Managing & Technology — www.ddmcd.com

Website copyright © 2002-2025 by Dennis D. McDonald. From Alexandria, Virginia I support proposal writing & management, content and business development, market research, and strategic planning. I also practice and support cursive handwriting. My email: ddmcd@ddmcd.com. My bio: here.

All in Media

Some Disappointments with Walmart Vudu's DISC-TO-DIGITAL Service

May 15

May 15 Some Disappointments with Walmart Vudu's DISC-TO-DIGITAL Service

Dennis D. McDonald

DRM, DVD, Media, Movies, VUDU, Streaming

Once I got things to work, I was really impressed with the audio and video performance of Walmart’s Vudu movie service, so I was really interested in trying out Vudu’s Disc-to-Digital service for a small number of my old movie DVD’s I’d like to see in higher-than-DVD definition.

May 3
May 3 How Computers and TV Cohabit in the Living Room - May 2012

Dennis D. McDonald

Collaboration, Facebook, Media, Television

The accompanying image shows three laptop computers in use as we watched Game of Thrones last night. What’s wrong with this picture?

May 1
May 1 Smart TV Will Change Your Living Room -- But How?

Dennis D. McDonald

Apple, DRM, Media, Television, VUDU, Video

Mike Elgan’s How Smart TV Will Change Your Living Room is one of the better “future of TV” articles I’ve read. His view of the changing role of TV is straightforward:

Apr 23
Apr 23 Watching My First VUDU Movie

Dennis D. McDonald

Blu-Ray, DRM, DVD, Media, Netflix, VUDU, Walmart

Last week my friend Charlie came over after dinner. We go out to movies a couple of times a month and afterwards go for a beer. This time we decided to stay in. He would supply the beer and I the popcorn. Our intended entertainment: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE GHOST PROTOCOL.

Apr 18
Apr 18 Personal Experience with the iPhone 4s

Dennis D. McDonald

Apple, Linkedin, Media, Mobile Tech, Productivity, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTunes

It’s not unusual to find myself when I go back to a browser based application from an iPhone app I’m struck by the messiness and clutter, despite the added functionality.

When the Cold War Was Winding Down, Could the Soviet Military Have Maintained Secrecy Had Social Media Existed?

Apr 12

Apr 12 When the Cold War Was Winding Down, Could the Soviet Military Have Maintained Secrecy Had Social Media Existed?

Dennis D. McDonald

Collaboration, Media, Politics, Security, , Telecommunications, eGovernment, Cold War, Secrecy

“Would the Soviet Union have been able to maintain the secrecy of its nuclear and biological warfare development efforts had modern social media like Facebook and Twitter been available?”

Mar 8
Mar 8 Thoughts About The New Apple iPad

Dennis D. McDonald

Android, Apple, Media, Mobile Tech, Television, iPad, iPhone

Yesterday Apple announced the new iPad. I like the new iPad and really think I would enjoy it as a way to manage and manipulate my nature photographs. I want one!

Peer Review in Scientific Journals Isn't Perfect - So What Else Is New?

Feb 4

Feb 4 Peer Review in Scientific Journals Isn't Perfect - So What Else Is New?

Dennis D. McDonald

Collaboration, Media, Peer Review, Publishing, Science, Science Education, Transparency, Journals

In “Stop deifying ‘peer review’ of journal publications” Jonathan Eisen skillfully walks the reader through three realities of how peer review works with scientific journals:

Jan 1
Jan 1 I Just Updated My Copyright Date - So What?

Dennis D. McDonald

Copyright, Media, SOPA

I just updated the copyright statement in the footer of this blog from

Aug 22
Aug 22 Downsizing The Home Media Collection, Part 1

Dennis D. McDonald

Over the weekend I “weeded” our home book collection. We’re remodeling both our living room and dining room in anticipation of our daughter coming home later this year from the Peace Corps. We’re reducing the number of linear shelf feet devoted to books, CD’s, and DVD’s as we change things around a bit and as we adjust to the increasing importance of digital media.

Jul 7
Jul 7 Is the "Content Web" Really Dying?

Dennis D. McDonald

Content Management, Documents, Google, Google+, Media, Metrics, Research, Search, Statistics

It’s fashionable these days to point to Facebook’s ascendancy as why Google-type search’s dominance of the Internet is over.

Content May Not Be King But It Still Behaves Like Royalty

Jun 27

Jun 27 Content May Not Be King But It Still Behaves Like Royalty

Dennis D. McDonald

Copyright, Internet, Jeff Jarvis, Media, Metrics, Publishing

One of my favorite media commentators is Jeff Jarvis. I especially enjoy his weekly converaations hosted by Leo Laporte on This Week in Google. Jarvis’ perspective always gets at the big picture of what’s happening with the web economy.

Using Roku: Week 4

Feb 4

Feb 4 Using Roku: Week 4

Dennis D. McDonald

Cable TV, GUI, Media, Roku, Television, Streaming

I’ve been using the Roku box for over a month now. I like this product a lot.

Using Roku: Week 1

Jan 17

Jan 17 Using Roku: Week 1

Dennis D. McDonald

Cable TV, Media, Roku, Television, Streaming

I’ve been using the Roku box for about a week now. At first I just saw it as a replacement for the Xbox 360’s streaming of Netflix. But there’s a lot more programming available via the Roku that I’m still exploring.

Sep 10
Sep 10 It's not true that "Google Doesn't Do Social"

Dennis D. McDonald

Google, Media, Personalization, Search, Semantic Web, , Transparency

What Google is doing with Google Instant is beginning to expose some of the inner workings of its internal processes in real time. Making the fine tuning of this process more “social” and also responsive to realtime user tuning could be next and might be one way that Google Wave based technology finds its way into Search.

Two Simple Organizing Models for Communication Program Planning

Apr 7

Apr 7 Two Simple Organizing Models for Communication Program Planning

Dennis D. McDonald

Business Models, CRM, Contact Center, Content Management, Customer Communication, Customer Support, , , Strategic Planning, Strategy, Web 2.0, eGovernment, Communications, Media

Sometimes I need to be whacked on the side of the head to keep things simple.

Harsh Realities of Windows 7, "Standalone" Devices, and Cloud Computing

Mar 4

Mar 4 Harsh Realities of Windows 7, "Standalone" Devices, and Cloud Computing

Dennis D. McDonald

Apple, Cloud Computing, Complexity, Media, Sony, Technology, Television, Vaio, Windows, iPad

Ed Bott’s Windows Activation Technologies: an unauthorized inside look is a look at what happens when Windows 7 automatically gathers and sends encrypted data describing your Windows 7 installation back to Microsoft so Microsoft can see if you are running an authorized copy of Windows.

Jan 4
Jan 4 A Positive Spin on Higher Cable TV Prices

Dennis D. McDonald

Cable TV, Media, Regulation, Television

In Fox-Time Warner Cable deal could mean billions for broadcasters, Bloomberg News’ Kelly Riddell wrote the following on January 4, 2010:

Nov 30
Nov 30 Old Media Islands Will Shrink But Won't Disappear Overnight

Dennis D. McDonald

Change, Chatter, Collaboration, Facebook, Information Technology, Knowledge Management, Media, RSS, Sales Management, , Software, Strategy, Web 2.0

I’m optimistic. I’m beginning to think that second-nature use of collaborative technologies by non-technologists, both for social engagement as well as for work, could reach a tipping point much sooner than I had thought. It’s not going to be completely smooth sailing, though.