Lines and Bubbles and Bars, Oh My! New Ways to Sift Data
An experimental Web site allows users to upload the data they want to visualize, then try sophisticated tools to generate interactive displays. PEOPLE share their videos on YouTube and their photos at Flickr. Now they can share more technical types of displays: graphs, charts and other visuals they create to help them analyze data buried in spreadsheets, tables or text. At an experimental Web site, Many Eyes, (www.many-eyes.com), users can upload the data they want to visualize, then try sophisticated tools to generate interactive displays. These might range from maps of relationships in the New Testament to a display of the comparative frequency of words used in speeches by Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
The site was created by scientists at the Watson Research Center of I.B.M. in Cambridge, Mass., to help people publish and discuss graphics in a group. Those who register at the site can comment on one another’s work, perhaps visualizing the same information with different tools and discovering unexpected patterns in the data.
Collaboration like this can be an effective way to spur insight, said Pat Hanrahan, a professor of computer science at Stanford whose research includes scientific visualization. “When analyzing information, no single person knows it all,” he said. “When you have a group look at data, you protect against bias. You get more perspectives, and this can lead to more reliable decisions.”
The site is the brainchild of Martin Wattenberg and Fernanda B. Viégas, two I.B.M. researchers at the Cambridge lab. Dr. Wattenberg, a computer scientist and mathematician, says sophisticated visualization tools have historically been the province of professionals in academia, business and government. “We want to bring visualization to a whole new audience,” he said — to people who have had relatively few ways to create and discuss such use of data.
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Phelps is going to Disney World!
Direct from the Beijing Games where he won a record eight Gold Medals, world champion swimmer Michael Phelps celebrated his unprecedented achievement with an all-American homecoming parade in his honor at Walt Disney World Resort.
In a star-spangled salute amidst confetti and thousands of flag-waving fans in the Magic Kingdom, Phelps was honored for his record-setting wins and for the spirit in which he captivated the world in his quest for Gold.
The 23-year-old from Baltimore beamed as he rode through the park alongside Mickey Mouse, waving to fans who chanted his name. Magic Kingdom guests joined in “America’s Homecoming Parade” for the swimmer who broke records in each event he entered in Beijing.
For Phelps, who also was honored in Disney parades at both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Park in California following the 2004 Summer Games, it was a sweet homecoming to the United States and to see fans who supported him in his quest for Gold in Beijing.
“I am so happy to celebrate here and see some of the fans who supported me,” said Phelps. “It’s great to feel so much excitement around the sport of swimming in the U.S. and around the world. To top it all off with a parade at Disney World is just incredible.”
During his celebration in the Magic Kingdom, Phelps also took time to meet a group of local swimmers from the central Florida area. The aspiring young swimmers had the chance to talk with Phelps, ask about his record-breaking experiences and see the Gold Medals he won in Beijing.
Phelps’ celebration at Walt Disney World is planned to be the next feature on his wildly popular Facebook.com page. Phelps, one of the most popular public figures on the social networking site, has nearly 1.5 million Facebook “fans” who have subscribed to receive his latest news and updates. Phelps said he plans to offer photographs and video of his Walt Disney World visit on his Facebook.com site.
Phelps, who has announced he will train for the 2012 Games, now owns the record for most Gold Medals in a single event (8) and for a career (14).
A Beginner’s Guide To Building Your Own Wordpress Theme
After using numerous items, I (and I’m sure that most people too) have reached the point where I wanted to make my own blog. While developing your own Wordpress plugins requires a certain level of programming knowledge, building the themes is not.
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Useful Google Talk Bots That You Must Add as Friends
You can do lot of interesting stuff with Google Talk like get alert notifications, save bookmarks to delicious, manage web calendars, set reminders, write blogs, and so much more.
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Grand Old Book Party
If you’re just gearing up for the GOP convention, here’s a rundown of the best literature on John McCain and the future of the Republican Party
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250 GB Challenge & 5 Tools To Monitor Your Bandwidth
With Comcast announcing a 250 GB cap on its broadband service and Time Warner trialling a tiered service with limits that range from 5 GB to 40 GB, we’ve decided to challenge people to break those caps.
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MySpace’s Tom Anderson Was A Real Life “WarGames” Hacker
In 1985, when he was fourteen and in high school in Escondido, California, Anderson was subject to one of the largest FBI raids in California history after hacking into a Chase Manhattan Bank computer system and subsequently showing his friends how to do it.
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10 Words That Will Help You Win at Scrabble
I’m not a champion Scrabble player by any means - I often resort to words like “at” and “it” just to use up a turn. But with this list, hopefully I’ll be a little more creative when using tiny little words.
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Sarah Palin for Vice President! McCain picks a Woman!
Sarah Palin for Vice President. McCain picks a Woman. Sarah Palin Governor from Alaska appears to be his pick.
McCain Palin 2008 Election - Get more Docstoc Buzz
When Should You Use Magazine-Style Themes For Blogs?
A growing number of blogs are moving away from traditional blog layouts in favor of magazine-style themes; however, the layout and presentation of content has a major impact on visitors and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
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