### ...about the visualization

The Data Explorer group has decided to endow a chair in user interface research at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center. How much does the endowment cost? The group had prepared an analysis based on its estimate of its cost of capital. Then Martin noted that it would be nice to increase the new person's salary each year. Here is the resulting analysis. It assumes that the chair holder will be paid $50,000 in her first year. You estimate the interest rate and specify a growth factor by picking on the spot on the curve you feel most accurately represents the real world.

### ...about the web page

You can enter pick mode by selecting "Pick" in the Mode selector. Then place a pick on the image by clicking with the left mouse button. The "Execution" indicator turns green when Data Explorer is executing. After you've picked, the visualization will show the present value of the perpetual stream of cash flows representing the salary for the endowed chair. In other words, it shows how much the Data Explorer group will have to invest today in order to pay for the chair.

### ...about Pick mode

When you place a pick on an image rendered by Data Explorer, you're identifying a location on (2d or 3d) object. Data Explorer automatically translates the screen's x,y pick location into an x,y or x,y,z location in the object's coordinate space. Then the position on the object is used to lookup the data value from that point on the object.

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