Hello there.
![Picture](/uploads/8/9/4/8/8948886/3117932.jpg)
It's been a long day. Let's just get going, shall we?
McKenna chose to review XKCD for this in-class assignment.
McKenna chose to review XKCD for this in-class assignment.
From XKCD
A. Oh boy, I can't possibly imagine how this was really considered a tech blog, as it's actually a webcomic. But it does poke fun at tech stuff and media of various and sundry sorts (along with philosphy, mathematics, geekdom, and any other subject that comes to hand) with the same gleeful, irreverent abandon. So overall, it's entertainment. Witty, deliciously snarky entertainment.
B. Who is the audience for your site? What age group, gender, occupation?
Readers of this comic sort of have to be of a geeky, news/media-following nature. Bonus points for those interested in science, math, and philosophy, so it's meant for people who are pretty well-educated (high school/college and up). Stereotypically these people would be middleclass, youngish white males, but stereotypes were meant to be broken. Any nerd would get a kick out of this series.
C. T-Cells. Oh my, T-Cells. I remember reading about this when the results were first announced, and I was kind of floored. Using the HIV virus- admittedly a deactivated, heavily modified variant- to reprogram killer T-cells to effectively combat cancer seems at the same time insane, counter-intuitive (Really, infecting an already immunosupressed patient with a virus that specializes in wiping out immune cells and leaves the person helpless against any stray pathogen that comes their way?) and freaking brilliant. And according to the last results I heard, it actually works. HIV viruses are deactivated and modified so they can hack into the body's own T-cells and reprogram them to 1. fight cancer cells 2. proliferate and 3. stay in the body, in theory re-proliferating and wiping out any future outbreaks of that cancer. The reprogrammed T-cells basically function like 'natural' T-cells, and since they're from the patient's own body, the risk of rejection is practically nil. What's better, if this technique pans out, it could be modified to program T-cells to fight any other pathogen scientists want- it's just a matter of reprogramming the HIV virus with the genetic codes needed to target a specific pathogen. Potentially, this technique could revolutionize vaccination techniques (most modern vaccines use a weakened, dead, or non-pathogenic relative of a target virus to simulate an attack of that virus and convince the body to create T-cells trained to fight that particular disease). Totally. Awesome.
D. Laser Pointer. Every cat wishes this could happen.
But my personal favorite (sadly not really tech-related) is Every Damn Morning.
E. Blue, grey, and white. All cool and sterile and kind of bland, but it keeps the focus on the comic
F. It's very clean and sleek... rather Apple-like, as a matter of fact.
G. There's two primary fonts on the site, a sharp, smooth font for the site itself and a more handwritten font in the comic itself. Both are easy to read and nicely appealing.
H. You expected otherwise? Of course there is! And it's short, sweet, and to the point.
Also, from the 'not so funny in hindsight' category... Um... yeah... Smooth, Randall. Real smooth.
B. Who is the audience for your site? What age group, gender, occupation?
Readers of this comic sort of have to be of a geeky, news/media-following nature. Bonus points for those interested in science, math, and philosophy, so it's meant for people who are pretty well-educated (high school/college and up). Stereotypically these people would be middleclass, youngish white males, but stereotypes were meant to be broken. Any nerd would get a kick out of this series.
C. T-Cells. Oh my, T-Cells. I remember reading about this when the results were first announced, and I was kind of floored. Using the HIV virus- admittedly a deactivated, heavily modified variant- to reprogram killer T-cells to effectively combat cancer seems at the same time insane, counter-intuitive (Really, infecting an already immunosupressed patient with a virus that specializes in wiping out immune cells and leaves the person helpless against any stray pathogen that comes their way?) and freaking brilliant. And according to the last results I heard, it actually works. HIV viruses are deactivated and modified so they can hack into the body's own T-cells and reprogram them to 1. fight cancer cells 2. proliferate and 3. stay in the body, in theory re-proliferating and wiping out any future outbreaks of that cancer. The reprogrammed T-cells basically function like 'natural' T-cells, and since they're from the patient's own body, the risk of rejection is practically nil. What's better, if this technique pans out, it could be modified to program T-cells to fight any other pathogen scientists want- it's just a matter of reprogramming the HIV virus with the genetic codes needed to target a specific pathogen. Potentially, this technique could revolutionize vaccination techniques (most modern vaccines use a weakened, dead, or non-pathogenic relative of a target virus to simulate an attack of that virus and convince the body to create T-cells trained to fight that particular disease). Totally. Awesome.
D. Laser Pointer. Every cat wishes this could happen.
But my personal favorite (sadly not really tech-related) is Every Damn Morning.
E. Blue, grey, and white. All cool and sterile and kind of bland, but it keeps the focus on the comic
F. It's very clean and sleek... rather Apple-like, as a matter of fact.
G. There's two primary fonts on the site, a sharp, smooth font for the site itself and a more handwritten font in the comic itself. Both are easy to read and nicely appealing.
H. You expected otherwise? Of course there is! And it's short, sweet, and to the point.
Also, from the 'not so funny in hindsight' category... Um... yeah... Smooth, Randall. Real smooth.
Oh look! Group stuff!
1. The group is to pick their favorite tech blog from those in their group.
2. The group is to describe the audience for the favorite tech blog.
2. The group is to pick the blog with the best story and share it.
3. The group is to pick the best headline.
4. The group is to pick the favorite color scheme.
5. The group is to pick the site with the most attractive graphic design.
6. The group is to pick the site with the most visually appealing fonts--if none are, say so.
7. 4- Women in Tech has a link to Apple's blog and tribute, so we aren't counting it.
2. The group is to describe the audience for the favorite tech blog.
2. The group is to pick the blog with the best story and share it.
3. The group is to pick the best headline.
4. The group is to pick the favorite color scheme.
5. The group is to pick the site with the most attractive graphic design.
6. The group is to pick the site with the most visually appealing fonts--if none are, say so.
7. 4- Women in Tech has a link to Apple's blog and tribute, so we aren't counting it.