Yesterday we received an Internet adapter in the mail for our Blu-ray player we got for Christmas. We got this because in conjunction with our Netflix subscription it enables us to stream movies directly to our television set at no extra cost. It is limited to the movies that are available to stream directly, which rules out most new releases, but there is still a fine selection to choose from. It’s certainly more expansive than what Comcast OnDemand offered as far as free movies go.

I was hoping it would be a bit easier for my dad to use, but now that we tried it there is a small hurdle that he will have to overcome if he wants to use it alone. The problem is that unlike watching the streaming Netflix movies online where you can just search and play, the television version doesn’t let you search directly on the television. You first have to find the movie you want to see on the Netflix website on your computer and add it to your streaming queue, then when you load Netflix on your television it will show all of the movies in your queue to choose from. You see, my Dad and the Internet do not go together. He’s finally somewhat grasped email, but I think signing into and navigating through Netflix and its features might take a bit of time to get used to. So hopefully we will just be able to help him through the first few months until he gets the hang of it himself.

More and more things are becoming Internet accessible as more and more companies harness the power of the Internet. If your company is not online yet, you are already a step behind. If you do have a website but it looks like it was from the 1990s, you are still a step behind. We do website design, database programming, online video, SEM, copywriting, and flash animation that can make your website the top of the pack, the cream of the crop, the king of the hill, and other assorted sayings. So take a step forward and either get your first website developed or make the one you have even better.

If you’re not stepping forward, then you are falling behind, and eventually you’ll be left behind.

This morning on the way in, I heard a really interesting story on NPR (naturally). It was about how a particular Army division is training for combat in Afghanistan for an incredibly important mission. They were mimicking situations they would encounter there, and in particular how to work with Afghan soldiers. The training includes setting up mock scenarios, complete with security check points and soldiers play-acting as Afghan soldiers. You can check out the full story here. I don’t think I’m doing it justice.

It was really interesting, and to hear it on the radio, it sounded real, especially, when an Afghan solider informed the commander that he is “on the verge of not doing any missions at all,” which presents a really big problem to US forces. I was intrigued and it got me thinking about what we do here at DDA. OK, so we don’t set up real-life scenarios and allow people to play through the experience, but we do offer the next best thing — virtual medical simulations.

Our advanced online simulation technology, allows users to act out a real-life situation in a virtual world. By providing a hands-on experience, you’re allowing the user to think for themselves and practice what’s been learned, so when they actually do venture into the real world, they’re much more prepared. With DDA’s full-service capabilities in website design and development, video production, custom programming, and 2D animation and 3D animation and modeling, we can create just about any simulated situation for any purpose and audience.

When you’re looking  to give users a true-to-life experience, DDA’s medical simulation solutions can make it happen.

On my way home from work last night, I called Heath and instead of his normal warm “hello”, I received a frustrated grunt. Apparently the make-shift roof that is currently in place while we are in the midst of a roof-raising project failed to keep out the down-pour of rain. As a result, our  washer and dryer and newly hung drywall got an unwanted shower. This is an excellent example of why crossing all “t’s” and dotting all “i’s” is of the utmost importance when undertaking a project and the reason why DDA devotes an extensive amount of energy to quality assurance.

If you are a client of DDA’s or a prospect, you are aware that “Proofing and Quality Assurance” are  components of our quoting process.  It is the last step of development and an important one as it demonstrates our reliability as a thorough provider and our commitment to customer satisfaction because for DDA, satisfactory simply is not good enough. For every project, we strive for perfection.