Stories by Sharon Machlis

Beginner's guide to R: Introduction

R is hot. Whether measured by more than 4,400 add-on packages, the 18,000+ members of LinkedIn's R group or the close to 80 R Meetup groups currently in existence, there can be little doubt that interest in the R statistics language, especially for data analysis, is soaring.

Beginner's guide to R: Easy ways to do basic data analysis

So you've read your data into an R object. Now what?

Beginner's guide to R: Painless data visualization

One of the most appealing things about R is its ability to create data visualizations with just a couple of lines of code.

Beginner's guide to R: Get your data into R

Whether it's local or from the Web, there are several ways to get data into R for further work.

Beginner's guide to R: Syntax quirks you'll want to know

Why x=3 doesn't always mean what you think it should, about data types and more.

More data isn't always better, says Nate Silver

Big data may seem to promise big insights to users, but more isn't always better, cautions statistician Nate Silver, who became one of America's most well-known faces of data analysis after his FiveThirtyEight blog accurately predicted 2012 presidential election results in all 50 states.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 review: A useful, if not radical, upgrade

Adobe has released a public beta of its Lightroom 5 photo-editing application. While not a radical reworking, it includes some useful new tools.

In Pictures: Data visualisation on a shoestring

Are you seeking tools for data visualisation and analysis that won't bust your budget? Here are dozens of ideas.

Six useful JavaScript libraries for maps, charts and other data visualizations

These JavaScript libraries can help format your data for analysis or a compelling online presentation.

In Pictures: 80 Mbytes of storage for under $12K! and other IT ad favorites through the years

Elvira hawking development software, a computer with "briefcase portability," the cure for COBOLitis... Advertisements published in Computerworld since 1967 have promised all this and more. Here are 10 of the most entertaining IT ads from the archives for our 45th anniversary.

iPad Mini vs. Google Nexus 7 vs. Kindle Fire

Here's how the iPad Mini's announced tech specs stack up against popular 7-inch tablets from Google and Amazon. (Of course, while the specs are important, there's more to a tablet than a data sheet. Computerworld will have a hands-on review of the iPad Mini soon.)

U.S. tech workers by the numbers

Census Bureau data show a 2.8% increase in the median earnings for computer and math jobs, with women earning 85% of what men do in the field.

60-minute security makeover: Prevent your own 'epic hack'

Here are some ways to beef up security on your digital life -- before someone seeking to duplicate the hack that seized control of a Wired reporter's Apple, Amazon and Google accounts finds similar vulnerabilities in yours.

Google Now vs. Siri - voice search challenge

Sharon Machlis of Computerworld compares the Google Now voice search capabilities with the Siri voice assistant on the Apple iPhone 4S. While Siri offers more functions in terms of scheduling, does Google Now do better at finding information?

Google Now vs. Siri - voice search challenge

Sharon Machlis of Computerworld compares the Google Now voice search capabilities with the Siri voice assistant on the Apple iPhone 4S. While Siri offers more functions in terms of scheduling, does Google Now do better at finding information?