We’ve covered lots of chart generators here at MUO, including online apps like Pie Color and Chart Tool. We even once covered Google’s Image Chart Creator, which I’m pretty sure was a predecessor to Google Fusion Tables. The beauty of Google Fusion Tables is that it takes chart creation to a more automated level, by letting you import spreadsheets from right inside of Google Docs. You can also import data from a file stored on your computer, or create it on-the-fly.

Access Google Fusion Tables From Inside Google Docs

The first step is to log into your Google Docs account, and then click on the “Create” button on the left side of the main screen. You’ll see a dropdown list of all of the typical things you can create in Google Docs, like documents and spreadsheets. If you look a little further down that list, you’ll see a selection for “Table“. Currently this is a beta feature.

The first option you’ll have is to import your table of data. As you can see, you can simply use a spreadsheet that you already have in your Google Docs account (Google Spreadsheets), or you can upload a spreadsheet data file from your computer.

For the purposes of this article, I want to show you how you can use Google Fusion Tables to display real data onto a map. In this case, I’m going to create a list of the trips our family has taken through the years, and I’m going to rate each trip with a “like” value – from 0 percent to 100 percent.

When you create a new empty table, you can enter in the data one row at a time. It isn’t quite like a regular spreadsheet where there are a bunch of empty rows. You have to click on the “Create New Row” button to enter in new data.

Text and Number can be anything at all. Location is optional, unless you want to represent the data in a map format, in which case you’ll want to connect that data to a specific location that will show up on a Google Map. You can also add a date, which can come in handy as well depending on what you are trying to represent, but that too is optional.

Here is my completed table, with five places we’ve visited and a number representing how much we liked the trip.

When you’re ready to convert your data sheet into a graphical format, just click on the “Visualize” menu item and select one of the options from the list. You can represent the data as a line chart, bar chart, pie chart, scatter plot or a timeline.

Of course, my favorite feature of Google Fusion Tables is the ability to overlay data on top of a Google Map. When you select the Map option, there are a few additional steps you can go through to customize your data visualization.

Right now, there really isn’t anything special about the data points, except that they are plotted on the map based on the locations that I provided for those data points. Instead of this, I want to make the map more useful by changing the actual marker itself based on the “like” percentage that I gave that trip. Just click on “configure styles” at the top of the map. Click on “Buckets” and then divide the data points into ranges of values. In this case I want 5 different icons that represent ranges of rating points.

Don’t forget to select what data you are representing by identifying the data column in the dropdown list. In this case I chose the “Number” column of my table. Now, you can see that the icons display in the size and color relating to the “weight” that I gave that trip.

Obviously, this can become far more useful when you have hundreds or thousands of data points, and you divide the icons into very fine-tuned buckets. Doing this, you can represent information such as illnesses, accidents, natural disasters and other data in a way that could reveal information that’s otherwise hard to visualize in just a table format.

Of course, you can also use Google Fusion charts to represent data in your standard pie, line or bar chart formats – the sort of everyday charting that you may do at work or school.

The best part of Google Fusion Tables is that the visualizations you create can be embedded anywhere on the web. All you have to do is make your original table “public”, and then in the map display, click on the “Get embeddable link“. This will provide code you can highlight and then paste on your own blog or website.

The other charts are also embeddable in the same way.

Google Fusion Tables makes it ridiculously fast and easy to import huge volumes of data and then represent that information in a graphical format that might otherwise have taken you much longer to accomplish using an application like Microsoft Excel. Google Fusion Tables lets you quickly identify the exact data you want to represent, how you want to display it, and then takes care of the rest – and lets you share your visualizations quickly on the web.

So go ahead, log into your Google Docs account and give Google Fusion Tables a try. Let us know if it helped you analyze your data in a new way. Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below!

Image Credit: Shutterstock

The amazing thing about NASA, besides all of the mind-bending missions into outer space, is just how hard the space agency works to educate, and sometimes even entertain, the general public about space. Space truly is the final frontier. With each stage of human progress, from the confines of this planet, into orbit, to our neighboring planets and eventually beyond, NASA develops webpages, mobile apps and even games meant to keep you up to speed with the latest technologies and discoveries of space exploration.

We’ve covered a lot of the things NASA offers to the public, so I was surprised recently when I was browsing the NASA website and found something new – the 3D NASA Visualizations area.

Exploring NASA Missions in 3D

At the bottom of the 3D resources page, NASA offers an area called 3D Visualizations. There are three web apps here that really deserve a mention. One is meant to show you the complexity (and coolness) of being a NASA network manager, and keeping all of the critical communications alive and flowing for NASA’s critical missions.

Be A NASA Network Manager

To start off in your virtual NASA Network Manager career, choose a name for your character as well as the profession. The profession you choose determines what “bonus” points you get when you get started.

Once you enter into your new career as a NASA network manager, it won’t be long before you realize that this isn’t your typical network manager job. Instead of managing the infrastructure of corporate networks spread across the earth, your job with NASA is to manage the infrastructure between ground stations as well as all of the satellites that are hurtling through space in orbit above the earth.

The learning curve is a little steeper than other NASA virtual simulations, but once you play around with the large colored images a few times, you’ll get the hang of it. Essentially, through each level you need to launch satellites up to the capacity displayed at the bottom of the screen. Don’t go over capacity – but also don’t stay too far under or you’ll never reach the next levels. In my opinion, the coolest part of this simulation is the rotating planet with glowing base stations, and the multicolored tracks of each satellite you’ve launched.

Station Spacewalk Game

Next up is the “Station Spacewalk Game“. In this game, you get to virtually experience conducting a full space walk outside the International Space Station. There are multiple missions that you can attempt to complete. The skill with which you complete those missions will determine your overall score, as well as what badges you unlock along the way.

It takes a lot to impress me when it comes to 3D graphics. I’ve seen far too many attempts at computer 3D graphics that are not very realistic at all. I have to say, NASA did a pretty impressive job with this one. This was the view immediately after I exited the Space Station airlock. The controls are simple enough to use once you get the hang of it.

As you explore the space station, you’ll see just how painstakingly the programmers worked on this 3D model of ISS. As you approach different areas of the space station, you’ll see some of the most minute details of the hardware. As you progress through the levels, you’ll have to take tools with you and actually repair some of these devices.

If you’re at all gadget-obsessed like I am, you’ll find the hours slipping away as you work through these missions and explore the impressive machinery that makes up the International Space Station.

Real NASA Satellite Visualizations

The NASA Eyes on the Earth 3D web app takes computer 3D to a new level.

NASA satellites have been collecting volumes of data about the planet Earth for many years. Now, you get to see actual visual representations of that data overlaid on top of the Earth itself. Of all of the 3D features NASA has offered, I have to say this one impressed me the most.

As the application launches, you’ll see a 3D visualization of the track of the satellites over time. If you click the menu item at the upper left, you can actually change the view to “real” 3D – meaning if you have a pair of 3D glasses handy, you’ll be in for a really cool treat.

The “Vital Signs” at the top of the screen let you see real information over the last couple of years or so, regarding the planet’s temperatures, gas and water levels, and even an Ozone level map.

Personally, I’ve always been fascinated by the Earth’s gravity field, so the GRACE Gravity Field Map with real data from 2010 completely blew my mind. I love the view of the field as viewed in 3D.

You also get to travel along right beside each satellite, as it hurtles through space in orbit around the planet. You’ll see just how fast these devices travel, and the impressive view they have of the planet. When you read the descriptions to the left, you’ll learn all about the purpose and function of these impressive satellites.

3D in the movie theater is one thing, but NASA has taken the concept and made use of it for educational purposes. And, in my opinion, NASA’s use of 3D is pretty entertaining as well.

Give NASA’s 3D visualizations a shot and let us know what you think. Did you learn anything new about NASA’s missions and space exploration? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Luckily, for those of us with our résumés in LinkedIn, there are services available to do all of the visually creative stuff for you. All you need to do is sync your LinkedIn account and your visual résumé is ready for use.

Here’s two of the best visual résumé creators you can try for free.

Update Your LinkedIn Profile First!

Firstly, since both of these great visual résumé services import your information from your LinkedIn profile, the best approach to creating a great résumé would be to update your details in LinkedIn before you start exploring these options. That, and your LinkedIn profile is more useful when updated regularly, too.

Vizualize.me

Vizualize.me is a one-click LinkedIn service, meaning you can jump straight into viewing your visual résumé and creating eye-catching content. The content is taken from LinkedIn, but it’s not a two-way sync so nothing will be saved back to LinkedIn after you’ve finished.

There are several great themes to choose from, plus a lot of control over which details are shown in the profile and exactly which colours to use for your style. The resulting infographics are rich and well-designed.

Recommendations from colleagues look especially good in the Vizualize.me format, making a feature of your achievements as seen by the people you work with. Don’t forget that word-of-mouth recommendations are the most memorable! Make sure those kind words about you get noticed.

Re.vu

Re.vu gets you to create an account and choose your URL before linking to your LinkedIn account. Then it’s a simple authorisation process with LinkedIn to get your details imported. You can further tweak your details if you wish, or upload a photo and a résumé in document form if you like.

Once you’ve saved the basic information, you’ll be able to choose a theme for your profile and decide exactly how you’d like your information presented. Then, simply promote it as you wish and update the details whenever you need to.

The re.vu themes are eye-catching and stylish, plus they allow you to upload your own background if you want to personalise the page further. The visualisation of your work history is especially good if you’ve worked multiple jobs as it shows clearly how you’ve spent your work time.

Choices

Both of these services provide great profiles for jobseekers. If I were to make comparisons, I’d say Vizualize.me had more bells and whistles, while Re.vu was easy enough for the average grandparent to understand. Both profiles looked fantastic and took very little time to create. I’d personally recommend using both – since you can’t have too many résumés out there working to get you a job.

More Reading For Jobseekers

These articles will probably also be of interest to you:

• 3 Ways To Meaningfully Visualize Your LinkedIn Network
• Try Signal & Learn How To REALLY Use LinkedIn
• BranchOut Business Networking Rivals LinkedIn [News]
• Top 3 Websites To Build A Free Resume Online

Has a visual résumé helped you to find work? Would you ever wear your résumé on a t-shirt?  What unique ways have you found work?

But the reverse is also true to a certain extent. You need your browsing history to go back to an important website and retrieve some information. Sometimes, your browsing history also tells you a lot about the quantity and quality of time you spend on the internet.

Try out the following Chrome extensions that give you a visual picture of your browsing habits via your browser’s history.

History Trends

History Trends displays your browser history in the form of an interactive statistical chart. But you don’t have to be a statistic student to understand all the graphs and lines. You can click on the graphs and filter your history according to the criteria available. Trends display your top ten visited domains and their URLs; daily stats and the busiest days with the daily visit counts. Graphs also break down the data to day, week, and month (time series graphs). A useful stat is the ‘transition type’ which basically plots how the browser navigated to a particular URL on a particular visit.

Visual History

Visual History again is an extension for the ‘scientifically inclined’. Browsing history is displayed as an intersection of nodes and sub-nodes. The interactive graph displays your browsing behavior as inter-relationships. For instance, two pages are linked together if you browsed them consecutively in less time than 20 minutes. Nodes are also color coded – older pages are in blue, current ones are in yellow. The tool has a zoom feature and along with the mouse, you can play around the graphic.

History Analyzer

From interactive graphic tools, we go to a simple one. History Analyzer is a very simple Chrome extension which takes your browsing history and puts it on a pie chart. Each slice of the pie represents the percentage of hits for that domain. The color coded pie chart tells you at a glance the domain which has been getting the most attention from you.

Chrome History X

Chrome History X replaces the default history and gives you a few richer tools to work with. It displays two fields which helps you search and manage your browsing history by date and keyword. You can delete selected histories or take the usual route of clearing all your history data in one go. A single click lets you visualize your browsing history with the help of a bubble chart. Associations between websites are shown by intersecting bubbles.

HistoryStats

History Stats provides you with what may seem like a dull display of sites visited; but take a closer look. The Chrome browser extension breaks down your browsing history into sites and the total number of visits and most recent visits to those web sites. You can sort your browser history by ascending or descending order of visit counts and last time visited. You can also go for selective deletion of historical links.

Admittedly, we don’t really care about our browsing history. It seems on the face of it, something that should be deleted when our browsing session is done with. But dive into it once in a while. Browsing history gives us a few footprints to follow to enhance our productivity. For instance, a glance with the help of these visual Chrome extensions can tell you that you are spending a lot of time on Facebook and not elsewhere. Alternatively, you are reaching a specific website in two hops, which you can reach in one to save some time.

These 5 Chrome extensions help you visualize your browsing history. But do tell us if you find them productive enough once in a while.

Remember Google Body Browser? This used to be a very cool Google Labs project that let you view a 3D human body picture and learn about it. Well, it’s gone now, such is the way of some Labs projects. The company behind it, Zygote, says that that it will release it as a full product. But that doesn’t mean you have to wait, because BioDigital Human is available right now, for free, and it’s incredibly comprehensive and fun to use.

The Main View

The main view shows pretty much what you would expect: A detailed 3D rendering of the human body.

On the left is a tool pane that lets you zoom in on specific parts of the body; on the right there’s a list of common conditions, and at the bottom there’s a view toolbar. These are three powerful controls, so we’ll be looking at each in turn.

Finding The Parts You Want To Learn About

Let’s say you’re reading an article about body building, and it mentions something called brachioradialis. That sounds like a condition, but it’s a body part. So just start typing it into the Search box:

Instantly you get several results (live search is very fast). Just hover over each of the results, and the visual display instantly zooms in on the part of the skeleton you’re searching for. Once you see the part you’re looking for, click it, and it will remain in focus:

Learning About A Body Part

Now that you’ve zoomed in on the part of the body you want to learn about, the top-right frame displays information about it, as well as common conditions related to that part:

Clicking on a condition brings up even more information, along with a source citation:

I think this is brilliant, because it lets you instantly learn about conditions related to parts of the body. So if someone complains about a body part that aches, you can just zoom in on that part of the body and look up common conditions that have to do with it.

Layers

So far we’ve only looked at the skeleton, and a single muscle. You can filter the display according to numerous layers:

As you can see above, each layer lets you drill in and display only very specific parts. So you can turn off the skeletal system and switch on just specific parts from other systems, to get a “floating” display of specific body organs.

Above is a part of the human lung, for example. Of course, this being a 3D model, you can easily rotate it around and look at it from all possible angles.

The Bottom Toolbar

The bottom toolbar lets you rotate, pan and zoom using the mouse, but it also packs several other tricks. You can use it to switch between the male and female versions of the model (this isn’t an instant switch – it takes a moment to load), toggle labels on or off, take snapshots, and switch views.

Here’s an example of the views using the same body part.  First is the Standard View, which looks like this:

Next is X-Ray view:

This is fairly self-explanatory; and last but now least is the isolated view, which you’ve seen before (it shows you just the currently selected part).

The last feature I’d like to mention is the Dissect tool. It basically lets you make parts of the model disappear by clicking them. So if you’re trying to zoom in on a specific area but have too much in the way, you can selectively hide the parts that you don’t want to see, while leaving everything else in place for added context.

Final Thoughts

BioDigital Human is also available as a Chrome add-on. As far as I could see, there are no major differences between the Web-only version and the add-on. Whether you’re an aspiring medical student or simply a curious individual, BioDigital Human is an invaluable utility, and beautifully executed. A fantastic service, especially considering the price (free!).

If you are interested to clearly understand how people with different color blindness conditions see colors, check out this simple tool and click through the color vision modes. More about color blindness forms and color contrasts can be found here.

It is impossible to quickly and clearly explain what color blindness feels like and how color blind people may perceive your website, but luckily it is possible to see it with your own eyes.

Here are a few very easy color blindness simulators to visualize color blindness for you.

See Websites as a Color-Blind Person

Colorblind Web Page Filter is an easy to use (yet sometimes slow) web-based tool that lets you browse the web to see it as if you were color blind.

Just give it your URL, choose the “coverage filter” (the filters are explained in much detail here) and click “Fetch and Filter!”.

Once the page is fetched through the filter, you will be able to see how a colorblind perceives the colors on it. You can click through the conditions to generate a new preview for each color blindness type.

Here’s how a user with the “normal” (usual) eyesight sees a page:

Here’s how a color-blind person sees the same page (according to the simulator):

If your page meets requirements and is found as color-blind-friendly, you can grab the page filter badge.

Another possible option for color-blindness simulating is Chrometric which is a free Adobe AIR application.

See Images as a Color-Blind Person

Apart from using the color-blindness simulator web browser above, try checking out either of the tools below that allow you to quickly preview any uploaded images using different color-blindness filters. It might be a good idea to use the below tools to:

• Preview any image you have created (like a logo you are going to brand your business with or an infographic you were thinking of publishing);
• Create a screenshot of your website home (or any landing) page and run it through the tools (this will make the web page test much quicker than with the web browser).

1. Colour Blindness Simulator: Just upload your image, choose the condition and run the test.

The tool will display both the image versions: for normal and for color-blind condition:

There will also be a lot of details on each condition below the result.

Limitations: You will have to make sure that your image is no larger than 100 KB, is 1000 x 1000 pixels or smaller and comes in jpeg in RGB format.

2. Coblis — Color Blindness Simulator: This one works similarly to the above one. There will be no side-by-side comparison with the initial image though. However this tool gives more freedom allowing you to quickly click through various color-blindness conditions and preview the resulting images:

Warning: Judging from the comments to the tool, it seems to be a bit inaccurate in processing some filters but the whole concept is quite clear.

Are there any other similar easy-to-use and easy-to-understand tools to help make your websites and designs more color-blind friendly? Please share them in the comments!

Further reading on making your (or your relatives’) life easier if you suffer various visual disabilities:

• 4 Tools To Make Web Pages Easier To Read For People With Poor Eyesight (Firefox)
• 7 Steps to Make Computers Accessible for the Elderly
• Easily Increase Firefox Address Bar Font Size
• How To Speech Enable Your Blog

Image Credit: John Machan (Fotopedia)

Instead of long boring paragraphs and Excel charts, infographics make the best use of colorful graphic design techniques and illustrations to convey information often about controversial and insightful topics. We have published several articles about infographics, as well as provided a list of awesome tools for creating them. But if you are an avid infographics reader like I am, you may have found it difficult to view presentations on your computer screen.

I have saved several infographics as PDF files so that I could comfortably view them on my iPad. But I knew eventually a smart developer would produce an app specifically designed for downloading and viewing them on a mobile device. Well the media company Column Five has done just that, with their aptly called iOS app, Infographics.

I am not sure if infographics were around before the iPad, but I can certainly say they make a great couple. Infographics looks great on the iPad. This presentation app is a simple download of what seems to be a few hundred of Column Five’s inforgraphics for its clients, which include names like Esquire magazine, History.com, PlayStation, TurboTax, The Atlantic magazine, Nokia, and Travelocity.

The features and user interface of the Infographics app is pretty straightforward and basic. All the infographics download as a two column list—featuring a graphic thumbnail, and a title with description for each visual study. The infographics can be shared via e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter. A link to the sponsoring site is also provided for each infographic. As the app is web-based, its content can be automatically updated with Column Five’s latest presentations.

Though it is easy to slide navigate between each presentation, the app often crashes in the process. Many reviewers have complained about this, but I’m sure the developers will rectify  the problem in the next update. Also, the presentations in both the app and its built-in web browser take a while to load, probably because of the high resolution and size of the presentations.

Additional features for tagging presentations as favorites, viewing them in categories or by keywords, and the ability to search for specific titles and topics would be very useful.

The Studies

The range of graphic presentations are awesomely varied. Topics include employment and workforce related studies, environmental issues, the state of the economy and personal finance, the realities of social media and how it is used, various historical presentations, and of course the studies related to technology. Some presentations are editorial in style, while others are meant to inform or entertain. None of them I’ve viewed so far read like boring academic journal articles.

For our MUO techie audience, here are a few sample presentations you might be interested in.

Ode To Steve Jobs

This presentation is of course a lighthearted history of the contributions that Steve Jobs has made to Apple since 1976.

Droid vs iOS

This study, based on “more than 80 million aggregated and anonymous responses” from 700,000 users of Hunch.com, not only reports which smartphone operating system holds the market share in the second quarter of 2011, but it also reports the values and personality traits of the users. The study suggests that  iOS users, for example, are healthier eaters than than are Droid users. Hmm, okay.

Twitter vs. Facebook

While the percentage of users (Twitter, 34%, and Facebook, 33%)–ages 23-35–of these sites are about the same, their loyalty to product and service brands are significantly different in many areas, according to this study.

The Rise of the Cloud

In the areas of cloud technology, will we live in the cloud rather than on the desktop? 71% of responders said yes. According to this study, “By 2020, most people won’t do their work with software running on a general purpose PC. Instead they will work in an Internet-based application such as Google Docs.” However, will there be enough cloud storage to meet content demand? This study predicts not; it says there will be 60% rise in shortage in the next decade.

These and other presentations will give you hours of insight, and in many cases reading enjoyment. And thanks Column Five, if you’re an iPad or iPhone user, you won’t have to sit in front of your computer to view them.

Let us know what you think of this application. And start here to see our other articles on infographics.