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The world as a work of digital art
As curious creatures, we attempt to understand the world around us in many ways and nowadays that usually boils down to big data visualization. Whether we're creating models of large-scale systems or breaking down reality into wireframes and exposing the digital bones beneath, the data-rich internet and open-source tools are helping people map and explore the world in new ways. People are leveraging technology to make their voices heard in political realms and using digital expression to bypass physical conflict. Indeed, in this digital age, the lines between life and art are becoming blurred. Don't believe us? Then explore the gallery below for just a few examples.
LucidChart web app brings diagramming prowess, collaboration to Mac and iPad
At one point in my career, I trained business analysts in the tools and techniques of their trade. One feature of business analysis methodologies is that they use a lot of diagrams to visually represent use cases, process flows, and relationships. During those classes I talked a lot about creating and sending diagrams to others, but I never dreamed that we'd be able to collaborate on them from just about any device. That's what the LucidChart HTML5 web app brings to the picture -- amazing diagramming tools and online collaboration. A lot of the business analysts I know have refused to switch to Apple products due to a lack of one single application on the platform -- Microsoft Visio. Sure, the application can run on a virtual machine on a Mac, but a lot of these folks tell me that they don't want to run VMs. Here's some good news for those people; LucidChart lets you import Visio documents so you can wave goodbye to that anchor around your neck, and you can start doing your work on an iPad or Mac. Can you use LucidChart on an iPhone? Yes, but it's a painful experience on such a small screen. %Gallery-130173% I had a chance to try out LucidChart both on my Mac and an iPad, and I found it to be fast, full-featured, and easy to use. You can try out the web app for free, and then there are different subscription levels. An individual account with up to 5 collaborators and 100 MB of storage is US$4.95 a month or $39.95 per year. For those who want the premium features -- Microsoft Visio .vdx file import, wireframing/iPhone mockups, and revision history -- there's a professional account that costs $9.95 a month or $99.95 per year. That account is still for one user, but unlimited collaborators can work on the document and there's a full 1 GB of storage. Teams and workgroups can have team accounts that start at $25 per month ($249 per year) for multiple users, unlimited collaborators, and storage starting at 5 GB. The team accounts have all of the professional account features plus shared templates and images. Educators can also get free accounts during 2011. As this is a web app, there is no need to install software. You simply point your browser to LucidChart.com and log in. The site displays a clean interface showing documents, team, community, forums, account and referrals. The documents page (below) displays all documents that you have created and stored on the system. This is also where you can create subfolders to store project documents, import Visio files, or create new documents from scratch. Clicking or tapping the big "New Document" button displays a window showing templates for different types of categories. For instance, in the Drawings category are three different types of Venn Diagrams and in Flowcharts are templates for business, sales, and support processes. Need a powerful mind-mapping tool on your iPad? There's a Mind Map template. Creating network diagrams is a breeze with the template that is available, and TUAW readers who are busy with startups will love the org chart templates. The Software/Web templates are quite useful. There are software/web templates, UI design templates, sample ERD and data flow templates, a site map template, and a tool for creating iPhone app mockups (see below). For those who are eloquent fans of the Unified Modeling Language (UML), there are templates for activity, sequence, class and state diagrams, as well as the ever-popular UML Use Case diagram. Are you a fan of swim lanes? Got 'em. Just to get a feel for how easy or hard it is to use LucidChart on the Mac and iPad, I made a handful of charts and also created a mockup of a TUAW TV Live app (no, we're not actually doing one -- but it was a fun thing to try). What's very cool is that you can start a document on your Mac (or PC if you swing that way), then pick up your work on the iPad when you leave the office. As you'd expect, the web app is very similar on both platforms. There are a few differences in terms of location of tool palettes when you're on the iPad, and of course you're navigating around the app with finger taps instead of mouse or trackpad clicks. Once you've learned how to use the app on one platform, you know how to use it on all platforms. To share a document with others, there's a small share link at the bottom of the page on the desktop version. You can send a link to the document to your collaborators, and for others who happen to be on line, you can actually view the document and chat about it in real time. The share button is actually much more visible and easier to get to on the iPad being at the top of the screen, but there is no chat function on the tablet as far as I could see. All in all, if you're a system analyst, developer, or anyone else who needs to easily make and edit diagrams, flow charts, and other such materials, be sure to take a look at LucidChart. The individual account is very competitive with other Apple-oriented diagramming and drawing applications. For example, the very capable OmniGraffle from OmniGroup runs $99 for the regular version ($199 for OmniGraffle Professional) and doesn't include the many collaborative features of LucidChart. The LucidChart license allows you to run the app on any of your devices; you'd need to buy a license for OmniGraffle for iPad (an additional $49) to be able to work on that device. It's not all about costs, though. There are other tangible benefits, such as cloud storage of your documents and collaboration with others. The one negative with LucidChart is that it really does require an internet connection to be useful. Although I was able to use the app offline for a short while to make changes to drawings, it often locked up until the internet connection was re-established. However, for engineers or others who might need to work on documents in the field, LucidChart works very well with a 3G connection. Be sure to take a look at the gallery to see some screenshots of LucidChart in action, and if you're intrigued, sign up for a free trial.
First Look: iMockups for iPad
Developers often carry around notebooks, which they use to sketch out their brilliant ideas for the next million-dollar iPhone or iPad app. The folks over at Endloop, a Canadian iPad development company with a few projects under its figurative belt, have been "coding like madmen" recently for their latest product, iMockups for iPad. The idea behind iMockups is to give devs a way to quickly create wireframes and layouts for iPad, iPhone, and web apps. Any project can have multiple sketchbook pages associated with it, and developers can quickly add elements from a pad at the side of the screen. Details about the app are very sketchy (no pun intended), so there's no word on when the app will be released to the App Store, what the price will be, or if there is any way to export or print the mockups that are created. However, iMockups looks like a good tool for those of you who are tired of carrying around that sketchbook, pencil, and eraser for capturing your app ideas.
Caption Contest: the wireframe car
Behold Benedict Radcliffe's "Modern Japanese Classic," a 1:1 scale Subaru Impreza wireframe art project. We heard it was still in dev though, they haven't enabled textures yet. Casual caption contest? Oh sure, why not:Chris: "Ten days of intensive wind tunnel testing yielded... no data."Ryan: "Let's see you crap on THIS, friggin' pigeons!"Paul: "Bill's invisible car experiment would've been a resounding success were it not for a clever prank by a few of his engineering buddies."Jeannie: "Neither an electric, hybrid, or gas-powered car, this beauty runs on straight-up crack."Ross: "Thanks, but I'll keep my Light Cycle."[Via Core77 and Winding Road]
Lair off-screen trailer looked good at GDC
Stills and screenshots can only do so much to convey how good a game looks. Here's an off-screen video presentation of Lair recorded from GDC, showing off the Factor 5 game in action (or, should we say, motion).You might recognize some of the animation from videos seen elsewhere, but it was nice to catch the newer footage of a dragon wireframe model meticulously rendered with layers of musculature and skin, too.If that's not enough for ya, you can always just listen in to the audio, which features a young lady from Washington asking questions of a developer with the hope of getting hired. Consider this a lesson in networking.[Via GameBrink]
