Easy way to Visualize and Store Serial Data on PC/Laptop?

I'm quite new on using Arduino and I'm just building my first exprerimental stuff on a breadboard (LEDs, temperature sensor, potentiometer, buzzer...).

I'm currently sending temperatures to my laptop via USB and monitor them with arduino serial monitor.

What is the easiest way to log this data to a file? (I found Processing but it seems to be quite complex)
Is there an easy way to visualize this data and make it available online (via Webinterface, Android App would be fancy, too)? (I found Cosm but couldn't figure out how to send my data there)

I have an Arduino Mega and a Windows PC and I don't want to buy an Ethernet or Wifi Shield yet.

Would be nice if you could support me with some links to tutorials or at least give me some hints on what to google for.

I use the Q Serial Terminal. It can log the serial data to a file.
It is very handy to let it run some time and search in the log file for any problems.

You could read the log file into a graphing program or spreadsheet if the text format is right.

GoBetwino can send data directly into an Excel sheet, or log it to a csv file

What about MakerPlot?

Bitlash Commander might be worth a look, too:

-br

If you want to read and visualize the data then processing would probably be ideal. I'm quite new to it myself but it uses the same language as your arduino and the IDE also looks very similar.

A quick google search reveals several potentials

Try MakerPlot (www.makerplot.com) It can display and log 10 analog channels and 32 digital signals. And you can customize the program to look anyway you want with meters, switches, buttons, et.

can makerplot interface xbee reciever at the pc end?