If you need help, please email info@trixietracker.com for a quick response.
Our basic Trixie Tracker is Free. Give it a try see what patterns you can discover!
We’re happy to report the new software was successfully deployed this morning around 8:30 am ET. The application was offline about 60 minutes while all the data migrations ran. We’ve discovered a handful of superficial issues which will be addressed very soon, but overall things are looking really good. If you’ve found an issue please use our feedback forum. Thanks!
As it stands right now, we’re pretty sure we can release the new version Wednesday, July 14th. There are still a few superficial issues that are being addressed in the next day or two. Some of these issues may be addressed post-launch (as long as we’re sure the issue doesn’t affect the functioning of the application).
Your feedback via email, info@trixietracker.com, and the feedback forum has been invaluable. Thank you very much. I know testing takes time, and that’s the last thing new parents have in surplus. We really appreciate you guys!
The demo site is still available for viewing and the data was last copied over at Sunday July 11th, 4:40pm ET.
We will post again once we figure out exactly when the site will switch over and how long the site will be offline while the database migration takes place. It will likely be between 3-6 hours. Thanks in advance for everyone’s patience during the transition!
The new version of Trixie Tracker, which has been in the works for longer than I want to admit, is very close to being released. Almost time to break out the cigars. Almost. We’re ready to share the new version with everyone, and here’s a summary of where things are at:
The new site does not include any new features. Well, there are few a enhancements hidden here and there, but this version has basically the same set of features. However, the application’s architecture has been completely rebuilt which will enable us to easily extend the app in the future. That was the whole point of the new version — to give us a solid, reliable foundation for the future development.
1) The demo site is not a replacement for the current Trixie Tracker. You can’t use the new version instead of the current version because the databases are not compatible. This test site is just for looking and testing.
2) The data on the demo site may be deleted at any time and refreshed with the latest data from the current app.
I’m sorry that you can’t use the app full-time — because I know that’s the best way to test it — but it’s not possible.
If you have time, it would be very helpful if you could test a few of the items below:
- Eyeball your data. Does everything look ok? We feel very confident about the new site and data, but extra eyeballs are invaluable.
- Add a few records.
- See how it looks on your mobile devices.
We’d really like to hear your opinion about the new site. Please raise any issue you come across: design, interface, performance, etc. We’re listening.
You can post to our feedback forum or email us at info@trixietracker.com.
Requests for new features are welcome once we get this baby launched. At that point it’s going to be much, much easier for us to add new features because of the new codebase. We’re looking forward to getting to that point.
The new version — with data last copied over on Thursday morning (July 8th) — can be accessed at http://demo.trixietracker.com/
Thanks! We really appreciate everyone’s support over the years which has allowed us to get to this point. All you moms and dads are awesome! We look forward to returning the favor by making the Trixie Tracker even better.
- Ben
For this birthday we’re happy to announce a brand new version of Trixie Tracker coming at the end of next month. This new version has been in development for over a year and we’re insanely excited to be on the home stretch. Really. We are extremely ready to put this baby in your hands! I first announced the new version this time last year, and while our original release target has slipped, I’m very pleased with what we’ve accomplished and I am confident you guys are going to like it.
Why did our development schedule slip so badly? The short answer is software development estimation is hard. The long answer is the existing application had to be completely rewritten from the ground up because it was too difficult to work around five year’s worth (counting the beta development time) of calcified code and there was more in the application than we realized.
We look forward to rolling out the new version next month. If you are interested in helping kick the tires of the new site, please follow us on Twitter; we’ll put out a call for beta-testers soon.
Thanks to all our great parents who’ve supported us over the last four years and made this new version possible. Thank you!
Ben MacNeill
Founder, Trixie Tracker
I want to point out (in case you didn’t know) that Trixie Tracker is designed so you don’t have to track continuously. For example, if you aren’t concerned with the weekend schedule or are taking a vacation, you can just stop tracking. Start tracking again when you’re ready — TT will automatically exclude all the empty days from your averages.
We are working hard on the new version of Trixie Tracker that was announced on our third birthday, but with all things software, development always takes longer than expected. I don’t have a release date set, but I can share some of the behind-the-scenes details for those who are interested. We’re moving from a PHP environment to Ruby on Rails. (The new version has lots of Rails goodies in it.) Diapers, Bottles and Solids are finished, and we’re making progress on Medicine and Pumping.
Visually, there’s going to be a new look to the application, and some of the details in the new design are actually flowing back into the existing application. For example, today we replaced all image buttons in TT with pure HTML/CSS buttons. That’s a visual detail you may not notice on your desktop, but mobile users will appreciate the cleaner, faster interface.
This is just a quick update. Thanks for your patience as move ahead. More updates to come!
Wired launched a brand new UK version of their magazine this April and Trixie Tracker is included in the first issue. Unfortunately, our article is not available online, but if you happen to have a copy, please look for us in the “Your Life Is A Number” story that talks about life-tracking, sharing data online and discovering patterns in everyday life. Thanks Wired! (http://www.wired.co.uk/)
I was reminded recently that Trixie Tracker isn’t just for infants and babies. Tracking sleep patterns can help establish good nap and bedtimes schedules for toddlers too. Kara emailed me out of the blue to share how tracking food allergies and sleep for her 3 ½ year-old son yielded big returns:
I just wanted to write and say thank you for the Trixie Tracker. You are tremendously improving the quality of our lives. We have been tracking a little over a month I think and we have already seen huge improvements in our management of our son’s food allergies & intolerances along with his sleep. Tracking the food online is so much easier than the written journal I was trying to keep!
By tracking our son’s sleep I have now been able to see patterns I never would have seen otherwise. It was counterintuitive to me that we would sleep more in 24 hour period if I cut out his nap (he is 3 ½). We no longer have to dri
ve him to sleep or lay with him for 2 hours at night trying to get him to sleep. He is now able to put himself to sleep at night.By eliminating his nap, he is actually starting to sleep a full 11 hour night now (sleep has always been a problem since he was born) and has boosted his sleep time in a 24 hour period by about 1 ½ hours. He is happier and healthier. Thank you so much for the Trixie Tracker! I only wish I had started tracking earlier!
Transitioning a toddler away from a daytime nap can be a huge step because how do you know it’s really the right time? Trixie Tracker helped Kara make that decision and then showed her an increase of almost 90 minutes in overnight sleep as a result. Thanks for sharing your story Kara, and congrats on the 1 ½ hour sleep gain. That’s huge!
This weekend Trixie Tracker celebrates its third birthday and we’re excited to announce some big reasons to celebrate. We’ve made continuous, incremental improvements over the last three years, but all our improvements had to fit within the existing code architecture. It’s been hard to add major new features because the original code base (from March 2006) wasn’t built in the most flexible way.
The only way around this problem is to rebuild the application from scratch, and design it to accommodate future growth and exciting new features. The downside to a rebuild is the significant time and money needed to simply replicate the existing application, and it’s not always clear if that’s a good business direction.
Last December, we reached a decision point about the future of Trixie Tracker. We’re a small company, but we’re growing every year and we realized it was time to make the financial commitment. So, since January, we have been working on a brand new version of Trixie Tracker. Initially, the new version is going to look pretty similar to the existing application — with a few minor improvements such as improved date and time user interfaces, more sharing, and more averages.
But under the hood, the new version provides a solid architecture for a bunch of neat features coming later in the year including: better dashboard options for twins and multiples, better iPhone integration, and even a daycare version. We’ve also received a ton of great ideas from existing users that have been put on hold because of the Trixie Tracker rebuild. After the rebuild launches, we’ll start tackling those requests.
Thanks so much to all the dedicated parents whose curiosity helped make this site possible. We’re looking forward to the next three years and beyond.
Ben MacNeill
Founder, Trixie Tracker
Daylight Savings Time transitions will cause problems with the display of your charts, but it doesn’t affect your actual data. Here’s a few notes to help you through the weekend:
In the fall, it’s extremely difficult to tell software which 1:50 am you are talking about when there are two times that exactly match that description. To avoid this problem, please record events in real-time during the transition hour (and avoid editing them afterwards).
In the spring, the transition is easier. Recording real time events shouldn’t be affected because we skipping ahead, and the times never overlap.