I want to switch but...

[Duc996]

I REALLY want to switch from Windows to a Mac but I have a problem. My daughter has Type I diabetes and her Insulin Pump and blood glucose meter must be hooked up to the computer to program them and read their data for record keeping. The program is a Windows only program from Medtronic Minimed. It's called ParadigmPAL 3.0. I called them (Minimed)and asked them if their product would work through Parallels or Boot Camp or Virtual PC and they were COMPLETELY clueless on what these were. In fact they had never heard of ANY Mac users utilizing their product(s). I cannot consider purchasing a Mac unless it can run this program and also run a web Java program on the Minimed web site that REQUIRES IE and only IE (no firefox or anything else) grrrrrrrrrrrr.

https://carelink.minimed.com/

Man this is frustrating. Am I stuck with a Windows box forever? I don't want to have two desktops in the house either. Is there anyway I can figure out if these proprietary programs will work under Parallels (preferred) or Boot Camp? My concern with Parallels stems from what I keep reading about USB problems. The Insulin pump and the blood glucose meter both hook up to the computer via a USB cable. I also have 15 years of DETAILED Quicken data that I've heard will not correctly translate to the Mac version of Quicken. I've heard that Quicken for Windows runs fine through Parallels so that sounds easier, as well as more convenient, than a hard reboot as in Boot Camp each time I want to use Quicken or the Insulin program. I'm a Mac novice and would like ANY comments about my considerations.

Thanks!

[MisterMe]

Are you serious? Your daughter's life depends on a particular configuration of software and hardware and you are trying to figure out a way to workaround these requirements?

A real Mac user would buy a Mac for himself. He would allow the Windows computer to do its job. He would also seriously consider reporting you to social services.

[minckster]

Not exactly the answer that you're looking for, but you could keep the Windows box and control it via "VNC." That's what I do - one screen, one keyboard, one mouse control both computers at the same time. It's like Parallels, only the interaction with the Windows box is slow. If you might be interested, reply back and I can give some more details. You can set it up free with Real VNC on Windows and Chicken of the VNC on Mac.

I found instructions on Quicken's site for transferring data from Windows to Mac (which I also have available if you can't find them online). The vast majority of my Quicken history didn't transfer correctly and I would have had to enter it manually. Ughh! I didn't switch Quicken.

I don't think you'll be able to download IE for Mac from MS anymore. You should be able to beg here for the installation package. It's floating around out there.

Good luck! Hope you're able to make the switch.

[lbj]

For the Firefox work-around, there exists an extension or two that will imbed IE into Firefox (allowing Firefox to load IE-only sites). It works great in Windows (Firefox for Windows, imbedded IE in Windows), but I'm not sure if it would work in the Mac versions of both.

Just a thought.

[Mikuro]

I doubt the device would work with Parallels. As for Boot Camp, its compatibility with external devices is better than Parallels', but I have heard of problems, so I can't say anything with any confidence. In any case, Boot Camp is still a beta product, so it just can't be trusted for something so important. Even if you can prove that it works today, it might break in the future.

So, for all intents and purposes, the answer is "no".

If you want a Mac, plan on keeping the PC around. As Minckster said, VNC might be a good way to control both the machines from one interface. You could also use a KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) switch to use the same set of peripherals to control both machines, and switch between the two.

[fryke]

Take that hardware (including your daughter) and software to an Apple Store or a store selling Macs and tell them your problem. If they have a Mac around which has Parallels installed or Windows through BootCamp, they might just let you simply try it. Unless there's a user on this board actually having tried it, all we can say are things like "it might/should work" - but in the end it'll be you who has to try it.

If it _does_ work through Parallels (and chances are, I'd say, about 50%), I guess that'd be a sleek solution indeed. Your Mac will need a little more RAM, of course, because both Mac OS X and Windows will run side by side - and you don't want to slow down either system too much by giving it less memory.

[nixgeek]

I have to side with MisterMe on this one. I wouldn't even be considering this as an option. If they gave you this computer specifically for this function, and for your daughter, then I would leave it alone. Personally, that computer should only be doing what it's supposed to do for your daughter and nothing else. If you want a Mac, I think you're going to have to do away with the idea of not wanting two computers and purchase a Mac if you want a Mac badly. LEave that computer to do only the things that need to be done for her, and have everything else done on the Mac. Heck, I wouldn't even be using that computer for anything personal....just for your daughter as a dedicated medical machine. At least that's waht I would do if any of my 2 kids (or rather, 3 since one is on the way) required something like this.

Even if this is your personal computer and you needed this to run properly on the platform it was designed for, I would make the effort to keep that dedicated to your daughter and get another computer for general use, be it a Mac OR a PC.

That's just my opinion on the subject. Feel free to do whatever you want with it.

[Duc996]

@ Misterme. Maybe I overstated the function of the PC. The PC is only a relative new tool in diabetes management. You are trained to do the entire treatment regiment via pencil and paper (which we have been doing for the last 10 years). It is only recently that you have been able to tranfer the data from the two devices to a computer. The Pump also doesn't "require" a PC but it makes the programming a breeze instead of doing it via the pump itself. In the program you get big screens with dropdown menus instead of trying to finger punch all the data via the small, pager sized, pump with only 5 buttons. There is no life/death need for the computer but it GREATLY makes life easier.

That said you guys are right. I should plan on keeping the windows machine until I'm sure that the Mac will work. My frustration with windows and its incessant requirment for virus/firewall/upkeep-functions really came to boil this week and I let these feelings cloud my judgment. I was also really confounded by the Medtronic folks who were COMPLETELY clueless on Macs (not that I'm anything other than a novice) but I would have thought they would have been able to give me an informed answer. I find it hard to believe that I'm the first to ask this question.

Thanks for the advice.