Google visualization API gallery
I think this is really terrific, I can forgive Google all sorts of evils if they keep coming up with cool ways for people to make each others' lives easier like this. (Basically, it allows the generation of all manner of cool charts, maps, etc for online use, from spreadsheet-type data, using formats and designs contributed by users.)
I know you could probably do it all with GD and a bunch of Perl modules, but most people wouldn't bother doing so. OK, hooking into the Google API isn't exactly a job for complete non-techies, but there's a whole big stratum of people who are too lazy / busy to do such tasks from scratch as a programmer would, but are savvy enough to understand how to use this.
Call them Goldilocks users -- sandwiched between the contempt of techies and the incomprehension of non-techies, but happy in their medium. I am one myself, for a lot of purposes.
I know you could probably do it all with GD and a bunch of Perl modules, but most people wouldn't bother doing so. OK, hooking into the Google API isn't exactly a job for complete non-techies, but there's a whole big stratum of people who are too lazy / busy to do such tasks from scratch as a programmer would, but are savvy enough to understand how to use this.
Call them Goldilocks users -- sandwiched between the contempt of techies and the incomprehension of non-techies, but happy in their medium. I am one myself, for a lot of purposes.