visualisation

 

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Pective Uses Life-Size Images For Gadget Comparison

Posted by Kevin Purdy at 11:00 PM on October 21, 2008

Free size-comparison site Pective scales product images for your LCD screen to full size, allowing you to make a side-by-side comparison of your current clunker to that hot new phone you've been eyeing. You'll first be prompted for your diagonal screen size, then you simply browse and click to pull up full-size pictures. You can vote an image larger or smaller if it looks a little off, and add your own product images. There are a few handy reference points already there—nickels, compact discs, and the like—but the site would seriously benefit from a search function (which is supposedly in the works). Pective is a free web site that requires no sign-up; for geekier, you-type-the-dimensions comparison, try Sizeasy.

Organise and Visualise Your Data at Track-n-Graph

Posted by Kevin Purdy at 1:00 AM on February 12, 2008

Got data to graph but not much in the way of spreadsheet skills? Web app Track-n-Graph gives you all kinds of bar, line, and other graphs and chart templates to use or create, as well as a simple interface for putting in the data to create them. There's a number of handy templates on the site already, including mileage and health-related trackers, and you can collaborate on your data projects with others or embed the results in a web site. A free sign-up limits you to five data projects, with unlimited use available for $25 or a single-graph upgrade for $5. For more personal project data trackers, try Morale-O-Meter or weight watcher The Google 15.


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Get Started with Data Visualization in iGoogle

Posted by Kevin Purdy at 2:00 AM on February 5, 2008

igoogle_data.jpgiGoogle, Google's personalised start page and gadget platform, can be a great place to store things you want to glance at on a regular basis. Google Operating System points out a number of great gadgets that can take data in simple row/column formats and display them as graphs, charts, or a wealth of other visualisation techniques. Google's own Trendalyzer gadget can create some slick-looking spheres-on-an-axis charts to help you determine growing and shrinking trends, but those who prefer more easily read forms can get pie charts, bar graphs, line trackers, and other data mapped out pretty quickly. For more DIY data plotting, check out Gina's guide to rolling your own timeline and a Google URL hack for on-the-fly charts.


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See Your Hard Drive Space-Eaters with Filelight

Posted by Lifehacker US Edition at 3:30 AM on January 15, 2008

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Linux only: We've seen how visualizing your hard drive usage can help you clear the biggest space-eaters and make room for more useful information, and KDE-based Linux users have a great tool to do that. Free download Filelight scans your hard drive and displays space usage on a colored radial, with details that pop up as you mouse over each segment. Directories closest to the system root are show on the inside, and Filelight seems to have few problems analysing mounted non-Linux-format partitions, such as Windows. For those who liked the looks of Baobob but try to operate in a clean KDE environment, Filelight is an attractive space-making tool. Filelight is a free download for Linux systems only.


YouTube Adds Visual Search Tool

Posted by Kevin Purdy at 11:30 PM on December 14, 2007

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YouTube has quietly added a visual "related videos" feature that, while not as efficient as smart text searching, does help you find videos in the same realm as the one you're watching. To enable the feature (which doesn't appear on all videos), click the full-screen button on the lower right corner of the video. In the full-screen window, click the network-type button next to the play button. It functions similar to Musicovery in its methods—and probably in its potential for procrastination, so beware. For more non-standard YouTube search options, check out VDoogle and Qooqle.