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.

Happy Birthday SETI

Apr 6

Apr 6 Happy Birthday SETI

Dennis D. McDonald

Podcast, SETI, Science, Genetics

The March 29 Are We Alone program titled SETI: Now What? celebrates 50 years of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Included are interviews with current and former participants, a description of the famous Drake Equation (by Drake), and, of course, memories of Carl Sagan. It’s a great podcast.

Can Students Benefit from Online Engagement Via Social Media?

Mar 24

Mar 24 Can Students Benefit from Online Engagement Via Social Media?

Dennis D. McDonald

Blogging, Education, Engineering, , Textbooks, NAE

Instead of writing a 50 page thesis that no one reads, what if students were able to create/maintain blog on a topic instead?

Mar 19
Mar 19 Breakdown of Past 12 Months' Accesses to this Web Site by Browser

Dennis D. McDonald

Over the past twelve months this chart shows the relative frequency of accesses to this web site by different web browsers:

Mar 12
Mar 12 Why I’ll Probably Buy an Apple iPad

Dennis D. McDonald

Apple, Change, Mobile Tech, iPad

I’ll probably buy an Apple iPad, but not because I’m an early adopter.

Mar 10
Mar 10 Does Increasing Government Transparency Help or Hurt Professional and Trade Associations?

Dennis D. McDonald

Associations, Transparency, eGovernment

Does increasing government transparency help or hurt professional and trade associations? Here are two answers:

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.

Feb 24
Feb 24 Net Neutrality Consensus Has A Long Way To Go

Dennis D. McDonald

FCC, Innovation, Internet, Policy, Politics, Regulation, Strategy, Technology, Telecommunications, Transparency

I attended a session about “net neutrality” called Preserving the Open Internet: Is a Consensus Emerging? convened on February 23, 2010 in Washington DC by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).

Feb 3
Feb 3 POLL: How Should I Respond to the Washington Post's Home Increased Subscription Price?

Dennis D. McDonald

News, Newspapers, Surveys

Should Dennis Continue His Dead Tree Washington Post Subscription?

Jan 27
Jan 27 Will Massive Federal Deficits Accelerate Automation of Basic Government Services?

Dennis D. McDonald

Automation, Basics, Information Technology, Transparency, eGovernment

My friend Bob Davis at MILVETS was kind enough to forward a link to the article 2020 vision: 10 things you’ll see on the Web in the next 10 years by Shawn McCarthy in the January 26 Government Computer News. While McCarthy’s list holds few surprises, I would have made number 10 number one:

Jan 21
Jan 21 Social Networking, Performance Improvement, and Service Differentiation: A Rising Tide

Dennis D. McDonald

Collaboration, Customer Care, Customer Communication, Customer Support, Enterprise 2.0, Innovation, Performance, Process, ,

In How the Trends of 2000-2009 Will Shape Performance Improvement in This New Decade, Debashis Sarkar, a writer for Six Sigma & Process Excellence, lists as number 1 the following trend:

Jan 6
Jan 6 Social Media Engagement Tips: Do you really need a blog if you already use Facebook?

Dennis D. McDonald

Blogging, Customer Communication, Demographics, Facebook, Market Research, , Strategic Planning, Strategy, tips

Do you really need a blog if you already use Facebook? Listen to what Richard Musson, vice-president of marketing for Labatt Breweries of Canada, said recently when asked about using social media to support the launch of Bud Lite Lime in Canada:

Jan 5
Jan 5 5 More Great Podcasts

Dennis D. McDonald

Here are another 5 podcasts I like a lot:

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:

Top Ten Posts for 2009

Dec 31

Dec 31 Top Ten Posts for 2009

Dennis D. McDonald

In descending order, here are the ten most popular posts for 2009 from this web site’s Managing Technology section:

Dec 18
Dec 18 Government Transparency Ain't All It's Cracked Up To Be -- Yet

Dennis D. McDonald

Politics, Strategy, Transparency, eGovernment

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for “open government.” But there are problems inherent to real-world democracy that can’t be automatically solved by making the workings of government more visible to the public.

Dec 1
Dec 1 An ERP and Manufacturing Software Timeline

Dennis D. McDonald

Architecture, History, Industry Analysis, Information Technology, Manufacturing, Software

The folks at Software Advice recently sent me a link to their ERP and manufacturing timeline that I thought was interesting and worth passing along.

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.