough to use with
infrared, it's close enough to connect via a cable, which from my
experience will provide a much more reliable link. I've found USB
cables selling in dollar stores for-how'd you guess?-$1. If the printer
is so old it isn't USB, that might weigh in favor of infrared, but I
think I'd either buy a newer printer-which the client may have to do
anyway if his present one has neither a native OS X driver nor a
Gutenprint driver that works RIGHT-or see how much a USB port replicator
with a parallel port goes for. (I'm betting here that the parallel
connector on his printer, like that on most portable/mobile models I've
seen, isn't a standard Centronics port, precluding the use of a
USB-to-parallel cable).

Bottom line: Your client can indeed still use IrDA with his MBP, but he
needs to be honest with himself and acknowledge that if he does, he'll
be doing it for the same reason I resurrected infrared on my previous
laptop-simply because he can, not because he has to.

On 11/30/2008 4:34 PM PT, Dave Balderstone typed:

>>>> A client would like to know if his two months old 15" MacBook Pro (model
>>>> is from early 2008 I believe) can do infrared with his old portable HP
>>>> printer, old Palm Pilots, etc.
>>>>
>>>> Thank you in advance.
>>> Is he unable to read the manual that came with it?
>> He's a computer newbie.
>
> He can't read?

Lazy even if you say RTFM.
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On 11/30/2008 6:00 PM PT, Jonathan L. Parker typed:

> Ant wrote:
>
>> ... Are there any cards/addons to use the old devices?
>
> Yes, but they're probably more of a hassle to obtain and use than
> they're worth. You can find USB infrared adapters that'll work with OS
> X, but they're few and far between. I have an old USB IrDA dongle that
> I used with my MBP's predecessor but which doesn't have a Mac driver for
> its chipset-which means I could still use it to sync my PDA if I wanted
> to go to the trouble of installing another copy of Palm Desktop on my
> Windows virtual machine and then fire it up every time I wanted to sync.
> It's easier to just plug in the USB cable from the cradle and sync it
> in OS X.
>
> And if the portable printer you mentioned is close enough to use with
> infrared, it's close enough to connect via a cable, which from my
> experience will provide a much more reliable link. I've found USB
> cables selling in dollar stores for-how'd you guess?-$1. If the printer
> is so old it isn't USB, that might weigh in favor of infrared, but I
> think I'd either buy a newer printer-which the client may have to do
> anyway if his present one has neither a native OS X driver nor a
> Gutenprint driver that works RIGHT-or see how much a USB port replicator
> with a parallel port goes for. (I'm betting here that the parallel
> connector on his printer, like that on most portable/mobile models I've
> seen, isn't a standard Centronics port, precluding the use of a
> USB-to-parallel cable).
>
> Bottom line: Your client can indeed still use IrDA with his MBP, but he
> needs to be honest with himself and acknowledge that if he does, he'll
> be doing it for the same reason I resurrected infrared on my previous
> laptop-simply because he can, not because he has to.

Thanks! Yeah I agree it is very old technology. I remember my Compaq
1585DMT Armada (P150 MMX!) from over a decade ago having it!
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In article <T42dna0bstUjiq7UnZ2dnUVZ_obinZ2d RemoveThis @earthlink.com>,
Ant <ANTant RemoveThis @zimage.com> wrote:

> A client would like to know if his two months old 15" MacBook Pro (model
> is from early 2008 I believe) can do infrared with his old portable HP
> printer, old Palm Pilots, etc.

Ant-

Most Palms I'm familiar with, have the capability to use a USB
interface. At least my old Palm Vx does.

There may be some alternate way to print to the printer. I think the HP
340 may be the portable your client has. It has a parallel port
connector that also uses a couple of the pins as a serial port, for use
with the older Macintosh. It might be possible to connect an HP
JetDirect print server to the printer's parallel port, and connect to
the Macintosh via Ethernet.

However this solution may be more expensive to implement than purchasing
a newer printer. The latest HP and Canon portable printers have good
reputations.

Similarly, the new Palms outshine the old ones. I've had several, and
have had the least trouble with the inexpensive model Z22. Its main
drawback is small screen size being viewed by old eyes!

Fred
(Couldn't post yesterday, so sent by eMail.)

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In article <slrngjdded.1lo.t-use.DeleteThis@ID-685.user.individual.de>,
Martin Trautmann <t-use.DeleteThis@gmx.net> wrote:

> On Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:43:34 -0800, nospam wrote:
> > In article <T42dna0bstUjiq7UnZ2dnUVZ_obinZ2d.DeleteThis@earthlink.com>, Ant
> > <ANTant.DeleteThis@zimage.com> wrote:
> >
> > > A client would like to know if his two months old 15" MacBook Pro (model
> > > is from early 2008 I believe) can do infrared with his old portable HP
> > > printer, old Palm Pilots, etc.
> >
> > no. the infrared receiver is only for the remote control that apple no
> > longer includes.
> >
> > infrared communication with other peripherals was dropped about a
> > decade ago and it was a pain to use. wifi & bluetooth are far, far
> > more convenient.
>
> How does the "Apple Remote" work? Is it bluetooth?
>
> http://store.apple.com/us/learnmore/MB466LL/A?group=apple_remote
> MB441Z/A (wrong number within the store? This should be the MacSafe
> Airline Adapter)
>
> The manual says
> Infrared (IR) receiver
> Use an optional Apple Remote (available separately) with the IR receiver
> to control Front Row and Keynote on your MacBook from up to 30 feet (9.1
> meters) away.
>
> Thus I guess the Apple Remote still is infrared - and it's the handheld
> device only, requiring built-in infrared receivers within the MacBook.
>
> The specs do not name infrared, but name the Apple Remote (MA128G/B) only:
> http://support.apple.com/kb/SP4

That's what nospam said above:

On Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:43:34 -0800, nospam wrote:
> no. the infrared receiver is only for the remote control that apple no
> longer includes.

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In article <slrngjdenm.1lo.t-use.DeleteThis@ID-685.user.individual.de>,
Martin Trautmann <t-use.DeleteThis@gmx.net> wrote:

> On Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:55:46 -0600, Jolly Roger wrote:
> > > The specs do not name infrared, but name the Apple Remote (MA128G/B) only:
> > > http://support.apple.com/kb/SP4
> >
> > That's what nospam said above:
> >
> > On Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:43:34 -0800, nospam wrote:
> > > no. the infrared receiver is only for the remote control that apple no
> > > longer includes.
>
> I had read that the receiver was no longer included...

I'm pretty sure nospam meant that the *remote* is no longer included.

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Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
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Ant wrote:
> Hi!
>
> A client would like to know if his two months old 15" MacBook Pro (model
> is from early 2008 I believe) can do infrared with his old portable HP
> printer, old Palm Pilots, etc.
>
> Thank you in advance.

It's very rare for any new notebooks to have IrDA compliant IR anymore.

Unfortunately, few of the USB IrDA compliant IR dongles being sold have
OSX drivers.

The Bafo BF-7011 should work. You'll have to order it from New Zealand.

Also look at:
http://www.cablemax.co.nz/Home/tabid/66/CategoryID/186/List/1/Level/a/...ductID/
and
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Drivers/BF-7011-USB-to-IrDA-Adapter-Driver.shtml