Choosing Tools to Visualize Data - Data Points: Visualization That Means Something - page 60

Alternatively, you can easily switch between tools, using the same data.
Figure 3-10 shows the Constitution visualized with a stylized word cloud,
known as a Wordle. Words used more often are sized larger.

FIGurE 3-10 Wordle of the United States Constitution

As you can see, Many eyes has a lot of options to help you play with your
data and is by far the most-extensive (and in my eyes, the best) free tool
for data exploration; however, a couple of caveats exist. The first is that
most of the tools are Java applets, so you can't do much if you don't have
Java installed. (This isn't a big deal for most, but I know some people,
for whatever reason, who are particular about what they put on their
computer.)

P Try uploading
and visualizing your
own data http://
many-eyes.com .

The other caveat, which can be a deal breaker, is that all the data you
upload to the site is in the public domain. So you can't use Many eyes, for
example, to dig into customer information or sales made by your business.

TAbLEAu SoFTWArE
Tableau Software, which is Windows-only software, is relatively new but has
been growing in popularity for the past couple of years. It's designed mainly
to explore and analyze data visually. It's clear that careful thought has been
given to aesthetics and design, which is why so many people like it.

Tableau Software offers lots of interactive visualization tools and does a
good job with data management, too. You can import data from excel, text
files, and database servers. Standard time series charts, bar graphs, pie