September 3, 2005

Pepper Makes Mint Better

Shaun: So, what do you think of ShortStat?
Me: What, you mean after I finally got the damned thing installed?
Shaun: *sigh* Yes.
Me: It’s pretty cool.
Shaun:
Me: I still tend to use Refer more often. All of ShortStat’s little scroll panes bug me.

So went the usual exchange between Shaun and I about ShortStat. ShortStat 2, which never saw public release, was a great leap forward, still lacked in many of the same ways the original did. Lots of great information organized in a way that didn’t entirely suit its potential. And I was always around to remind Shaun of that fact.

Shaun has finally come out from his underground lab to unleash his latest stats tracking package, Mint. Myself and some other lucky gents have been beta testing it for the last few months, and I think it’s safe to say Mint is a far cry from ShortStat in almost every way (hence the new name). Completely rebuilt and re-imagined from the ground up, Mint sports a sexy new design and interface as well as a whole host of new features.

Mint

One of Mint’s new features that has me really excited is the Pepper API. This is Mint’s open framework that allows others to build on top of the default Mint to make it even better. Pepper makes Mint better (Pepper Mint! Clever lad). New Pepper can be easily installed (and uninstalled) through the preferences screen in your Mint. Shaun has already rolled out some different Pepper like: User Agent 007, to track visitor information like platform, browser, Flash version, and resolution; Local Searches which can automatically listen in on your site’s search form to track local searches on your site; and an added treat to Apple users, Junior Mint, a Dashboard widget to get to view your latest stats from your desktop. Shaun cautions me to mention that the API is still in an early “sketch” phase, but just the fact that he is moving that way and that Mint is open for anyone with an good idea to help improve it is a great thing.

Mint has a lot more to love that I can’t really cram in here, but briefly, some of my other favorite features include a really hot RSS feed for unique referrers, configurable view screen, Watched pages, new version auto-detection, and heaps more. Hell, word on the street is Mint even has an Easter Egg. Needless to say, I haven’t touched Refer in all the months of beta testing. Shaun did it, I’m a convert.

Shaun’s a good friend who’s worked very hard on this, and I have no problem helping him promote it. Even if initially my way of “helping” was to be the constant voice of dissent. The release is nearly upon us. Early next week you will all be able to get your hands on it. Head over to haveamint.com and sign up to be notified. You won’t be disappointed.

For more Mint hype check out:

Commentary (13):

1. AkaXakA says… sep 3, 2005 | 4:02 pm

Looks and sounds great…now to get my hands on it!

2. Christian Machmeier says… sep 3, 2005 | 5:14 pm

I signed up for Mint a week ago. I use Shaun’s ShortStats (in WP) for quite a while, which really rocks, so I can’t wait to get my hand on it. Mint me!

3. Richard Dunlop-Walters says… sep 3, 2005 | 5:29 pm
RSS feed for unique referrers

Now that is cool.

Mint is shaping up to be an awesome stats package. I’ve used Shortstat for months and I didn’t think it’d ever be replaced. Looks like I might have to rethink that assumption.

4. AkaXakA says… sep 3, 2005 | 7:42 pm

Rich: Shortstat already has a (mod for) RSS feed for unique referrers.

It’s not _that_ helpfull, but it nice to be able to use the content in other places.

5. Dale Cruse says… sep 3, 2005 | 10:11 pm

Looks quite tasty. Can’t wait for it.

6. Fredrik says… sep 4, 2005 | 12:09 am

Finally I’llbe able to say a long goodbye to ‘ol ModLogan for ever! Ahh, can’t wait frankly.

7. ryan says… sep 4, 2005 | 6:10 pm

Reinvigorate is also in the works with a new version. If you haven’t use this tracking software you have to try it out! I dont know if mint will compare to what reinvigorate has up its sleaves.

My favorite part is the real time traker. Traking incoming hits live and outputing through flash, where, when and how they came to be. We hooked up the tracker to a site that recieved 100,000+ uniques a day. Hits where coming in 2 every sec. Seeing the live tracker scroll madly with a *beep* to boot was very impressive!

Check it out if you havnt seen it. reinvigorate.net. Currently in beta testing.

8. David M. says… sep 4, 2005 | 6:52 pm

Ryan — you mean the tracker (sorry, traker) was beeping every two seconds? Sounds like a reason not to use it!

9. Jason Campbell says… sep 5, 2005 | 9:40 pm

I see that the MINT has gone online.

I also see that “Support for Windows servers is planned but not an immediate priority.”

So I say have fun guys and gals. I’m gonna go cry myself to sleep.

J.

10. Mark J says… sep 5, 2005 | 9:53 pm

So… $ tail -f access_log, but with sound!

11. Lisa McMillan says… sep 5, 2005 | 10:21 pm

Now I’m all looking forward to who can release some pepper first… any takers?

12. Oliver Zheng says… sep 5, 2005 | 11:46 pm

I’ve been waiting for this for months! Finally the public release. I can’t to wait to get my hands on Mint.

13. Peter V. says… sep 18, 2005 | 11:24 am

Thanks for the info - I got me some Mint. I can’t seem to get the darned thing installed. Parsing error. It looks real sweet - can anybody help?