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6apxatCurtisOdenericgillettelortabacsarowlwp +7 guests

What is that Minty taste?

KosmoKosmo
in Questions
As many of you who have subscribed to Shauns Haveamint mailing list might know already, Mint is running free. I love the Shortstat by Shaun Inman, but Mint just is insane, absolutely the best looking program on the freaking web, Shaun is a god when it comes to this sort of stuff. Also, Shaun apprecieates beauty even if not from his own two hands, he might be using Vanilla as a forum of choice when he puts up the user help and general Mint forums. Mint costs $30 per site and I dont think that is half bad, and you can bet your bottocks that I'm going to be using it, when I get my budget in order.
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Comments

  • lechlech
    Posts: 3,235
    I was hoping that Mint would be free to use if you just wanted to check it out. Like having a dual license or something, free for the little people, pay for the corps type of license. As much as I would love to check this out, I'm afraid I'll have to pass since there's a default sticker price :(
  • jaseonejaseone
    Posts: 71
    So is it just prettier than the likes of AWStats or what? For those wondering WTF Mint is click here.

    It would be good for people that don't have access to any other logging tools via their host but for $30/site wouldn't they be better just paying for a better host or am I missing something again?
  • KosmoKosmo
    Posts: 1,135
    Well, my host has a statistics page, but it is no where near the usability and looks as Mint. And if Shaun doesn't cancel the Shortstat project, there is a free version there also, besides, I like the handy feature of adding it to the sites I want. I got my own siteworks behind my public sites and alot of people who I work with visit the siteworks to check out my progress and comment on things, so I don't really want to track them too, when I only want to see how my public site is doing. Besides, I really don't see the point on the "$30/site wouldn't they be better just paying for a better host", yeah maybe they would, but then again, if they paid 30$ extra for a better host, wouldn't they be better staying on the old host and getting this software? And Mint is single payment, unless you have a host that is single payment I really don't see the connection.
  • lechlech
    Posts: 3,235
    I also just now loaded the mint compatibility test, and mint requires curl to be on your server? that seems a bit lame, I wish I could see the source to know what mint is accessing with curl and offer an alternate solution for it.
  • jaseonejaseone
    Posts: 71
    Well only real cheap hosts don't provide logging tools and an extra $30 would be plenty to upgrade for at least a year to one that did. I'm guessing this is mainly going to be a hit with those like my girlfriend who use external site tracking sites because they don't like AWStats and the like, to each their own I guess. :)
  • MinisweeperMinisweeper
    Posts: 5,574
    it does look very nice but likewise i'm not up for paying $30 (even though it is very little in terms of time taken to have developed the software) for the stats.
  • lechlech
    Posts: 3,235
    Needs (more cowbell) dual licensing.
  • KosmoKosmo
    Posts: 1,135
    I guess it appeals more to people who have used Shortstats, and people who just love things that look nice, I really can't say anything about the functionaly, but watching the video really made it seem pretty nifty. I mean, as far as forums go, Vanilla is actually on the short end of the plethora of functions that many mainstream forums offer, but I'm drawn to it because of the simplicity, additivity and good looks. And like Shaun, I'd like Mark to go fulltime developing Vanilla, FB and maybe some more proggies he has cooking in his head, and I'm just thinking that maybe after Mark has some 10k users using Vanilla and he has just used few years wokring on his applications, I just think that he might want something for it. Or would you say "why I would buy Vanilla or FB, I can get similar but not nearly as good and pretty programs for free"?
  • MinisweeperMinisweeper
    Posts: 5,574
    i wouldnt pay for vanilla as a program because i have no need for it. likewise with the stats app (though i didnt look into it in a great deal cause i'm meant to be pretending to work) I fully agree that mark deserves something for it and i'd love him to go fulltime because i believe it is where his passion lies (if it wasnt i'm sure he'd have given up by now?!) but if i donate (which i probably will at some point) it'l be more as a gesture of how much appreciation i have for his programming abilities and the manner in which he creates his programs than because i really want to use his app. The two do go hand in hand but i hope you can understand what i'm getting at.
  • jaseonejaseone
    Posts: 71
    "Or would you say "why the I would buy Vanilla or FB, I can get similar but not nearly as good and pretty programs for free"?" Well forum software is something that is presented to the outside world so how it looks & performs matters a great deal where statistics is just something I look at and at most that is only once a day so I don't really care how it is presented to me as long as I can get the data that I want, which is usually just the search keyphrases and referrers to see where my traffic is coming from.
  • KosmoKosmo
    Posts: 1,135
    I understand you, donation being act of appreciation towards the developer, and buying a program being a necessity that isn't viewed nothing more than a normal action when someone is going to use the program for his needs. But Mark could go in to other direction, Vanilla and FB being free for personal use and nonprofit sites like communities, and a nominal fee for commercial use. If something is free, I can't talk my boss in to donating money for a program I view suitable for our needs, but I don't think he has nothing against a small fee, like I have already talked in to the use of Mint (btw, our host doesn't have statistics logging for reasons utterly insane).
  • MinisweeperMinisweeper
    Posts: 5,574
    stats logging can use a lot of space but not *that* much. And yeah, i'm happy to pay for programs for company use myself, but as a single user i feel less obliged.
  • BenBen
    Posts: 534
    After all the hype, I was rather dissapointed when I found that it wasn't free.
  • MarkMark
    Posts: 4,883
    I have started plans on my first non-free service (just planning, not programming). Don't get too excited, because chances are that most of you will not need it or use it. But I anticipate that there will be thousands of others who *will* want to use it, and it will be a very nice application to use :)
  • nathannathan
    Posts: 893
    Mark... how about you make a FREE statistics program? That would be useful. :P Any clues as to what you are planning?
  • MinisweeperMinisweeper
    Posts: 5,574
    i know what he's planning.
  • moemoe
    Posts: 56
    so, what is he planning? :P
  • FLCFLC
    Posts: 226
    He's planning on kicking mini's ass if he tells...
  • nathannathan
    Posts: 893
    Awww... I guess a suprise would be better than waiting for it to be done.
  • lechlech
    Posts: 3,235
    hahaha!
  • KosmoKosmo
    Posts: 1,135
    I'd like something teamware thingy that is fast and easy to use. The current ones are just so heavy and almost completely useless and ugly.
  • nathannathan
    Posts: 893
    teamware? what do you mean?
  • 3stripe3stripe
    Posts: 1,433
    that is some tasty looking eye candy for sure! not sure how easy it will be to persuade my boss to shell out for more webstats though :( ps. teamware. is that like, really big clothes, that groups of people can wear together?
  • KosmoKosmo
    Posts: 1,135
    Teamware is a buzzword from the 80s and early 90s, it's basically a compilation of programs that helps people work better together. Project management, calendars, messaging, sometimes e-mail, contact list and all that shit. Kinda like Basecamp.
  • nathannathan
    Posts: 893
    ah... then a big +1 for this. Mark... get to it!! :P
  • 3stripe3stripe
    Posts: 1,433
    "Kinda like Basecamp."

    The attitude of 37signals on their forum is starting to grate with me a little....
  • ichigoichigo
    Posts: 101
    Kosmo: http://chalk.it
  • KosmoKosmo
    Posts: 1,135
    What I really want is a teamware with a modular construct. Just a base with few functions, like extension manager, user manager and calendar, maybe messaging system, then rest of the program is done with modules and extensions. This way I could tailor the software for the needs of my company/group/whatever.
  • nathannathan
    Posts: 893
    is chalk free? it does not look like it which is a shame. Mint and chalk would be great if they were gpl. I would not hesitate donating money to the develoeprs if I used their product. EVERYTHING should be free in this industry.
  • MarkMark
    Posts: 4,883
    EVERYTHING should be free in this industry.

    I don't know about that. My new service will not be free - you'll have to pay a monthly fee to use it - but you will make money through it, so it all works out in the end.

    However, any application that isn't used directly for making money (I believe) should be free. I still have plans for making a blogging tool with a vanilla-style framework, and I have spec'd out plans on another tool that you will all love. Both of *those* will be free.

    I'm walking a fine line on that whole "making money" issue. I do believe that advertising like adsense works, but I don't believe that it is the right way to make money for _me_.

    Oh, and mini: I don't know what you think it is, but it's not that - this idea is new.
This discussion has been closed.