Gapminder Desktop offers a wealth of information in the form of graphs designed for teaching and learning purposes. It includes a wide range of graphs, powered by over 600 indicators and displayed in either chart of map views. The application uses the technology behind the Trendalyzer software (now Google's Motion Chart) for interacting with the graphs.
When compared to similar utilities, Gapminder Desktop has an immediate advantage: a flexible and stable tab-enabled platform that allows users to modify any of the data part of one or multiple opened graphs. With this tool you will be able to change anything from color designations, areas of interest (includes a huge country list), categories or indicators. By defining an interval of time (from a selected year up to the current one), users can play back the evolution of a certain phenomenon (like life expectancy over the past 50 years for a specified number of countries).
I noticed that when creating new graphs, the application may take a considerable time to load. This may well be related to inferior system specifications only (I used a Macbook with 1.83 GHz Inter Core Duo and 2 GB of memory).
Please note that Gapminder Desktop will not enable you to add new values but only use its own; this applies to both indicators and data.
For all its flaws however, the application provides an invaluable resource inside and outside of a classroom environment, for looking up accurate data and raising awareness over modern day issues.
The Sonos Controller lets you control all your music and rooms from the desktop
DWA offers a simple and quickly way to visualize all your Piwik statistics.
Comments (1)