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Quikthinking Software Blog
  • 0 Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Style

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 08/10/2022

    Cancer, Aquarius, Taurus, and Scorpio. Four of the twelve zodiac signs. The three visual styles you see below are used when mobile game pieces are displayed in Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle.        As you complete 50 easy, 50 medium, or 50 harder levels, all three styles come into play. The cosmic and badge based images are used in the higher levels. These jigsaw puzzles are a snap to finish on mobile phones or tablets. You won't have to worry about dragging and dropping hundreds of game pieces to put the final signs together. Try Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle on your tablet or mobile phone for a change of pace. 

  • 0 Black Label Comicon 3 in Philly

    • Expos
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 08/03/2022

    I'm caught up in the middle between two superheroes, ya' think? Black Label Comicon 3 captured some Philly style on Saturday, July 30 featuring good vibrations for all. The event was at the Clarion Hotel close to the Philadelphia Airport. Since it's always a good time to have some fun, in the video above you'll see the antics of presenter Blackman (Chris Fraley - ChrisFraleyPresents.com) and one of his alter egos featuring (Peace Moore). Folks of all ages and backgrounds come out for the commerce by vendors, collectibles by performers, and social connections inside of the primarily Black cosplay community.   Superhero and Science fiction adventure characters have always been popular. The global comicon community is now growing in diversity since its humble underground beginnings. Few people of color participated way back when. Those that did were the original outliers. The Black Label Comicon reflects an ebony push showing us as groundbreakers into the mainstream. This was a fun day that included informal seminars with question and answer time so attendees could get to know the people behind the characters. Superman (Brian), Deadpool (Alex), Hugh, and Superwoman (Lynne). If you've never been to a comicon, check them out. Each year San Diego, California is the largest. The New York City Comicon is also huge. Here are three pictures with me from the October, 2018 NYC Comicon at the Javits Center in Manhattan.   Not a comicon, but another great event is the Game Devs of Color Expo. Here's my report about the Game Devs of Color Expo 2019 at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Harlem NYC. Superheroes live. Check out our mobile app Superhero Flyer Game.  

  • 0 Black History People Mobile Game

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 07/27/2022

    Black History People Game is the app that literally drops all the great names for fast fun. The folks just float down your screen. Touch the letters on your keyboard to score points. No shifting to upper or lower case required. Forget about backspace. We made this too easy! Black History People Game is a fast keyboard busting trivia experience. Play the game one more time! Watch this video then get it on your device.

  • 0 5 Humor Quotes For Summertime And Anytime

    • Quotes
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 07/13/2022

      Can laughing keep you cool during the long hot summer? Humor may work up a sweat too, but at least you'll feel good while bellowing out with joy. Playwright, novelist, poet, and composer Langston Hughes, (1902-1967), wrote some of the very best prose of any writer in the first half of the twentieth century. Above you've read two of his quotes about humor.     Maya Angelou, the gifted storyteller (1928 - 2014) writes with a serious tone drawing from her experiences from the Deep South to the heart of Africa. As you see, she says she is serious, but she values a hearty laugh!      With all of his problems, let's hope Bill Cosby took his own advice about humor.   One of my favorite hot weather songs of all time is the ancient (by today's standards) "Summertime" composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward. My favorite version of the song is the duet by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Ella's quote above is a hoot! How can you dive into thousands of personal thoughts in the categories of humor, friendship, leadership, motivation, reflection, instruction, inspiration, family, leadership, faith and love? Our mobile app Black History Quotes Express is the answer letting you use and share with everyone. Download and enjoy!

  • 0 The Creepy Digital Gatekeepers

    "You haven't used 22 apps in the last 30 days." Have you received one of these creepy cryptic notifications from Google on your Android device? Recently via Amazon Prime Video I watched The Creepy Line: Google and Facebook censorship manipulation undermining Democracy. I don't know about you, but I've had it with the constant surveillance the so called social companies conduct on us. The Creepy line, released in 2018, is a top notch documentary showing how society is manipulated by Google and Facebook. What's even more frightening in the movie is how these companies do it and get away with it. Thankfully, my iOS Apple devices are somewhat more well mannered. I certainly didn't ask Google to send me notifications about how often I'm using specific mobile apps on my phone or tablet. Frankly, it's none of their business. It's my storage space. If I could turn off all of these ridiculous notifications, I would.

  • 0 Doomed: Death of the First Person Shooter Video Game

    A rugged individual. This character type could reap a reputation of renegade violence out of chaotic gun driven 'justice' in the old west. This model of behavior partially defines the global sterotype of "the reckless American." Our Society's video games are no exception. From Duke Nukem to Doom and beyond, first person shooter sequences capture a vicarious thrill for players who gaze down the barrel of a gun or riffle to score game points.   In the early first person shooter games all you see is the barrel of the weapon larger than life at the bottom of the video screen actively seeking out kills with the aid of the player. A bombastic example on the silver screen is the 2006 unrated extended edition of Doom featuring Karl Urban and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The final act in the movie captures the carnage that the video game originally cooked up. See a variant of the video game rendered below. I'm not one for censorship, especially among adults. I don't criticize other game developers who want to play with or create first person shooter fire. This game genre never captured my attention. As such, you won't find one in our app catalog. Censorship of digital games is a no go. Ratings to aid parents are fine. Video games are entertainment even if some of them overflow with macabre massacre madness. Control of weapons, specifically weapons of mass destruction in a free society is a separate issue. With 330 million Americans and 393 million weapons (according to a 2018 report by the Small Arms Survey), it is clear the arms race is winning stateside. As of this writing Black women are the fastest-growing group of gun owners in the USA according to reports by NYMag's The Cut, NPR, The Philadelphia Tribune, Essence, and other reputable sources. Women quoted by Essence say a weapon makes them feel "more secure." Among majority demographic populations the traditional non-sports game hunting person owns a gun for "self-defense." It will be interesting to see if the death of the first person shooter video game happens and gets documented in a future digital obituary. Perhaps gun violence in our streets will play a role moving people away from 'first person shooter video games' as go-to entertainment.

  • 0 RnB and Hip Hop Quiz Shines

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 06/01/2022

    In Music Trivia Quizzes Sing Song Success you'll see a video that features our RnB and Hip Hop Quiz on an iPhone - iPad. Below are just a handful of questions from this music trivia throwback challenge app as they appear in the Android version of the mobile game. I wrote and researched all of the questions in RnB and Hip Hop Quiz trivia.   Did you know that in 1991, Janet Jackson's "Love Will Never Do" (Without You)" was a #1 pop hit. Janet was the first artist to have seven top five pop hits from the same album.    Ray Charles Robinson (1930 - 2004) was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. He received his Lifetime Achievement Award at the thirtieth annual Grammy Awards in 1988.   Ronnie Wilson (vocal, horns, keyboards), Robert Wilson (vocals, bass) and Charlie Wilson (vocals, drums) are the funk trio The Gap Band from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Charlie Wilson continues in 2022 as a solo artist. The group chose their name after three streets in Tulsa: Greenwood, Archer, and Pine. Ronnie Wilson, the founder of the Gap Band died at 73 in November, 2021. Brother Robert Wilson passed at age 53 in 2010. Trivia tease. What's the other famous three brother Latin jazz-rock classic soul group whose founding members have the same surname as the Gap Band? It's Mandrill with: Lou, Richard, and Carlos Wilson. No relation to The Gap Band Wilsons!    I've seen Chaka Khan live at least 6 times and was at the 30th Anniversary Rufus and Chaka Khan Concert with Earth, Wind & Fire, September 1, 2001 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.   TLC's first hit "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg" was in 1992. Five artists were sampled in their track: James Brown, Kool & The Gang, Average White Band, Silver Convention, and Bob James. I think I'll take a few points off for originality.   Do you know the answer to this one? I won't give it away.   Do you know the answer to this one?   An easy one! Discover RnB and Hip Hop Quiz trivia featuring 12 levels with R&B questions, and 12 levels with hip hop questions. Your choice. Twenty-four levels are in the mix. Enjoy both the Android or the iOS version on your mobile device. 

  • 0 Ingenious Black Inventors

    When you've worked at a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shoe factory for years creating footwear by hand you've probably thought of ways to speed up this labor intensive process. Within the work day you can only get so far manually attaching the shoe sole to the upper fabric or leather. In 1883, Jan Matzeliger revolutionized the shoe manufacturing process. He patented his lasting machine creation to automate the process of attaching the shoe sole to the upper material. Early in his career Purdue University graduate Henry T. Sampson worked as a Research Chemical Engineer at the US Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California. He specialized in high-energy solid propellants and case-bonding materials for solid-rocket motors. Sampson earned degrees in Chemical Engineering from UCLA and Nuclear Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was a pioneer in academia becoming the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering in the United States. On July 6, 1971, Sampson was awarded a patent with George H. Miley for the invention of the gamma-electric cell, a direct-conversion energy device that converts the energy generated from the radiation of high-energy gamma rays into electricity. Finally among these big three, there's Granville Woods. Did you learn about him or any other African American inventors in school? Mr. Woods was an effective, ingenious inventor. His 45 patents between 1884 - 1907 include the steam boiler furnace. Woods wowed with creative solutions for battery technology, railway brake systems, telephone and telegraph technology, and much more. Discover 50 other trailblazers you'll want to know in the mobile app Black History Inventors.

  • 0 Superhero Flyer Challenge - Why Is This Game So Hard?

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 05/04/2022

    So easy to play it's boring, or so hard to learn it's easy to lose? That's any mobile game challenge. As you know, good games take a few moments to flush out and more devoted time to master winning techniques. Superhero Flyer is a side scrolling action game that looks simple to play but there is significant strategy you must use to get to the top levels. This is our most difficult game. Watch the 59 second video for a quick overview. Here are some ways you can get the most fun out of Superhero Flyer for iPhone and Android. You start the action with Scout and play against the countdown clock. Touch the screen to keep flying. Scout has 5 lives and leads the way. You can't score with Scout. Scout powers up to Blue. When Scout touches the sun, moon, windsock or drones Blue will appear to continue the game. Blue is active for a random amount of time. A short amount of time. Blue will take out the small rockets (enemies) and score points, but will be eliminated by large rockets. In level 1 when Blue touches a balloon, Trax appears (and Blue disappears). Trax (below) can take out all of the rocket enemies but your score won't climb as fast. That's why in the video I avoided making a move to bring Trax into the gameplay. Trax can be used in the game for a random amount of time that is short. Scout reappears when Trax disappears! (level 1 and possibly level 2). In a few of the levels, meet the eagles. They want to and will attack the drones. Don't worry, you or the bomb enemies can't hurt the eagles. Get Scout to touch the drones before the eagles swoop on them if you can, or you lose valuable time bringing Blue back into the game. If you can get to level 5 then you'll control Bambi (left) and Thump (below) as they take the lead. Bambi and Thump can knock out balloons, drones, and rockets. Super tip. In levels 6 - 8 go for the balloons if you can. They have the highest value to score points. Once you reach level 6, strap in. Score by taking out the drones, balloons, and rockets. Good luck getting all the way to level 8! I've revealed just enough to give you an edge. Can you get to 70,000 or more points? Grab Superhero Flyer and play the game to score.   

  • 0 Black History Quiz Trivia App

    History happens all around us: past, present, and future. You can control some of the narrative in your life's journey, but not all of if. People who write the stories in the historic records pick and choose those people or events they deem the most important. Some gate keepers think that "most important" doesn't necessarily mean the most valuable. Traditional history books fall short in creating diverse reference material that reflect the multicultural fabric of our society. Here's where telling your own story really matters. At the time it was created using a fresh innovative digital technology, our legacy project Empower Encyclopedia CD-ROM attempted to build a better bridge to Black History story telling. 2023 will be the 25th anniversary of this massive undertaking.   In 2013 we morphed some of the Empower Encyclopedia content into Black History Quiz trivia for Android. Black History Quiz trivia for iPhone followed in 2018. Lots of valuable Black history quiz questions and answers are presented in these convenient fact based mobile apps. Take a break and watch me share my screen and play these Black history trivia games on both my Android and iPhone in the video below.

  • 0 Top 10 Mobile Apps You've Chosen from Us

    • Apps
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 04/20/2022

    Do you need a million downloads from an app store to be successful? It depends on what audience you are trying to serve. The data scientist studies the trends and tries to identify the opportunities. An artist creates from the soul and puts their craftwork out there for all to see and judge. Why not pull a little bit from the world of research and the world of creativity? That's what we did. There are benefits from serving a smaller but loyal community of followers.  Take a look at these 2022 trends spanning several months. The green arrows pointing up indicate growth over the same period last year. Android:   iOS: (iPhone and iPad) These numbers reveal enough people to fill a large stadium. You've only seen the top 10 Android and top 5 iOS and not the other twenty apps bubbling under from the Quikthinking.com collection. We'll continue to serve you by creating apps, teaching tools, quizzes, and casual games with a multicultural touch.

  • 0 AA eMojis Installation Disaster

    • Apps
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 04/14/2022

    Not everyone can become a mobile app developer. You must learn a programming language to write code. You might pay someone to script the code for you. Next, pick Android, iOS, or both as the platform to create your project. Using some knowledge along with discipline, your chosen software development kit (SDK) gets you closer to the finish line. You create the app and test, test, test. If your app works, you climb the software trail up the app store mountain avoiding any rock slides during the review process. Your goal is approval for distribution. The App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon App Store all have thorough procedures in place to make sure a developers' app will work on multiple devices just like yours. Every app submitted is reviewed for editorial and technical requirements. If there is a problem, your app is rejected by the store until you fix it. We love the support we've received for AAeMojis, those colorful classy emojis, perfect for texting everywhere. Once in awhile, a comment with the following theme comes in. Randy G. referencing AAeMojis says: "I cannot get the app to save. It loads 159/159 emojis and says saving wait while a green circle spins, but it will not save." The Google Play Store knows what apps work on which devices. You can't download the app if the store detects an incompatibility. Experience tells me that Randy's Samsung Galaxy may be out of storage space. Perhaps the device needs a reboot because of another issue. We certainly don't want frustrated users/followers. All I can do is assist with some solution so Randy becomes a happy camper and enjoys using the AAeMojis just like well over 1,000 other fans who have downloaded and installed it on iPhone and Android combined. That's enough people to fill a large arena. Watch the video below to see our 'how-to' step-by-step walk through. Avoid AAeMojis installation disasters! August 31, 2022 Update: It turns out the installation problem is real and affects Android 11 devices and above. Google has updated their operating system to give better protection to app and user data by blocking some external storage on devices.  We'll crack the code and come up with a fix! If you have an older device with Android 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 you won't have any installation problems.

  • 0 Puzzle Games: Black History Picture Puzzle, Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 04/08/2022

    Scrambled pictures have always been popular games of skill requiring you to engage your brain. You have to put back together what your mind tells you is an eye perception trick. Once you meet the challenge and solve the visual chaos, your temporary illusion returns to reality! Take a look at these four puzzle pieces: These are four prominent Americans shown in the "easy," scramble mode from our mobile app Black History Picture Puzzle (Android). Each picture lives on a separate screen. You tap each block to solve the puzzle by putting the picture back together. A touch of your finger rotates the block. No swiping is needed. If the "easy" mode looks simple enough, jump right into the "hard" mode with 70 different blocks for each puzzle. Now we're talkin' difficult! Jigsaw puzzles offer another approach to lovers of games with pictures. Here are four of the many images that make up the mobile app Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle (iPhone, iPad, Android). Once the pictures are segmented into jigsaws, you just put everything back together. This game features easy, medium, and hard modes. When moving old school concepts into new technologies some comprises are made. For a mobile game on a small screen thousands of jigsaw pieces aren't very practical. Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle has a good balance of game pieces for each of the 150 different levels. Fast and fun is the goal as you roll through the levels. All the signs are here.  Learn more about Black History Picture Puzzle and Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle. Grab both and leave a review or comment. Watch this video as I play both games.

  • 0 Spelling Runners Literacy: Driving A Game App

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 03/31/2022

    Imagine a young twenty-something year old in a densely populated urban area who just loves to drive a car through the lively city streets, without a license. Jose' (not his real name) realized that commercial driving might be his chance to earn an income in a job he was sure to love. Jose' was a high school graduate, but at 21, Jose' could not read at a 5th grade level. This is a true story. I joined Literacy Volunteers of America to help folks of all ages learn to read when I was an undergraduate at Rutgers University. To drive a truck, you need a commercial drivers license. Jose' couldn't get one. He wanted one. Passing the written part of the CDL test was an obstacle for him even though he was granted a high school diploma thanks to forgiving schools. A paper diploma won't help you if you don't have the foundation to back it up. Sometimes, bad education systems move students through, up and out of the 12th grade to deal with the real world on their own.  I wish this story had a happy ending. Jose' was not able to finish the tutoring I was giving him. Family responsibilities, earning money and other obstacles stood in his way. My Literacy Volunteers of America experiences inspired me to consider creating some entertaining teaching tools under our "apps, quizzes, teaching tools, and casual games with a multicultural touch" umbrella. Spelling Runners for iPhone, iPad, Android is a game that just happens to include over 400+ English words that I picked that are appropriate for all ages. Remember, this is a game and not a formal teaching vehicle. Look elsewhere for "best in the world" spelling bee championship drills. If you or young people you know like entertaining word games, here's one that is different. Watch the video and hop on board Spelling Runners game with an instant free download.   

  • 0 Backpack Bounce App Video: What Kind of Game Is It?

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 03/24/2022

    Did you know that Match 3 Games are the most popular mobile games in the world? We have six of them in the app stores responsible for thousands of downloads across Android and iOS. Modern match 3 game design is patterned after the trend setting 1984 game Tetris. This image is an example of a Tetris game. The Tetris challenge features horizontal rows and vertical columns of equally sized blocks. As blocks fall down from the top of the game screen, players move the blocks from left to right (or rotate them) to score. The early home for Tetris was on the Commodore 64 and IBM PC computers. Next to jump on board was Atari (1988). In 1989, Nintendo added the game to their hand-held Game Boy portfolio. Most match 3 games evolved using this familiar row and column layout with the following gameplay rules... You the player either swipe to move images up, down, left or right to create three or more matches. A second style allows you to just touch your screen without swiping to score matches. We've used both approaches. Our first match 3 games were developed using LibGDX, an open-source game-development app framework written in the Java programming language with some C and C++ components. C and C++ are two to the world's most popular programming languages. We switched to the software development tool kit Unity for our latest match 3 games. Our two most successful match 3 games are Thanksgiving Match 3 (Unity) and Thanksgiving Retro Match 3 (B4A - Basic for Android SDK). Xcode (SDK software development kit) is used for our iPhone and iPad versions. In addition to the Thanksgiving games, players agree that all of our other match 3 mobile games are fun to play. Here's what you've said...  ---------- "Just incredible...!! Superb visuals, smooth as butter...and very addictive... fun to play" - Ashish Kachrola (Thanksgiving Match 3) "Thanksgiving Match 3 game is a really fun game." - Shirley Conners  "Love this on my commute"- Anita Johnson (Pizza Burger Match 3)  "Fun little spaceship game. It's simple but enjoyable to play." - Joe Willmott (Spacehip Match 3)  "The game is very nice, good pastime!" - Adriano Ferraro (Backback Bounce Match 3) ---------- On your phone, tablet, console, computer, laptop or other hand-held device, match 3 games grab you and don't let go. That's entertainment! Watch the video to see non-stop Backpack Bounce Match 3 Game action (with my comments) and grab the free app. 

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