Safelog for Mac is currently under intensive development and will be released soon.
More information will be made available via this webpage as the project progresses.
Last Updated January 5, 2012:
Yes, we're making a Mac version! This has been under wraps for some time, but we now announce it publicly. As a mature, integrated product, Safelog has long run on far more
platforms than any other electronic pilot logbook system out there, including PC, iPhone/iPad, Web, Android, BlackBerry, Palm, Windows Mobile, and more. This represents our ongoing commitment to the care
your vital pilot logbook even as technology changes. We've done while despite seeing 'single technology only' competitors come and go. While Mac users have for years been able to use Safelog via our
SafelogWeb.com fully-featured online logbook, we're happy to announce that soon there will be a Safelog for Mac desktop app, too. We've heard you mac users loud and clear - you want a desktop Mac app but would
prefer not to deal with the notoriously expensive and buggy (though slickly marketed) Mac logbook program that's out there from another source now.
We're currently hard at work developing our Mac app. Because our programs are very feature rich and because we spend a lot of time getting the usability just right, development takes time. As such,
we're going to do a two-stage rollout of our Mac desktop product. Here's how it will go:
Stage 1 - Q1-Q2 2012: We will release via our website a free 'lite' Mac app. This will work on your Mac desktop or laptop as a standalone app, but will not have the full features of our desktop PC program. Rather, it
will be more like our iPhone / iPad apps - offering the ability to view and log flights, add and edit aircraft/people/airports, and view currencies. However, while this lite desktop version will be free, this will require a SafelogWeb.com account to use. So, during this time, if you're new to us, you can sign up for an account at SafelogWeb.com and use the 'lite' app on your Mac. Certain features, such as currency calculation, will be done via SafelogWeb. If you have, for example, an iPhone or iPad and get the Safelog for iPhone/iPad app, any data you log via the 'Lite' mac app and the iPhone/iPad app will of course synchronize nicely via SafelogWeb.
Stage 2 - After that: Meanwhile, we will be busy working on a more 'fully capable' Safelog for Mac app capable of serving as a 'core' Safelog product (ie where your logbook data resides) as currently only Safelog PC and SafelogWeb do. This will be more like the Safelog for PC software in the sense that you will be able to have, for example, just the iPad version and the Mac version and nothing else and use the two together. This will have most or all of the features of Safelog PC plus new features that we are currently working on for all of our 'core versions.' When will stage 2 happen? It's a bit hard to say. Probably the first Mac 'core' version won't be completely feature-filled, but when we feel that we have it a at a stage sufficient that it can do most core features we will release it. Hopefully this will be in Mid 2012, and with some luck even earlier (we already have internal alpha versions running nicely.)
Ok, so how should you plan for this?
If you are currently a Safelog PC user but who wants to use Safelog for Mac instead: - Once the LITE version of Safelog for Mac is released, contact us via our helpdesk asking us to switch your Safelog PC account to a SafelogWeb.com account. We will provide a brief 'grace' period in which both will be active. This will allow you to sync your Safelog PC data with SafelogWeb. Then, download the Lite version of Safelog for Mac and install it on your Mac. This will sync with SafelogWeb.com and so your data will effectively be on both SafelogWeb and in the companion Safelog for Mac Lite program. Once the 'full' version of Safelog for Mac comes out, follow the steps for 'If you are a currently a SafleogWeb user' in the next paragraph.
If you are currently a SafelogWeb.com user: - When the lite version of Safelog for Mac is released, you can immediately start using this on your Mac at no extra charge. You'll be able to simply enter your SafelogWeb credentials into it, it will sync nicely, and you'll be good to go. When the 'full' mac version comes out, you can send us a request to change your SafelogWeb subscription to a Safelog for Mac subscription. Again, we'll provide a transition period for you to be able to synchronize your data nicely. This transition period is likely to be quite generous - we haven't determined it exactly at the time of this writing, but it is likely to be in the order of six months to one year. The reason for such generosity is that, as we said, because we want to get this out to you as soon as possible, initial Safelog for Mac 'core' versions may not have all of the core features immediately, so we want you to be able to go to SafelogWeb should you require some core feature that had not at initial release been ported to the Safelog for Mac 'core' app.
If you are a Mac user now and don't have Safelog at all, should you wait to get Safelog? - No, we suggest that you get a SafelogWeb.com subscription now and then transition to the lite and core Mac program versions as they become available. This will allow you to import your data (if you are coming from another program - remember - we have a free transition service for users of other logbook programs/apps/websites, including other Mac-based logbooks) and will of course allow you to start logging your flights right away. Plus, you can use iPhone/iPad/Android/etc. companion apps, if you have acquired them and sync with SafelogWeb. When the Mac (lite and/or full) versions are released, your data will synchrnoize very very easily (basically just supply your SafelogWeb username and password to the mac programs) and your data will all be nicely imported. There will be no need to retype anything.
If you're new to all this, again, what differentiates Safelog from every other pilot logbook system out there is that Safelog is an integrated, synchronizing 'platform', not a 'single trick pony' dead-end-alleyway which is why we've thrived as the most trusted logbook while others have come and gone. A good chunk of our user base has found itself seduced by the flashy marketing of some other product, only to find that product disappear as the original programmer (most of our competitors are one-man-shows) lost interest or technology passed by his skill set. By contrast, because Safelog is a system, it takes us a little bit longer to make versions for a given platform (since we have to make sure all the synchronization stuff works and everything is to standard) but once it is released, our users can be confident that they are part of a product that has existed from platform to platform and will in all likelihood continue to do so for many years to come as we are a professional, committed shop. Your pilot career and associated pilot logbook data will outlive any one software platform or device. We believe that only Safelog has the systematic view, professional development team, support resources, and inertia by having a very large user base to see you through for the decades to come. If you're already using some other logbook product, we can certainly help transition your data into Safelog with a minimum of re-entry on your part via our free Safelog Transition Service.
Please note that after Safelog for Mac is 'stable' for some time, we may decide to discontinue support for the 'lite' version (though this has not been firmly decided at this point). Remember though that if you are a 'lite' user, you will have the opporunity to convert your SafelogWeb.com account to a Safelog for Mac 'full' account at no charge as described above, so we don't think that any future discontinuance of support for the lite version will seriously affect any user.
Pricing: - Safelog for Mac (the full version) will be competitively priced without any of the hidden charges and upgrade fees of other products. In general, it is expected to be roughly in line with our Safelog for PC pricing with all the generous terms that our PC software currently has (that is, we always allow you to upgrade to the latest available version for free and we let you install the software for your own personal use on as many Macs as you'd like - such as your Mac Mini, two mac notebooks, and four mac desktops, if you happen to have such a large number of Macs, within reason). You can 'lock in' a good rate for the Mac software in some sense by getting a longer term SafelogWeb subscription now, given that we will be offering a free transition as described above. However, this carries some slight risk (see next paragraph):
This page describes our intentions with regards to Safelog for Mac. As of early January, 2012, development is well under way. However, as with any software project, we don't want to count chickens before they hatch. There is always a possibility, however slim, that our plans may change, the products may change, and, in extremis, development may be postponed significantly or even cancelled. While, again, we believe this to be unlikely, it would be unethical and incomplete for us to not mention this as a possibility. Thank you for your understanding.
Ok - that's the current status! Thank you for reading, and look for updates as they become available. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us via our helpdesk, though we respectfully ask you to refrain from asking questions of 'when.' When we have firmer release dates, we will post them here via this page.
Thank you for checking out Safelog!
The Safelog Development Team
Dauntless Aviation
