Really hate being the purveyor of bad news but I keep seeing people rant about a lack of Mac support.. the problem is the FDA requires pretty close to separate approval for each platform as if it were a new device
Its also partially why the software that is available doesn't get changed much or updated often
Its just not cost effective to have multiple platforms for download software.
Do see some changed with the FDA being paved by companies such as Glooko and Agamatrix but its still going to be awhile before we see a lot of multiplatform apps being approved quickly...
There isn't even fully fixed software, and some of it doesn't even support Windows 7 yet... So untill then....
Try Parellels, VirtualBox, VMware and Boot Camp on a Mac...
In the current FDA climate, it makes the most sense for companies to develop apps for the largest targets... Surprisingly Macs are not a large enough target audience, but ipods/iphones ARE... though Apple went and changed to the lightning connector causing a lot of potential devices to have to go back to the drawing board.. FDA does not like approving devices that need an adapter... technically that *breaks* the previous approval.. and technically the device has to be re-approved WITH the adapter used...
As a Mac convert (and loving it), I cannot agree more with you. When 5-10% of machines out there are Macs, and there are alternatives to using Windows on it, it becomes a business decision for the creators of the software.
On the testing front, I'm also looking at using Crossover, as it lets you run PC/Windows stuff in a window, without having to buy a copy of Windows.
It'll be over Christmas, and I'll let all y'all know.
Thanks for this. I was wondering, because porting programs like these is at this point trivial from a technical standpoint.
On the face of it, it would seem to make more sense for these programs to be browser-based: one cross-platform interface, server-side control of accumulated data. But there are presumably all sorts of HIPAA issues with having encrypted medical data transfer "on the internet" >eyeroll< that inhibits this solution as well. FDA needs to get sufficiently IT-savvy so as to provide reasonable flexibility, because medicine's going in this direction generally; no stopping it.
Perhaps trivial is too strong a word. ;) But surely not a back-breaking moneypit? I would have assumed (perhaps wrongly) that something like Dexcom's statistics software is written at a high level, such that porting is mostly a matter of changing out some APIs & debugging for a week.
Its not the actual porting thats expensive. its getting it re-approved through the FDA. Not saying portability is cheap, but thats not the main problem.. Its handing the FDA a check as if it were a new device thats the hard part.
If Crossover works id be very interested.. Heres the kicker.. Vendors cannot legally recommend virtualized machines (FDA again, its akin to offlabel prescribing)... but anecdotaly many try to make sure they do work... Have had very good luck with VirtualBox and diabetes apps... and Boot Camp. But wish more diabetes devices used FTDI based serial solutions which are smarter about not taking up unnecessary com ports.. and duplicate phantom com ports that cause issues..
My issue is not MAC approvals - just that the G4 USB interface does not work with a MAC running windows 7. Where the 7 Plus appears to work. Why wouldn't Dexcom fix this. Sadly I cannot get an answer from Dexcom as I'm based in the UK and they will not deal with me. Can anyone registered with them in the US ask ?
You still have the problem of approval.. Medtronic has this issue with Carelink.. It only technically works with an approved browser, with an approved version of java, with an approved shim/plugin to do the data exchange.. And thats not getting into the HIPAA issues.. I do know there is some headway on this. but just by going to a web based reporting system, your not going to bypass this with a CGMS...unless the user enters all data manually.. thats what a lot of IOS apps do to allow for charting in the US
Ill see if i can talk to someone but technically their answer has to be.. We do not support the Mac... its not FDA approved to run under a virtual computer... That said. it doesn't mean they might not fix it.. but they cant tell you... From a technical point of view.. im wondering if you need a different serial to USB driver to make it work..
Hi Jake - thanks - would be great if you'd ask for me. BTW I'm not sure its an FDA issue as the SW works fine on Windows 7 which I'm running and which its licensed for. Its the USB driver which has been specifically written for Dexcom but will not operate on a virtual computer.
But the 7 Plus did work and does on mine but no good for the G4 sadly, so Dexcom could get it working if they wanted too.
I'd be grateful if you could try asking and see what they say. Others in the US must be having this issue.
98% of what you have said is true. The sad part is Animas, a J&J subsidiary, writes its EZ Manager Max software for insulin pumps in a form that will install on either Windows or Mac. Its drivers work, borrowing a Windows term, at the Hardware Abstraction Level or HAL. It takes some real code writers to work at this level.
As far as emulators are concerned, like CrossOver, do not count on it. I worked with a real propeller head and we found the Dexcom drivers to be the problem. The will not work outside the Windows environment. -- Thanks, Josh.
FDA in my book needs their chain JERKED big time. I am working with a dabetic Congressional staffer to get relief for all of us.
Thanks Jay, will look into DiaSend although they do not advertise they are compatible with Dexcom at present but will ask them.
With regard to the driver being proprietary - unlike the 7plus which loads directly the G4 is some kind of extracted file that has to be opened and seemingly extracted by the Studio Software - its this bit that does not work on an iMac sadly with Windows 7 (I had heard someone got it working with WinXP on a iMac, but I'm not going back to that).
I like the idea of a browser based/cloud solution but unless you add wifi to the receiver you'd still need a USB cable to download the data from the device in order to get the data to a server. That would then require at least some local software unless they could also mount the device as a drive the way digital cameras do.
You have to enroll as an international patient for Diasend to work. More FDA. Also, get politically active. Find a member of your Congressional delegation with a diabetic family member. It may be a family of the member or a staffer. Find that "tender ear" and sing the best song you can. Get the Congressional staffer on your side. Do not let them be fed the FDA's brown matter.
