Tech Tips, Tricks & Trivia

This Week I Learned - * The hottest new programming language is English -  Andrej Karpathy. Jan 25, 2023 * The  Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps  list by Andreessen Horowitz is updated every 6 months * Claude's Artifacts feature allows developers to make architecture diagrams from codebases * All the useful software architecture tools at one place. * All graphs are charts, but not all charts are graphs . While graphs focus on the mathematical relationship between variables, charts can present data in a more general way, such as through diagrams or tables. * Observable is a platform from the creators of D3 that simplifies building and deploying powerful data dashboards. Observable offers two ways of working: you can build data apps using the open-source Observable Framework to deploy to Observable, or you can work in notebooks. Framework combines the power of JavaScript on the front-end for interactive graphics, with any language on the back-end for data prep...

The 22-page free ebook " A Beginner's Guide to Data & Analytics " from Harvard Business School Online offers essential definitions and practical advice for those looking to learn more about the field. * Data science is the process of building, cleaning, and structuring datasets to analyze and extract meaning.  * Data analytics refers to the process and practice of analyzing data to answer questions, extract insights, and identify trends * Types of Analytics: Descriptive analytics looks at data to examine, understand, and describe something that’s already happened. Diagnostic analytics goes deeper than descriptive analytics by seeking to understand the “why” behind what happened. Predictive analytics relies on historical data, past trends, and assumptions to answer questions about what will happen in the future. Prescriptive analytics identifies specific actions an individual or organization should take to reach future targets or goals * Data literacy is the ability to...

Key takeaways from Episode #20 - Visualizations in Excel of Bill Shander's Data Visualization, Data Storytelling, and Information Design - Lesson and Listen Series : Excel has improved over time, particularly with default settings, but still requires customization for optimal data visualization. Excel tips from the episode: Use color sparingly.  Highlight key data with selective use of color. Customize fonts, colors, and chart types to move beyond Excel's defaults, making the visuals more impactful. Be familiar with Copy > Paste Special > Transpose. Utilize Power Query for data transformation.  In the interview section, Stephanie Evergreen , author of  Effective Data Visualization  & co-creator of the Data Visualization Checklist , shares her insights on Excel as a data viz tool. She showcases a breast cancer data visualization makeover , emphasizing the impact of thoughtful chart choices on storytelling. Overlapping bar chart is appropriate for graphing ...