I have an office that uses Macintosh computers and want them to be able to run Medisoft through my network.?

Question

I have not set up my server yet.

I've gotten opinions that say I need to have Windows Server and Terminal Server which then require licensing for each product for each user (expensive!) in order to have the remote site (running Macs) able to run Medisoft from my server using terminal services.

Is there another way?

Can you install Medisoft on a Macintosh and then I could use Windows XP professional with remote desktop as my server?

I have a limited budget. But, I want to do this the right way.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I don't know anything about Medisoft, but I googled it; still didn't learn much. I was unable to ascertain if it's a Windows-only product or not.

If it'll run on *nix, that'd be the easiest/cheapest solution; if it only runs on Windows, the Terminal Server solution, although expensive, will probably be the easiest solution.

Depending on how it works, It might be possible to run Medisoft in a virtual environment on the Macs; you'd need to get a virtual machine emulator (such as the free VirtualBox or the more popular but cost-encumbered Parallels), then a license for Windows for each Mac, and then install Windows in the VM (virtual machine) and Medisoft on that copy of Windows. Once you understand how to set it up, it's pretty easy to duplicate the setup to other Macs, but you're looking at a cost of -- what? $99 for Windows -- at a minimum for each Mac, plus whatever you spend on the VM software and on RAM for each machine (you want lots of RAM - like 2 - 4 GB per Mac).

Alternatively, you could find a product that is not Windows-only. Vote with your dollars.

UPDATE: This short story might give you an alternative direction to pursue on a non-Windows package - http://www.linux.com/feature/142777