So why Green on Saint Patrick’s Day?

According to some accounts, blue was the first color associated with St. Patrick’s Day, but that started to change in the 17th century. Green is one of the colors in Ireland’s tri-color flag, and it has been used in the flags of several Irish revolutionary groups throughout history. Ireland is the “Emerald Isle,” so named for its lush green landscape. Green is also the color of spring, the shamrock, and the Chicago River, which the Midwestern city has dyed green on St. Patrick’s Day for the past 40-odd years.

TouchScreen Preschool Games has just released another iPhone app; Mister Rogers.

GetUSB.info doesn’t make it a habit of reporting on iPhone applications, but when you know the author and game publisher it’s worth taking a moment and saying “good job.”

Murtha Design had their first block buster iPhone app, ShapeBuilder and from that success Murtha Design has teamed with PBS.org to develop the Mister Rogers iPhone app.

Mister Rogers Make a Journal encourages children to identify and talk about their feelings about their everyday experiences like school, playtime, and friends. The App features an animated version of favorite Neighborhood of Make-Believe character Daniel Striped Tiger, who invites children to make a journal to help them reflect on the things they do and to express how they feel.

What is amazing about this application is the goal of establishing Emotional Development truly works.  I have a 4 and 6 year old child and they both create journals about their day and from simply listening to their interaction with the program, I can learn about my child’s day without pressuring them for daily activity reports and grilling them on “how was school today?”

Here is a clip of the Mister Rogers iPhone app in action: (more…)

AT&T reports that smart phone users, which make up 3% of their market, are eating up nearly 40% of the data bandwidth on their mobile network.

To no surprise, AT&T is considering ways to free up network bandwidth so that everyone without a smartphone, isn’t effected.  So what does this mean?  It means AT&T might be giving a screw j_b to iPhone users. - by far the biggest consumers of bandwidth from smartphones.

iPhone users on average consume five to seven times more data per month than average wireless subscribers, according to analyst firm Sanford Bernstein. And all this usage is clogging the network, causing many iPhone users, especially in large cities such as New York and San Francisco, to experience dropped calls, slow 3G service, and issues connecting to the network at all.

So what is AT&T considering?  I would think upping the usage fees, but this might not work for those who don’t care about monthly fees.  Another approach are incentives.

“We’re going to try to focus on making sure we give incentives to those small percentages to either reduce or modify their usage so they don’t crowd out the other customers in those same cell sites,” said de la Vega according to a transcript of the conference. “And you’ll see us address that more in detail.”

Either way, I have a strong feeling AT&T will be limiting or slowing data usage for iPhone users.  (more…)

Today, a team of engineers will be recognized at the Computer History Museum for designing the first microprocessor in 1971, a 4-bit parallel CPU with 2,300 transistors. That project, from an infant Intel [3 years old], was a huge achievement and one can honestly say “it changed the world.”

The Intel 4004 was the first general purpose microprocessor that could be customized with software to perform different functions on different devices. The 4004 started a new era in both hardware AND software, along with a never ending quest of silicon integration that continues to this day.

The small team to be honored include: (more…)

Hello fellow readers and bloggers.  Don’t forget to follow GetUSB.info on Twitter.  You know the deal, stay up to date, instantly.

You can also find us on FaceBook - which is the most convenient way to post comments and respond to all things wonderfully USB.

Read an interesting article on social media and how it can impact your business, blog, or audience through social media websites like FaceBook and Twitter.  Granted, these terms are nothing new, and today we announce the addition of another network for GetUSB, Twitter.

The article which inspired me to sign up was from Chris Brogan and if you are looking for 50 reasons, or just one, on why to get onto Twitter - give it a read.

So now you can receive the GetUSB article title each day on Twitter, and if the topic tickles your fancy, click through and read the rest.  There is plenty of good content we churn out day after day, so please follow us.

Thanks & Cheers,
Gmo
Editor in Chief GetUSB.info

The Register.com website has been down far to long [over 3 hours].  I’ve got customers from California, to New York to Israel who don’t have a site running - anyone know what is going on?

Is this another story of a big boy falling in these uncertain times or we just talking about some serious technical support issues?

We use 1and1.com services here and for all our sites.