Computer Log Programs

I'm using Eclipse for 3 drivers, with Rapid Logs for backend storage/audit. There have been two roadside checks since we implemented. One saw the driver come out with a laptop and The Man passed it without even looking. A second was ok with scrolling through a few days worth on the laptop and didn't care about seeing paper.

On Eclipse, the timeline turns red if you enter something that will be a violation. You have to be brain dead not to do logs right with software.

Producing e-log printouts and audit reports during my new entrant audit last week pleased the auditor and made the logbook compliance section a total non-issue.

 

Can the Eclipse software be used on a Mac? It looks really good, but I got into a dispute with Microsoft and will never own anything Microsoft or windows, OR give them another red cent for the rest of my life!

So if it'd work on my Mac, I'd be in.

 

I'm just saying. It takes about a minute to print a log off every day. A friend of mine got a warning for not having the previous few days printed off at a scale where in the past it had never been an issue, but all of a sudden it was. Warning tickets count just as badly with CSA 2010 as a real ticket. Some of these DOT officers can be dickheads even if you're professional - hate to see anyone get an undeserved ticket like that.

 

Does anybody have a laptop stand? if so which one? and do they like it? I'm looking at Drivers daily logs and the eclipse logs but want to have a stand for my laptop. Thanks.
Thanks,

 

http://www.ram-mount.com/Products/LaptopMounts/tabid/1510/Default.aspx#/wizard

they dont get any better then this.

 

I am not aware of any logbook software that would run native on a Mac. I wish there were. I do use Eclipse on a Macbook Air, but can only do so in a Windows virtual machine running in Parallels.

I don't have a personal issue with Microsoft as you mention, but I do resent the fact that the platform is so closed and you get crappy (or no) support for anything given the money you put into it. Therefore I avoid it whenever possible and only license the bare minimum to get the few things I need that will only work on Windows.

Eclipse and Rapidlogs have been the rare exception I've come across where the hassles of the Windows platform are exceeded by the value of the product. They are clearly a Windows shop and the Rapidlogs features (server side audit/storage/processing utilities) are accessed via either a web interface that works best on IE, or via some sort of terminal services/RDP session with an obviously Windows server.

What they weren't really clear about up front was that if you are a Rapidlogs subscriber, the Eclipse desktop use is included. In other words, if you pay by the month per user for Rapidlogs, you don't have to additionally purchase the license or upgrades for the Eclipse software you run on your laptops. You run the "evaluation" version, and when the 30 day clock runs down it automatically extends with your subscription.

For me it was a really awkward and poorly described setup. Frankly, I think the company assumes their customers are much more knowledgeable about managing large fleet driver compliance, and that was just not me. However, once you get it up and running and really understand how it works, it's super easy to use and a great value in my opinion.

 

This rule has changed with computer logs. When I started on computer logs back in '06 you had to have the ability to print them. Now, as I got a warning for it, you have to all but current days printed.

 

Excellent points that I did not mention. All three of us carry hard copies of at least the past 8 days and print out yesterday's page each morning. It's only a requirement that you be able to produce hard copies, not necessarily have them ready. However, if your on-truck computer and printing equipment is ever going to fail, it will certainly be during the moment after Officer Hard-on demands to see paper. The convenience of having them ready far outweighs the little time it takes to print one page each day.

+1 on the warning tickets. I can assure you first hand that they do count points and are recorded the same as the real thing, even if there is no fine or oos action associated.