The Needle Blog

Needle's "None" Data Format

Written by Chuck McCallum Tuesday, 31 August 2010 12:42

In Needle, the underlying data is a graph: "nodes" of data are linked to other data nodes. If you're used to thinking of your data as tables, either single spreadsheets or relational tables in a database, this can be an adjustment. After you're used to it, though, a graph representation will often feel more natural. In cases where it isn't, a table can still be straightforwardly represented as a graph.

The Specialness of DS1/DS3 Special Access Rates

Written by glenn mcdonald Tuesday, 24 August 2010 11:58

Congraluations to Douglas Galbi, the first person to publish a public Needle domain without any direct involvement from us (other than flipping the "public" switch at the end)! See his introduction of the domain for details. If you aren't already familiar with the topic of Ad Hoc FCC filings and DS1/DS3 Special Access Rates, this dataset may or may not be your new personal obsession, but if you've got something you want to publish, sign up and let us know!

Needle and Van Gogh

Written by Constantine Zavras Friday, 20 August 2010 13:38

There are many sources of information on the art of famous artists, but rarely are you able to explore the data in an organized and useful way. Sources such as The Vincent Van Gogh Gallery have gathered together all the information about Van Gogh in one place, but it is still hard to navigate the works and find interesting visualizations within the website.

Making a Better Index

Written by glenn mcdonald Tuesday, 17 August 2010 12:46

Endeca, our Cambridge neighbors, have published a very nice library of design patterns for solving various common problems in data software. Ironically, though, the interface to the set of patterns is kind of awkward. So we used Needle to make a better index for the library.

Needle Mysteries Revealed

Written by Laurence Brothers Monday, 02 August 2010 12:46

We've been acutely aware of the shortcomings in our help pages over the course of the Needle limited preview trial. We've been working hard to improve things in this area.

While there is a great deal of work left to do, starting today a new help system is accessible from the help link at the top of every Needle screen.

Government Data and Needle

Written by Chuck McCallum Thursday, 29 July 2010 09:49

Groups like the Sunlight Foundation, the Center for Responsive Politics, and FactCheck.org are doing a lot to make our governments more transparent, and more effective. Needle could be a valuable tool in this work, both for civil servants who want their data to be truly open and accessible, and for researchers and citizens who want to make sense of the data that is already available. Three new Needle domains demonstrate this: Federal Disaster Declarations, White House Nominations and Appointments, and data.gov's Raw Data Catalog.

Needle in the News

Written by Justin Boyan Monday, 19 July 2010 15:11

We've gotten some nice press coverage lately, including GigaOm's "Meet the Web Database Company Google Just Bought (Hint: Not Metaweb)" and ResourceShelf's "Wow! Amazing! A World Cup Info Resource from ITA Software". And next week, at TED^x Boston, I'll be sitting on a panel about The Future of Search, alongside thought leaders from Google, Endeca and HiveFire. Needle's cat is well and truly out of the bag. Needle fans, we appreciate your help in spreading the word!

Stitch Newsroom Data Together with Needle!

Written by Jessica Baumgart Wednesday, 14 July 2010 14:37

When I read Derek Willis' discussion on The Scoop about the New York Times Developer Network APIs, I couldn't help thinking, "Yeah, we've got an app for that!" Needle can do everything he mentions doing with APIs: gathering content, keeping current, digging through data, and making it look pretty on the other end. Better yet, you don't need "to tie down a [member of your IT department] for long periods of time": Needle enables similar efficiency and innovation without requiring computer programming skills. The possibilities Needle offers to information-gatherers like Willis are endless.

Needle & Google

Written by Justin Boyan Wednesday, 07 July 2010 08:01

If you somehow missed last week's big news, Google is acquiring ITA Software, the company behind Needle. We would like to assure our users that needlebase.com's open beta period continues for all interested prospects. If you've got data you'd like to collect in Needle, contact us today!

Elections for Japan's House of Councillors

Written by Chuck McCallum Friday, 02 July 2010 13:57

Half the seats in Japan's House of Councillors will be contested on July 11. We've integrated the current membership roster of the House with demographic data and party information in a Needlebase domain. Will the shift away from the long dominant LDP continue? How have regional differences influenced voting patterns in the past?