GPS,
GiSTEQ USB dongle makes trip logging quick, easy, and utterly heroic
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Feb 19th 2009 10:05PM
posted Feb 19th 2009 10:05PM
GiSTEQ -- the GPS phototagger folks -- are back on the scene with TripBook, a novel approach to the art of mileage tracking. The idea is simple: You plug the device into your vehicle's lighter, at which point it powers up and preserves all the sordid details of your journey -- time, distance, route and so forth. Once your saga concludes (or, as Joseph Campbell once put it, when you return "to the world of common day") the data can be exported to your PC (sorry, Mac users) for creating IRS-compliant mileage reports. The device, vehicle adapter, USB cable and all pertinent software and manuals are available from the manufacturer for $99.
WTF... it doesn't work on a mac but they have the audacity to use an MBP in the ad? LOS BASTARDOS!
Seriously, why the hell is there a MBP in the ad?
@Sirobin
That's not as bad as a Windows Vista brochure I saw. They had at least 10 iBooks and Powerbooks in there, all of which don't even run Windows, and maybe 2 or 3 PCs.
Got some real geniuses here...
Did even Engadget forget that every Mac made in the last, oh I dunno, few YEARS fully supports Windows right out of the box? In fact it's sort of funny that they say it's not Mac compatible when a Mac with Windows and Parallels is the most universally compatible computer out there. You would have a pretty hard time finding a commercially available piece of programming that didn't work on it.
yeah... but why in the world would I want to pay extra $$$ for a copy of Windows and Parallels, just to run one or two cruddy PC applications.
People should be PROHIBITED from using a picture of a Mac in their ad unless it runs on OS/X Natively.
Yeah, okay, that's not going to happen... but I can dream, yes?
Apple's computers can run many OSes. At one time PC Mag rated the MBP the BEST WINDOWS LAPTOP.
Don't equate Apple's hardware to the Mac OS. It is NOT a given.
This is pretty common. If you watch advertisements closely, often a Mac is used in place of a generic PC. My guess is it's probably because that's what the advertising folks use, so it's easy to just grab one off a desk for the photo.
What's great, my wife points this out more often than I.
Not to be confused with the other logger dongle from JizzTeq...
Not to mention the flipped background image! Quality craftsmanship! QUALITY!
Oh the irony. Using a Mac for a non-Mac-compatible piece of equipment.
I love when people use a product that's popular to help theirs, even if it doesn't work... at all.
Aww the irony.
nifty
Maybe they're thinking Mac users use bootcamp.... hmmm
Lovely, just in time for taxing us by the mile vs by the gallon :sick:
What about cars where the cigarette lighter is always powered? I think it's common with GM vehicles. Anyone else notice this?
arn't all cigarette lighter sockets always powered? Am I missing something here?
yes you are missing something
Yeah!! I can only imagine how many miles this thing would log just sitting stationary with the lighter socket feeding it power!
I never knew cig lighter sockets had switches. Since when are they in there ?
ooh..the ignition needs to be turned on..damn how i wish there was a delete comment button..
let's see....reversed photo....MBP in ad.... are these guys ironic or just dumb as a box of hammers?
so whats to stop somebody from hacking this to claim more mileage?
nice one, I knew i wasn't the only one who thought like that...lol
Probably the same thing that stops being from lying when they wrote down their mileage the old way. Or the same thing that keeps people from lying about their taxes.
I am looking for a GPS Time Tracking system similar to this for my field techs. Something where they show up at the job site and press a button to clock in, at which point it records their location and time in. Press the button again to clock out, and so forth.
It doesn't have to work exactly like that, and in fact I might be able to adapt this to work, but does any one know of a device especially designed to make time tracking simple?
Yup - Sprint offers several solutions like this (as do most carriers I believe). I researched it for a client (a HVAC company). Wasn't all that expensive either - I think it was $9/mo on most GPS enabled cellphones.
Also - for this specific need of mileage tracking, there are standard GPS units that also have exportable data for mileage - Navigon for one.
I'm so glad this thing is IRS-compliant. Now all I need is the address to send the government my itemized cell phone bill and first-born.
OK so the ad is extremely janky, but I think the idea of this device is brilliant. There's a lot of people this would be really useful for.
You know, if you plugged that into one of those out-of-the-way power sockets some cars have (rear, trunk, or even passenger side), you could use it to snitch on what your wife/girlfriend/teenager was up to. Or just wire in a power jack somewhere outta sight within your car, if you're up for messing with your vehicle's wiring. $99 is pretty cheap for a snitching device like that.
I suppose this might also be useful for parents who want to track their kid's driving.
Or for people who don't trust their spouse.
Meh, it's not as bad as the Tesco insurance ads in the UK that sport a MBP with a dock in bottom centre, with a Windows start button and bar down the bottom in behind the dock, and internet explorer running. Seriously, you have to wonder if the person behind that was a sadist, or trying to make the message that it was on all systems!
Or a bored graphic designer having a cheap laugh :)
Seriously, i dont get this site
I have sent many suggestions to post similar products by ATP and Globalsat on this site but they dont care. But as soon as Gisteq come, they do a piece. These people....
Interesting, assuming it works. If only there was a way to use it to log my bike rides.
There is a way: hook it up to a 12v battery. Would work like a charm. There are lots of RC batteries in the 11.2V range, and they would be lightweight, rechargable, etc.
Zoomback.com offers a rechargable battery powered device which will text you the location of your car/bike/child whenever you like. It even has safe zones, so oyu can be alerted when it leaves a specific area.
Pretty neat device, but you have to pay a $14.99/ month service fee.
Oh, goodie. Another way for the government socialists to tax you -- based on the mileage you drive. Reporting the data to the government will be mandatory under the guise of environmental laws. (We want to make sure your carbon footprint is small.) Don't laugh: Oregon and Taxachusetts are considering this.
This story sounds like a commercial... maybe a little disclaimer would have been nice Engadget.
That has to be one of the crappiest ads i've seen in a long time. She must be getting some funky numbers using that calculator. Maybe thats the calc. Obamas been using.
Not to mention a MBP is in almost every TV ad related to computers. anyone seen the finallyfast.com one. It uses almost all mac hardware in the ad and says only for PCs, terrible.
Hey! Wait! Aren't those numbers on that calculator on the left backwards? I think they reversed an image somewhere.
Hmmm, this would make an interesting tracking system for teenage drivers...
Just need to wire up a lighter socket hidden under the dash ;)
WHO CARES ABOUT THE AD YOU IDIOTS! This product seems fantastic... in fact, I just bought one. If you're that concerend about the ad then go look elsewhere for something to do.
Exactly...It's just an AD people. I'm a PC 8~) . lmao
I think the idea is superb, although the ad is crappy. I, however, don't have this product but one similar. It's the Mileage Logger by Vulocity. It tracks your vehicle through GPS and cellular networks. It has completely saved me. I bought one and was able to accurately file this year for over 20,000 business miles, which means I will receive over $11,000 in reimbursement. For years I estimated or didn't file at all, but this year I was able to do it stress-free. I can't say enough good things about this gadget.
check it out at www.mileagelogger.com
Anyone who knocks this product obviously hasn't had to calculate mileage themselves.
Something like this would save me hours every month. $100 upfront is a pittance to get that wasted time back.