Statwing

Briefly, Statwing takes information on any topic, breaks it down and provides statistical analysis on the data. Think of it as the Excel you wish you had. Where Excel is simplified enough for the most novice of users to input data and track the results, the advanced cross-sheet, formula inclusion, graph creation and chart tracking can be a bit overwhelming for even experienced users.

Statwing automatically reads the data from any spreadsheet (Excel, Google docs, etc.) or .csv file and returns an interface from which users can quickly track, analyze and compare the data.

Intuitive Data Analysis

Statwing’s approach is solid. It reads files accurately and in a rather simple form delivers a summary of the data with count, percentage and chart to visualize the data. Along those lines, users can manipulate which data should be excluded with filters (created by the user) as well as change the category assigned to each data segment.

Data handling is done on what’s called a Workspace. Workspaces can be saved and renamed as needed, though saving is best served for those who purchase one of Statwing’s premium packages as they are saved indefinitely. Free account data remains available for 24 hours, a rather short amount of time if you intend to pour over some detailed data.

Real World Testing

Like others, we examined the demo version of Statwing and found that the presentation and potential are outstanding. The possibilities in terms of time savings alone make Statwing a definite tool worthy of making it into any data analyzers toolbox.

We decided to create an account and test Statwing out with our own data and pre-formatted spreadsheet to examine the results in a less controlled way. The results were definitely different than the demo.[blockquote style=”style5″]Disclaimer: I’m especially particular about my spreadsheets and format them heavily for all-on-one-screen aesthetics. I hate to scroll in any direction if I can avoid it, but will always avoid horizontal scrolling.[/blockquote]

The disclaimer is mentioned because that’s likely where things went off the rails. Statwing read the data correctly, even accurately summarized it, but relating the data (comparing it) was less than representative of what the original spreadsheet depicted. Eventually Statwing sorted it out and provided more valuable information as the data related to each other. An adjusted spreadsheet with more generic layout and data was also used. The results were more predictable which indicates formatting may have been an issue in the first attempt.

* For purposes of full disclosure, the spreadsheet in question was that of a fuel expenditure with varying amounts, dates of purchase, totals and separation by month and day.

Overall, the statistical analysis wasn’t able to provide me with the data I was after, though as noted earlier (see disclaimer), the formatting may have been part of the issue.

Interface

If you’re going to stare at numbers and data all day, the presentation better be easy on the eyes or else one migraine later you’ll be wishing you never started. Luckily, Statwing’s interface is aesthetically pleasing. Mostly white with subtle shades of blue for functionality.

Navigation is clearly visible and uncomplicated with most essentials located in the same general area of the screen.

Statwing Workspaces can be shared via direct link sharing and recipients are not required to have a Statwing account to view shared Workspaces.

We’d like to see a built-in print function available to quick print charts and statistics. Standard printing through the browser was troublesome at best and unusable at worst. Saving is awesome and while we applaud the idea of 100% cloud functionality, users can often benefit from having a printout of things likes charts where they can highlight, circle and scratch notes on.

Plans & Pricing

There are three pricing plans available. The free account will grant you access to a saved file for 24 hours with a maximum file size of 1mb. Statwing’s premium packages offer higher size limits and unlimited life span on files.

Statwing Future

We aren’t sure where Statwing is heading, but with some small tweaks to the interface and more advanced graphing of data coupled with the existing, basic inner guts, they have the potential to become a standout resource.

Something worth considering moving forward would be a demonstration of how Statwing reads the data for a layman. The goal being to better describe to users how Statwing interprets formatting and where it expects data to be in relation to how it delivers results.

Final Thoughts

Having seen what Statwing is capable of in the demos, it’s hard not to question whether formating spreadsheets differently in the future should be considered in order to take advantage of this outstanding free service. While the statistics retrieved didn’t fully reach expectations, Statwing did demonstrate how intricately it reads files and interprets the data. We expect further enhancements which will expand on results output and broaden the analysis.

Statwing should be in your resource kit if data analysis is important and must be in your kit if it’s part of your livelihood.

Our advice is to create a free account with Statwing and see just how accurate the results are from your own spreadsheets and .csv files. Share your thoughts here to give others another point of view.

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The post Statwing – Make Your Data Come To Life first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

As the year winds down, the Nifty Collection is taking a brief hiatus as we enter into and turn our attention towards the busy holiday and gaming seasons. Like last year, we’ve chosen a handful of websites from the 2012 collection that are truly nifty.

This year however we’re getting our readers involved in the process. We’re looking for the niftiest of the bunch and that’s where you, our readers come into play. We’d like to know which website is your favorite and the niftiest in your eyes.

We’ve put together a brief bio of the nominees below, in no particular order. We encourage you to visit the websites and try them for yourselves. Then visit and like our Facebook page where you can vote and enter into a drawing for a new Roku media streaming device.

2012 Nifty Website Nominees:

Uencounter.me

Look around the web and you’ll see all sorts of social websites. Many are focused on those you already know or sharing content found online. Uencounter.me takes a different approach and has the unique ability to bring together perfect strangers in way that is social, informative and addicting.

Uencounter.me is a social, virtual pin map. Users pin their travels, destinations, experiences, business service areas and anything else that can be pinned to a location. We’ve watched this website progress over the course of the year and are continually impressed with what they provide.

Read the full Uencounter.me review.

Loveit.com

As we all watched in amazement as Pinterest rose to near dominance overnight. Loveit quietly and successfully approached the social world with more thorough planning and application than their Pinterest counterpart.

Private collections and a community committed to sharing videos, links, images and other web finds has made Loveit a regular destination for our social staff.

Read the full Loveit review.

Primadesk.com

If you’re tired of logging in to the same websites and services multiple times a day or even daily or weekly, then it’s time to find a service that accesses them all from one centralized location. That’s why Primadesk is a Nifty of the Year nominee.

Through Primadesk users can access many of their accounts without separate logins or bouncing between browser windows or tabs. Accessing email, Facebook, Dropbox and other websites is all done within Primadesk with one simple login. Making life easier it what Primadesk offers and they succeed.

Read the full Primadesk review and update.

RoomSketcher.com

If it’s one thing that Pinterest and home improvement shows have shown us, it’s that people love to design and plan new living spaces. While some of us are great at it, others struggle. RoomSketcher was nominated because it can help both professionals, amateurs and diy’ers with room virtual room planning 3D software all performed in the cloud.

The RoomSketcher interface caught our eye and instantly saw the possibilities. Users don’t have to imagine what a room will look like when the home project is complete, RoomSketcher will show them. Professionals of all types can utilize the software to illustrate projects, real estate listings and interior design plans.

Read the full RoomSketcher review.

My1Login.com

Security is something that is lacking in the ever expanding cloud world we live in. Passwords need to be unique and difficult to decipher. On top of that, we need to store those same passwords in a secure location of its own. My1Login is nominated for those security reasons alone.

My1Login is an online password manager that goes with you everywhere on every device making it completely cloud integrated. Store your passwords inside My1Login and never worry about remembering them again. With security of utmost importance, My1Login stands above the rest with their features and easy to understand application.

Read the full My1Login review.

Outright.com

One of the most important factors in choosing a Nifty Website is that of it’s usefulness to those who need it the most. Outright provides a rich and detailed accounting service for small businesses with limited resources and manpower.

Through the entirely cloud based interface, Outright gives small business owners a place to manage their financials and if desired, their tax preparation as well. Small businesses are the backbone of the US economy and Outright does them a service by developing such a comprehensive finance management solution.

Read the full Outright review.

Those are the 2012 Nifty Website of the Year nominees! Your vote not only means you get a chance to win a Roku, but it also matters to the nominees who will receive 6 months of free promotional space on GeekITDown.com.

Visit and like our Facebook page and be sure to vote and enter to win a Roku.

The post 2012 Nifty Website of the Year Nominations first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

Make Your Website Part Of The Nifty Collection

Yola

Typically our Nifty Website choices focus on the smaller, up and coming websites that are on the verge of success. Yola is a bit different in that they are already well established and for the most part successful. However, their website builder offers something that many don’t in the form of business tools and merchant integration options. Continue..Read more about Yola.

Visit Yola

Follr

One of the more common aggravations about social interaction and networking online is that there is just so much of it. Think about the websites you visit everyday and undoubtedly there are a handful of social websites on the list. Plainly put, our identities are scattered all over the web and with them our connections. In an effort to simplify and organize all those social places into a centralized digital form, Follr has created a business card type presentation for all your personal spaces. Continue..Read more about Follr.

Visit Follr

Flavors.me

A popular topic covered in the Nifty Websites Collection is website creation. We’re on a mission to make sure everyone who wants an easy way to create a website, knows the options. With that in mind, Flavors.me is another outstanding way to take advantage of point and click website creation. Continue..Read more about Flavors.

Visit Flavors

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The post Nifty Websites Collection [October 29, 2012] first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

Typically our Nifty Website choices focus on the smaller, up and coming websites that are on the verge of success. Yola is a bit different in that they are already well established and for the most part successful. However, their website builder offers something that many don’t in the form of business tools and merchant integration options.

The Basics

Basic site building and hosting services are free although users will get the most from Yola by utilizing one of their monthly plans. Features such as custom domains and phone/email support are included in all three packages dubbed Bronze, Silver and Gold.

A Silver plan unlocks more customizable settings such as CSS editing along with Facebook and mobile publishing. The mobile site feature is especially useful because these days you can’t possibly move forward if your website isn’t viewable on mobile devices. The Gold plan adds SEO (search engine optimization) analysis to your site and is definitely worth the step up if you don’t have a clue what SEO is.

Beyond the Basics

Many of those basic features can be found on a number of other site builders. What strikes us as a successful step above many of them are the tools available for integration within the site.

Merchants can incorporate inventory management, payments systems, tracking detail and mobile sales directly into a Yola site. Typically a daunting task, Yola turns selling online into a more reasonable experience for merchants.

Business tools can be utilized as well. With standard features like contact forms and Google Maps, Yola sites are comparable to other expensively built websites. Advanced tools include mailing lists, site stats, appointment scheduling, Facebook commenting and more. Setting up mailing lists alone can be a source of frustration so having the option at your fingertips is a huge plus.

Behind the Scenes

As many already know, a website is merely the front face of a much larger machine. Yola employs cloud hosting with a claim of 99.9% uptime (we have no reason to doubt that figure) as well as DDoS protection. So although you’re paying a monthly fee to Yola, the built-in protection they provide is something you may not get going it alone, which makes the price more of a value point.

Yola does provide some basic tutorials to guide new users along and actually displays a phone number on the main page for anyone that needs assistance. Two things that a less established site builder might not offer.

Summary

Yola is well established with over 7 million users and counting. They have a simple system in place to get new users up and running with a basic template from which they can make the site their own.

Yola stands apart from some others with business tools and merchant features that normally require some additional coding or plug-ins. The features can help build a truly complete business website or organizational online presence.

Overall, users will need to invest in one of the premium packages to benefit from Yola, though we think it’s a wise investment if it’s a serious project. If you’ve been looking for an easy way to get a website off the ground and want a source that’s trusted and reliable, then Yola is a great place to get started.

Visit Yola

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The post Personal, Merchant Or Business Website Creation With Yola first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

One of the more common aggravations about social interaction and networking online is that there is just so much of it. Think about the websites you visit everyday and undoubtedly there are a handful of social websites on the list. Plainly put, our identities are scattered all over the web and with them our connections. In an effort to simplify and organize all those social places into a centralized digital form, Follr has created a business card type presentation for all your personal spaces.

The Follr Idea

Follr calls their gathering of social information, “personal profile sites”. Translated, that means that users establish an identity on Follr and add all their online addresses to create contact details for every social handle they use. Essentially creating a digital business card.

Personal profile sites are more than just a gathering of Facebook, Twitter and social network handles. They’re an identity description accompanied by a bio section with skills, professional title and stream incorporation.

Features

Linking social profiles to Follr is the immediate draw, but the service provides some other useful tidbits as well. We’ve already touched on the bio section which can be used to list all sorts of information about yourself, your business, skills, achievements or whatever and the information can be as small as a single sentence or include detailed information.

Beyond social contact details and handles, users can add more direct contact information to their profiles such as Skype, Google Voice, Instant Messenger and a number of others. By adding them all to Follr, it ensures others can contact you without bouncing between sites in search of other contact means.

Feeds are another great way to enhance a Follr profile. Twitter and RSS feeds can be incorporated into Follr for a continual stream of information. The updates are a great way for others to see just what you’re all about beyond a bio.

The Follr appeal comes from the single web address which can be shared with everyone and contain all user social handle data in one place. It’s akin to sharing your website, but instead of reaching a page with a large amount of other information, a Follr page delivers your social hangouts.

Bottom Line

Follr is not a website replacement. It’s not even a LinkedIn replacement in terms of showcasing professional skills. What it is though is a place where users can compile a complete list of their social handles and hangouts with an emphasis on contact options.

The service is free, it’s visually appealing with profile customization options, it offers a bio section along with blog feeds and it just plain works. Not bad for a digital business card. Give it a try and see if you don’t find yourself giving out your Follr address as opposed to a half dozen social handles.

Visit Follr

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The post Follr Is Your Online Business Card first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

A popular topic covered in the Nifty Websites Collection is website creation. We’re on a mission to make sure everyone who wants an easy way to create a website, knows the options. With that in mind, Flavors.me is another outstanding way to take advantage of point and click website creation.

Why Flavors?

For starters, creating a gorgeous web presence or personal space shouldn’t take less than 10 minutes, with Flavors it does. Combine that with zero coding, personalized domain, content inclusion from 35 services, mobile view, statistics tracking and an unbelievably low cost and you’ve got a remarkably full featured aggregator.

Flavors offers two packages, Free and Premium. A free account delivers access to 5 services, 222 fonts and 7 layout options. The free plan offers users a simple effective way to create their own personal space. A premium account provides 10 more layout options, access to all services, mobile site view, statistics, contact forms, custom URL and content. The premium account is $20/year. In our opinion, $20 is a fantastic value.

Why Not Flavors?

Experienced webmasters and those familiar with coding and/or those comfortable with servers and databases might see Flavors as a bit limiting. Flavors isn’t a likely choice if you’re designing a business website or merchant outlet. Instead, Flavors is targeted towards individual web spaces or perhaps those looking to promote a cause.

Flavors is a personal portal designed to be simple and concise while at the same time elegant and beautiful. They succeed, but because of that nature users shouldn’t expect a robust selection of interface manipulations.

Final Thoughts

After reviewing sites like Flavors, we’re always left wondering what the web would have been like a dozen years ago if these types of site creators had been around. Not everyone can be a coder and even webmasters can’t be every kind of coder necessary to create wonderful websites. Flavors removes all that trouble and provides a point and click way to design a personal web space for even the most green of novices.

Flavors is an incredible value at $20 a year and although the free account is limited in terms of content possibilities, it’s more than adequate for those just getting started.

Visit Flavors

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Make Your Website Part Of The Nifty Collection

The post Point, Click And Create Websites From Flavors.me first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

Make Your Website Part Of The Nifty Collection

Wunderlist

One thing humans can never seem to get enough of is lists. We make them for just about anything and there are a lot of ways to create them. The current drive is towards mobile integration with list and note-taking apps in high demand. Wunderlist is a way to organize tasks through lists and works everywhere. Continue..Read more about Wunderlist.

Visit Wunderlist

Burn Note

This message will self destruct in 3..2..1.! At least that’s the premise of Burn Note, a cloud based message service that sends messages between parties and deletes them after they’re read. Continue..Read more about Burn Note.

Visit Burn Note

GraphicSprings

When I started out as a small business owner, one of the most unexpected difficult items to nail down was a logo for my company. The services were in place, the company name was set, even the catchphrase was picked, but that logo drove me nuts. Eventually everything worked out, but coming up with ideas was incredibly difficult. GraphicSprings free logo design maker would have been a huge help to me and is a great resource for others struggling to get their logo right. Continue..Read more about GraphicSprings.

Visit GraphicSprings

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The post Nifty Websites Collection [October 22, 2012] first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

One thing humans can never seem to get enough of is lists. We make them for just about anything and there are a lot of ways to create them. The current drive is towards mobile integration with list and note-taking apps in high demand. Wunderlist is a way to organize tasks through lists and works everywhere.

More Than An App

Wunderlist isn’t just a mobile app it’s also a fully accessible web based app and software title. Cloud access is available through a web interface and Wunderlist software is available for use on Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems.

In order to be truly cloud, a service has to be accessible everywhere at any time. Wunderlist seems to have every angle covered with a multitude of apps and software for various platforms. The best part is they actually work!

Wunderlist Goods

Making a list doesn’t have to be complicated and Wunderlist understands that. The interface is designed to illicit task injection without jumping through category hoops or other unnecessary hurdles. Here’s a rundown of Wunderlist’s features:

[list style=”square” color=”cobult”]

• Group tasks into lists.
• Share tasks with other Wunderlist users and/or through email with others.
• Reminders, to ensure tasks are attended to.
• Prioritize important tasks.
• Cloud syncing for access on all devices.
• Note addition for added detail on a task.
• Personalize your Wunderlist theme for individual comfort.
• It’s free!

While we expect the web interface to be responsive, we were surprised at how responsive the mobile app (Android tested) was as well. The menus were complete, touch controls functioned properly and accurately and overall we experienced zero problems with the app.

Summary

Wunderlist is nearly perfect. The melding of concise task management with an attractive interface combines to deliver a solution users will enjoy. Task and list creation are smooth and precise with plenty of extras to make a task more than a simple note.

With all that Wunderlist offers, we’d like to see two things in particular addressed. The first deals with functionality. The back button on mobile devices exits the app from any main area so we’d like to see an exit option or exit menu that’s triggered by the back button instead of an immediate exit. The second is more of a feature, Tags. A tag library would be an outstanding way to quickly access tasks and maintain organization.

Regardless of your task managing needs, Wunderlist is a viable, quality option that should be one of your cloud and mobile resources.

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The post Task Management From Wunderlist Syncs Everywhere first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

This message will self destruct in 3..2..1.! At least that’s the premise of Burn Note, a cloud based message service that sends messages between parties and deletes them after they’re read.

Burner Messages

Each message sent through Burn Note can be read only once. After which the message is deleted and essentially burned out of existence. Similar to burner phones where they can be discarded after single use, Burn Note messages are definitely deleted after a single read.

Notes are deleted either manually by the recipient or immediately upon navigation away from the message page. Senders have the option to set a timer on messages to further control the burn time. Burn Notes which go unread are automatically discarded after 72 hours.

Features

Burn Note is clearly meant as a security tool for sending sensitive and secure information between parties. To that end, other features are in place to ensure Burn Note remains as secret and secure as possible.

Short Phrases for example, makes copying and pasting of message contents impossible and makes taking screenshots of the message unbelievably troublesome, especially if the message has a short timer. Messages are broken down into snippets which appear individually on screen and rotate in order, every couple seconds.

The Spyglass feature hides the message entirely. Recipients can view the note by clicking and dragging a simulated flashlight across the screen to reveal the contents of the message.

Senders also have the option of placing their own password on the message for added security. Pending messages are stored encrypted on Burn Note servers and communication with Burn Note is done through 256 bit SSL encryption.

For the exceptionally security conscious, Burn Note provides detailed technical information about their storage and encryption methods on their website. Burn Note seems to have every angle covered aside from screen recording which is somewhat out of their control.

Summary

While not everyone will need Burn Note services, there is certainly a need for it. The internet is a wild west environment with unknowns around every corner. Sending information can be a somewhat unnerving process, but through Burn Note users can feel confident every precaution is being taken to protect their message data.

Aside from the obvious sharing of information between parties, we found this cloud tool to be somewhat fun which is hard to accomplish when utilizing security measures. Burn Note is great for spies or friends who just want to have a private undocumented conversation.

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The post Burn Note Messages Self Destruct To Maintain Privacy first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

When I started out as a small business owner, one of the most unexpected difficult items to nail down was a logo for my company. The services were in place, the company name was set, even the catchphrase was picked, but that logo drove me nuts. Eventually everything worked out, but coming up with ideas was incredibly difficult. GraphicSprings free logo design maker would have been a huge help to me and is a great resource for others struggling to get their logo right.

Free Logo Design

The logos are crafted from a database of 500 existing images. Users then manipulate the graphic and font to personalize the logo. Customizations include size, color, font style and effect.

The color picker auto generates corresponding colors when used with the logo icon. For example, if a logo has a triple color palette which is primarily blue and a user changes the color to primarily red, then the accent colors will compliment the red. The built-in feature alleviates any trouble users might have with coordinating colors.

Most of the editing is performed on the font with styling options, font choices, spacing and color. Font effects such as 3D and calligraphy can be applied to the text portion of the logo design and GraphicSprings supplies font types which match the effect. The process makes choosing a font more straightforward so that users don’t have to scroll through endless amounts of fonts.

When complete, users can download the file in jpg, jpeg and png formats.

Summary

For small businesses and freelancers just starting out, a logo can seem like a ludicrous waste of time and resources. The fact is though, that a logo is important, it can describe a brand or product and needs to be memorable to consumers. GraphicsSprings helps nudge the process along by offering a huge catalog of free options so that focus is on service and product instead of logo design.

GraphicSprings is on the list of must check resources for anyone that’s creatively challenged.

Visit GraphicSprings

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The post Brand Recognition Logos From GraphicSprings first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.