If it doesn't work on either side it seems like a card issue to me. As for the Mac question I'm pretty sure as long as you can get the SDK installed and can get access to ADB in a command prompt you'll be able to do it.
Once you're in ADB it's all the same. The issue comes when you need to install programs to the Mac. If I remember correctly the SDK is the only thing that needs to be installed (don't quote me on that, it's been a while since I did it).