Quikthinking Software Blog
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0 2 More Apps To Score For Black History Month
- Black History Games
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 02/08/2023
Here are two more mobile apps for you that are winners 12 months a year, but don't let Black History Month pass you by without trying them out! RnB and Hip Hop Quiz Trivia is the game to play to celebrate 50 years of great music. Both Android and iOS feature multiple choice Questions. For iPhone - iPad we add true and false questions. Discover more about the RnB and Hip Hop Quiz triva game. Add AAeMojis to your text messages whenever you want! You'll have 160 Black emojis to use that include special messages for birthdays, holidays, and Black History Month. See more and watch both videos on the AAeMojis information page. "Simply awesome" Tandi Wilder "These emojis are awesome for texting. I like the assortment of characters. Great job!" Anita Jones "I love this app" chAregler "Excellent emojis. I love them on my Android. Really easy to use." Dee Park "I purchased and installed them today. Now I don't have to go to my iphone in order to dress up my messages. This app is supposed to be ad-free. That is why I didn't install the "free" apps." LaJuana Glaze
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0 5 Black History Month Apps That You Need To Discover
- Black History
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 02/01/2023
Among the 12 Black History mobile apps created by Quikthinking Software, here are the 5 Black History apps I highly recommend. Discover them for Black History Month. It matters if events happened before you were born. This is history connected to now. Even though Black History Month began in 1976, Dr. Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week in 1926. His week honoring Black culture was the second week of February between the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Today Black history is saluted internationally. October is Black History Month in the United Kingdom. Photo: Hugh Smith. Calendar concept below created by Hugh Smith. 5 Black History Month Apps That You Need To Discover: Black History Quotes Express Black History Quiz Black History People Game Black History Inventors Black History Express All are extremely popular for both Android and iOS. #5 Black History Express is currently Android only. Connections to all of these apps are at the bottom of this post. Black History Quotes Express Black History Quotes Express features nearly three thousand soul purging thoughts radiating from a who's who list of shining visionaries. These people share themes about: Love Motivation Inspiration Instruction Friendship Humor Family Reflection Leadership Empowerment Faith The quotes can be easily searched, bookmarked, copied and shared. Watch as I tell you more in this 59 second video. Black History Quiz Black History Quiz gives you fact based trivia that may open your eyes about some overlooked topics. Teachable moments pop out from these questions. For iPhone you'll soar through multiple choice, true or false, and picture quiz challenges. Watch these two videos for Black History Quiz for iPhone and Android platforms. Black History People Game What's celebrating Black History without having some fun in the process. Your fingers will get some keyboard exercise when you play Black History People Game. Inside of the app is the complete list of the people we use and their claim to fame so you'll be able to learn more about them. Here's a 30 second snapshot video of Black History People Game. Black History Inventors 50 inventors are profiled in a mini audiobook using images, biography and sound to feature successful men and women creators. See the Black History Inventors app videos and read what 10 users have said about the app. They share why they love it! Black History Express Black History Express is an African American knowledge base and fun quiz game. Within 28 big chapters you'll find 'art to theater' and everything in between. Use the app summaries as a reference when you need to find information fast. You can bookmark your favorite sections to find them quickly for later use. Search easily through all of the chapters to find the people who are included in this special showcase. Black History Express also includes a quiz trivia game based on the information you'll find in the 28 big chapters of the app. With hundreds of questions, you'll reinforce your appetite to know a little bit more and to beat the quiz trivia game! *** Bonus *** Black History People NAME Game Not to be confused with Black History People Game featured earlier, the name game is an advanced "remove the appropriate word" brain puzzler teaser. If you really know about Black History, Black History People Name Game is for you. Compete with other global players in this Android only app. Most of the 4 word teasers are general knowledge combinations based on a Black History person. You don't have to be an expert to play along. I demonstrate in this short 30 second game video. Find all of the apps (from these pages on our website) to the app stores: Black History Quotes Express Black History Quiz Black History People Game Black History Inventors Black History Express The Bonus, plus a special extra! Black History People NAME Game Black History Picture Puzzle Game Enjoy them all. Thanks! This is not some February influencer fad for us. We've been creating Black History apps/software since 1998.
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0 Will AI Create Your Next App?
- Commentary
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 01/25/2023
ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence tool, has exploded across screens everywhere since it's November, 30, 2022 public introduction. If used as a cheating tool, ChatGPT can do a decent job completing school assignments for students. Will this technology replace app developers? Forbes and Fox Business have both reported that a conga line of educators have immediately banned the app from all school devices: The Los Angeles Unified School District (December, 2022) Seattle Public Schools (January, 2023) New York City Public Schools (January, 2023) **** Several universities have pushed the delete button on the technology too. That's a fast reaction to a viral trend, but what will stop students from using the app on their own personal devices? ChatGPT is able to solve math problems, churn out college essays and write research papers. How does it work? You think of a goal. You then compose a text sentence about the goal inside of the app's writing box. Finally ChatGPT goes out to the internet to do its noble or rogue deed scraping public information from everywhere. The gathered material is compiled into prose worthy of a best selling author. Here's an example. "Write an essay on the history of creating visual novel mobile games." If you've used ChatGPT, try it and see what you get! For software app developers, AI art generators are also gaining fast traction as a speedy way to create respectable images. Art generators use algorithms and machine learning to create graphic pictures at lightening speed. Text to video? That's waiting in the wings...of course! It's in development making ChatGPT look like the junior varsity. Meta, owner of Facebook continues to work on Make-A-Video, an application that generates a video from a sentence you enter into a text box. Demos of the app have been released to the public. I've seen them. The app is not public. Google's text to video AI Imagen looks even better than Facebook's. You enter a sentence into a text box to produce a video that can even include AI generated text. Imagen is not publicly available but from what I've seen of the videos they look amazing. For an app developer needing software code, AI experts in the field say that subroutines can and will be written by AI as small modules to be included in larger projects. Since tech leaps ahead so quickly, the day will come when AI can write full applications for even smaller developers. I'd say that it makes no sense to stand in the way of developing technology. Humans with emotional skill will have abilities that AI can't deliver - for now. If you've used a digital spell checker or thesaurus are you cheating? No, not really. Modern tools always continue to evolve. Smart inventors will create new ways to potentially improve life. In the world of digital creators, sweat equity for manual creation will give way to AI automation. Then, we'll all have more time to think about better solutions to our problems while the machines do the grunt work. How long will it take for both humans and AI to be equally proficient? Only time will tell. It doesn't take a fortune teller to predict that text to video will be replaced by speech to video. Who knows what will be after that? The thoughts you've just read were written 100% by me, Hugh Smith! Sorry ChatGPT. **** May 18, 2023 update. New York City's Department of Education has made a one hundred eighty degree turn! ChatGPT will now be allowed on school devices and networks. Which other educator will be next to hold digital hands with this cutting edge technology?
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0 Black History Quiz For Android Or Iphone With Answers
- Quiz
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 01/20/2023
I wonder why the state of Florida rejected a 2023 proposal for an Advanced Placement African American Studies course, saying it 'lacked educational value.' What? When I was a New York City high school senior (final spring semester) I already had enough credits to graduate. In this all elective closing semester I took an Asian - African history course because I was interested in learning more about both cultures. This course turned me on to "Before the Mayflower: A History of the Negro in America 1619 - 1964" written by Johnson Publishing Company editor Lerone Bennett Jr. The book was part of the required reading for the course. Post high school, on my journey through life I'm better off as a USA citizen thanks to Bennett's presentation of detailed historic facts. He begins his reveal in 1492. Back to today. Why are some people afraid of learning about the truth? Haters didn't stop me 25 years ago from creating my first Black history digital resource in 1998. See the Quikthinking Software timeline. Time marches on in our 25th anniversary year of creating Black history content. Black History Quiz for Android was released in 2013. The iPhone version followed in 2018. I researched and wrote all of the questions myself. In this 4 minute video with narration below I quickly play the game on an Android and iPad in real time. Hopefully you won't think that this 100% American trivia quiz lacks educational value. You may find it entertaining too!
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0 MLK JR Quotes in Black History Quotes Express
- Quotes
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 01/11/2023
It started with the March on Washington in 1963 up until his assassination in 1968. The FBI engaged in an intense campaign to discredit Martin Luther King Jr. and his work. Film director Sam Pollard chronicles those efforts in his 2021 documentary, MLK/FBI. You may not know that unfortunate story. There is a deeper influence of Dr. King's advocacy to appreciate more than just his words from the "I have a dream" speech. King was in and out of jail fighting for his people's liberation. We want to focus on the bright side of the King legacy. Here are 25 memorable quotes by world changer Martin Luther King Jr. that you'll find in our mobile app Black History Quotes Express for iPhone and Android. Touch the enlarge icon (next to the sound speaker image) in the video on your phone to watch full screen, landscape.
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0 Texting With Powerful Images Video
- Entertainment
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 01/04/2023
When I use one of these AAeMojis in my text messages, I'm always asked about them. What are they? Watch my quick 23 second video. We continue to offer them to you for your iPhone or Android enjoyment!
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0 What Did You Do For The First Time In 2022?
- Commentary
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 12/27/2022
In 2022 I made five people extremely happy by offering them amazing digital online deals, but there's more to the story. My loss was their gain. Let's begin with these 5 items kicked out of the Quikthinking Software office space... One generic 4K camcorder One Sony digital audio tape recorder (DAT) One high quality Marantz cassette recorder One Optimus handheld Digital voice recorder One "how-to market online guide" by author Derek Gehl Here are the actual item pictures: I haven't used these tech items for years. All were in working condition but they sat around the office in their original boxes collecting dust. We now use other modern electronic devices that have replaced the "antiques." What did I do for the first time in 2022? Two things to note, but there are others. These tech items tie into the first. Have you guessed? I sold them all on eBay! Sales were in December 2021, January 2022, March 2022, and November 2022! I'm counting the late December 2021 "experiment" for 2022. To my pleasant surprise, all of these items sold quickly at fair market value generating a reasonable price based on their age. The photos you see for the listings on eBay were taken with a Samsung Galaxy S8 mobile phone. I've added the tan background for this post. Early in eBay's history shady sellers and suspicious buyers gave the platform a questionable reputation. Time marches on. eBay improved their platform controls. We finally decided to take the plunge. Am I late to the party? Yes, but so what! It certainly beats a yard sale! You can easily find some very good "how to do eBay" guides online if like me, you've never tried it before. Look for a guide to watch or a guide to read. I found the entire eBay process easy to manage. The second thing we did for the first time in 2022 was clean the inside of our microwave oven! What a difference a cleansing makes. I won't reveal how long we've had this particular microwave, but the point is you can always move forward if you challenge yourself to do so. If you didn't get to accomplish a doable goal in 2022, move it into 2023. Forget about resolutions. Make the goal simple. Make it something that you know you will be able to do. Focus on something you will do for the first time ever! For the year that is ending, what did you do for the first time?
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0 Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa Greetings, Happy New Year!
- Personal
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 12/24/2022
Light it up. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa Greetings, Happy New Year from me (on the left) to you! The shy ones did not get into the picture.
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0 Your 5 Most Watched Quikthinking Videos from 2022
- Year in Review
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 12/22/2022
You've watched our YouTube videos about Quikthinking mobile apps, teaching tools, quizzes, and casual games with a multicultural touch. Thank you! Some of these you've seen here as well as on YouTube. Here are the 5 most watched Quikthinking YouTube videos from 2022 ranked from #5 to #1 based on your views (as of this writing). We did not include any YouTube Shorts. Give us a thumbs up for the one(s) you like the best! #5 #4 #3 #2 #1
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0 Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle Walkthrough Video
- Games
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 12/20/2022
Zodiac sign games should use art work that has a lot of variety. You'll see the styles we used to create Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle for mobile in this short 3 minute video.
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0 Hop Into Your Yuletide Stride Before The New Year Hits!
- Expos
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 12/16/2022
This photo didn't make it into the August, 2022 Black Label Comicon 3 in Philly feature that we wrote about. Check it out if you missed it. Chris Fraley aka Blackman on the left, Hugh Smith aka himself on the right. Joseph Bruno is the photographer. Happy holidays to you! Tis' the season to be jolly, so here's a Santa Jump Game challenge for you. Can you unlock level 4 in this mobile game before the new year hits? If you can, let us know. What's your score? Good luck! Hop to it !
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0 I Didn't LOCK DOWN AAeMojis: Here's Why!
- Entertainment
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 12/13/2022
When Android 11 + phone and tablet owners started emailing me about not being able to save our Black emoji collection AAeMojis to galleries on their newer phones, I could have freaked out! I didn't, because there never was a problem for Android 10 or below! I've written about this in lots of earlier posts. Here is the full story in this 2 minute 10 second video. See how I approached the issue to transport frustrated Android users from "disappointment city" to "happy town!" We also acknowledge our enthusiastic fans inside of the magic AAeMojis box! Thanks!
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0 8 Black Inventors - The Nation of Inventors - And The APP That Honors Them
- Black History
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 12/07/2022
White, Black, men, women and immigrant inventors all shaped the circle of creative talent who embraced modern America with their ingenuity. Proof of this diversity is on display at The Hagley Museum and Library on the banks of the flowing Brandywine in Wilmington, Delaware. 8 Black Inventors take the spotlight in our 3 minute 30 second video. I tour the Nation of Inventors exhibit at Hagley featuring more than 120 patent models. These replicas come from the museum's unique inventions collection spanning two full floors of display space. Diverse stories of inventors from all walks of life are a part of "Nation of Inventors," a permanent collection that opened to the public in October, 2022. Hands-on interactive engagement will let you dive deeper into many of the invention patent models. This is perfect to increase the fun factor of a visit! Our app Black History Inventors, that is also mentioned in the video features 55 Black inventors including the 8 profiled in the story. If you can't make it to the Hagley Museum and Library, experience part of what Nation of Inventors has to offer in this three minute visual presentation.
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0 I Short Circuited Short Videos Before Short Videos Were Cool
- Commentary
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 12/02/2022
I joined YouTube in March of 2014. Six of the first ten videos created for YouTube's @QuikthinkingSoftware channel that year were only 16 seconds long. Over time, video trends gravitated toward longer videos. Some YouTube creators now think that 10 minutes is the sweet spot for run time. As you know, many YT videos are much longer. Eventually, even Facebook encouraged video posts of at least three minutes. FB claimed that three minute videos would be shown to more people. That brings us to Instagram reels revelations (see the Instagram article I wrote in 2020). Instagram and Facebook are owned by the Meta company. When Tik Tok (all short videos) came on the scene and exploded, all of their competitors panicked. So it's no surprise that in March of 2021 YouTube rolled out "Shorts" across the USA. As of this writing @QuikthinkingSoftware has 180+ videos on YouTube. Six are private. Some public ones have been featured in this blog. Many of our videos are exclusively posted here and not on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Why, because we won't have to worry about censorship, or the video length, or the content that we produce. For our current involvement with YouTube, it's "back to the past" as we've recently added a "Shorts" section with the focus on our app niche. Note that our expanded length videos share similar app subject themes with the "Shorts." Don't worry. We'll continue to create longer videos but we won't be pressured by artificial rules encouraging us to waste your time padding out the length of videos. Some people do this to game the YouTube algorithm so their statistics are juiced. You've seen those videos where the presenter takes two minutes or more before getting to the point! "Ramble On." Here is the featured image of @QuikthinkingSoftware on our YouTube channel in early December, 2022: After creating 180+ YouTube videos (just for this channel) you become a better producer. I also have two other YouTube channels not related to games or apps. Join us. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and enjoy what you'll gain from watching the content! Hit the bell (after subscribing) to get alerted about new videos. https://youtube.com/@QuikthinkingSoftware.
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0 The Complete Beginner's Guide to Blackjack 21 AA
- Games
- by Kingsley H. Smith
- 11/30/2022
Blackjack 21 is a fun game to play on mobile. Unlike video poker, roulette, baccarat and other card variants Blackjack 21 is a breeze to learn. Blackjack 21 AA is our version of Blackjack developed by yours truly and the Quikthinking Software team. Count any ace as 1 or 11, any face card (Jack, Queen, King) as 10, and the other cards below 10 at face value. Each participant receives two cards to start play. You (the player) and the dealer attempt to get a count of 21, or as near to 21 as possible, without going over twenty-one. We left out insurance, doubling down, and more advanced Blackjack techniques so you can focus on playing and learning the basic game. Watch my 8 minute video showing you what it takes to score while boosting your win tally. Blackjack 21 AA uses simulated money. No real money is used in this mobile game for Android or iPhone - iPad. For entertainment only for you to enjoy!