Choosing Tools to Visualize Data - Data Points: Visualization That Means Something - page 56

This ease of use is what makes excel so appealing to the masses, and
that's fine. If you want higher quality data graphics, don't stop here. Other
tools are a better fit for that.
GooGLE SPrEADShEETS
Google Spreadsheets is essentially the cloud version of Microsoft excel
with the familiar spreadsheet interface, obviously (Figure 3-3).
FIGurE 3-3 Google Spreadsheets
It also offers your standard chart types, as shown in Figure 3-4.
Google Spreadsheets offers some advantages over excel, how-
ever. First, because your data is stored on the Google servers,
you can see your data on any computer as long as it has a web
browser installed. Log in to your Google account and go. You can
also easily share your spreadsheet with others and collaborate
in real-time. Google Spreadsheets also offers some additional
charting options via the Gadget option, as shown in Figure 3-5.
FIGurE 3-4 Google Spreadsheets
charting options