Four timeline tools tested
Time Travel
Back in 1962, the threat of a third world war loomed for 13 days, but what happened during the Cuban missile crisis and when? What was the timing of events for the first moon landing? Four timeline tools present complex topics of world history and current affairs in clear context.
Online media, academic institutions, and private users can benefit from timelines – intuitive representations of abstract numbers and facts. Ideally, a timeline contains not just data, but photos, videos, text, and links to external content as well, presenting a virtual stroll through history.
In this article, I'll introduce you to four timeline tools that can help you indulge in the sport of time travel: the commercial cloud service Dipity [1], the Simile Timeline widget [2], a desktop tool named Timeline [3], and the TimelineJS [4] JavaScript library. On Ubuntu 12.10 and Linux Mint Cinnamon, the candidates showed how well they work with modern browsers and Linux systems. The test team examined how conveniently data could be migrated to the timeline, what multimedia content is supported there, and how user-friendly the navigation is. Finally, we considered import and export formats.
Dipity
Underlying Inc. from San Francisco founded Dipity [1] in 2007. This commercial platform is a cloud service, which means all the timelines remain on servers run by the provider. A total of five plans are available. Free, advertising-funded personnel access is available for three timelines with up to 150 entries. If you integrate your timeline with your own website, Dipity allows a maximum of 5,000 views or impressions per month. Also, uploads are limited to 50MB.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Digital Autonomy
• How the Fediverse Found Parts for Its Platforms
• The Answer Was Already on the Shelf
• Changing the Chip Industry: How Public Investment Has Grown Open Silicon
• United Nations Open Source Portal Goes Live
• EU Open Source Strategy Plays Key Role in Tech Sovereignty Package
• France Says “Au Revoir” to Microsoft
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
openKylin 3.0 Released with Expanded AI Integration
The latest release features a pre-installed AI agent to help perform tasks.
-
DigitalOcean Ends Open Source Credits Program
In a change that has surprised many open source developers, DigitalOcean has decided to sunset its Open Source Credits Program.
-
Office 365 Available for Testing on Linux via Bottles
Linux users can now test the official Office 365, thanks to Mirko Brombin's work on Bottles.
-
Dutch Government Turns to Open Source for Digital Sovereignty
Following in the footsteps of other European countries, the Netherlands is looking to increase its sovereign digital infrastructure with open source software.
-
Linux May Soon Work on Snapdragon X2-Based PCs
If you're thinking about buying a Snapdragon X2-based desktop or laptop, Linux may soon be an option.
-
KDE for People Initiative Calls for AI Ban in Plasma
A new community of KDE wants the project to adopt a strict no-AI policy for KDE Plasma.
-
KDE Sets Ambitious Goals for 2026 and Beyond
KDE Connect reveals the goals for the Linux desktop darling, with one of those goals long overdue.
-
It’s Time to Test Fedora 45 Beta
Fedora 45 beta has been released with updated Gnome, KDE Plasma, and kernel.
-
Ubuntu Stonking Stingray Gets Even Rustier
Ubuntu 26.10 has completed its migration to the Rust-based coreutils.
-
AI Fixes Linux Bottlenecks Using “Hideous” Code
A Linux developer used AI to fix bottlenecks that caused problems when building the kernel. The resulting AI-generated code needed a lot of work.