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Quikthinking Software Blog
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    0 Google Play Interview and Black Inventors App Prime Time

    Google contacted me in March, 2024 requesting an interview about my mobile app development work. I talked to them for 45 minutes on a Zoom call. They asked me not to disclose the conversation until publication date. The feature was finally published on July 23, 2024.     I'm between two other developers who have recently been featured for their Google Play app success. Here is a screen shot of the page telling the story about Black History Inventors.   In the feature I talk about the development of the Black History Inventors app. The text is small in both of the screen shots above. Direct linking to the page is not supported.   If you want to see it online:   1) Go to https://play.google.com/console/about/weareplay-us/  2) Scroll down to the map of the USA on the Google page 3) Select New Jersey!   None of the states have text on them. New Jersey is a small state. Not from the states? See our map, two images below to locate the state.   On mobile using the Google We Are Play map, it's tricky, but you can do it!   Thank you for your support since 2011, when our first Android app was released on Google Play!       Map of the United States    

  • 0 Black History People and Picture Puzzle Game

    Martin Luther King Jr., the Obamas, Muhammad Ali, Simone Biles, Ralph Ellison, Kamala Harris and scores of others capture the magic in this Black History Picture Puzzle game, an Android exclusive. It's been updated with new scenes in the latest version. Game controls are also fresh. Twirl each little block with just a tap to solve the picture puzzles as quickly as you can. The game automatically keeps track of your fastest time to solve a puzzle. See an example of the easy and hard levels in this quick video. Tease your brain, get inspired, and connect to the big-time leaders shown in each scene. Jump right into sports, entertainment, government, education, civil rights, activists, writers and more. They are all in Black History Picture Puzzle game.  One of our first Android apps was Black History People. This one paved the way for many of the more sophisticated titles that followed in our Black History series of mobile apps. Black History People is still one of our most popular titles. Straightforward and simple, close to 100 achievers with their pictures are profiled in this easy to use Android exclusive. Each of the twelve sections is represented by a picture driven menu to enter the profile sections... The 12 menu images represent these sections: Entertainment Poets Sports Writers Business Education Aviation - Space Inventors Medical Music Civil Rights Law You can't lose with either Black History People, or Black History Picture Puzzle game, both for Android.

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    0 8 Black History Inventors Countdown

    In 2022 when I visited the The Hagley Museum and Library on the banks of the Brandywine Creek in Wilmington, Delaware, inventors galore from all cultures were profiled in a special featured exhibition. 8 Black History Inventors Countdown was part of the produced video The Nation of Inventors - and the app that honors them. This time, let's focus on just the eight inventors who made some marvelous contributions to solve simple problems with solutions we all benefit from today. Discover all 50 plus creative minds in the Black History Inventors app for iOS and Android. Watch the countdown. The order we present is not a competitive ranking.   

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    0 Black History Express and Quotes Express Double Play

    When you need to express yourself, here are two ways to do it. Have you used any of the thousands of quotes included in Black History Quotes Express for Android or iPhone? Find the quotes that you want to use. Search by author or by category. Favor, bookmark, or share the quotes anyway you want. Black History Quotes Express is one of our most downloaded mobile apps.  Let's look at the second way to plug into an expressive knowledge base and it's partner trivia game. Black History Express for Android contains two big sections. The knowledge base has hundreds of profiles about people who have made solid contributions to the culture. The trivia section of the app is easy to find. From the menu, select the quiz section to scan through the questions and play along. Most of the questions are based on information right in the knowledge base. Whichever one, or both that you love, these free resources are ready for you to use so get them from your app store. Black History Quotes Express is for Android and iOS. Black History Express represents for the world of Android.

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    0 Play With Your Inventions Anytime

    Sometimes a name can be misleading. The Black History Inventors Quiz is a trivia game. What else is it? It's three total games to enjoy, plus a drawing design tool to sketch your own invention! Next we add a long list of inventors with descriptions of their work, and you have a complete resource to discover. Here's what one user had to say (who wanted to remain anonymous) about this Android app. The review is posted on the Black History Inventors Quiz Google Play page: "Originally download the quiz for fun and ended up liking this a lot. The quiz actually ended up including mini games nd they are a great way to pass time in between classes but what I enjoyed most was the built in encyclopedia of feats and inventions by black inventors and it also had a little info about the inventors themselves. I was kind of surprised how many answers I didn't know starting off but my memory was certainly jogged! I can see how this app can serve a huge purpose in the lives on students especially the younger ones since they would enjoy the mini games much more than I would. That being said this app is a great resource for all ages!" Watch this then grab the app:  More about The Black History Inventors Quiz

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    0 5 Black History Month Apps That You Need To Discover

    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 8 Black Inventors - The Nation of Inventors - And The APP That Honors Them

    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 Moving On: The African American Museum In Philadelphia

    1976. The African American Museum, Philadelphia opened in center city Philly at 7th and Arch Street near Chinatown. Announced earlier this month, after 50 years, the facility will move to the Ben Franklin Parkway to occupy the same neighborhood as the other really big cultural arts facilities in town. At their new location the AAMP will be next door to the main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. AAMP will triple their current space in their new home. There is an estimated five year window impacting the move. A now vacant building next to the library will be renovated to house the new AAMP. Public money and private fundraising will finance the move. The possible grand opening: 2027. To discover more about 50 selected African American Museums or resources, grab our Black History Museums Mobile App a Best Mobile App Award Platinum Nominee. Watch my video from 2017 about the African American Museum in Philadelphia. Below the story is a link to our entire Black History Museums Video series on YouTube (and embedded in the app).  Watch all 12 Black History Museums VIP Tours on YouTube. Each digital tour is about 60 seconds.

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    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.

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    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 Empower Encyclopedia CD-ROM Flashback Video: Building A Bridge To Black History

    When computer floppy discs were kicked to the curb, a new portable software storage unit inherited its place. CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory). James Russell was the visionary behind the CD-ROM concept in the 1960s. By 1980, the first disc player was made. Sony - Phillips licensed the concept and had their units in the marketplace between 1982 - 1985. CD-ROMs use a laser to read and playback information. Between 1993 - 1998, we developed a Black history resource, Empower Encyclopedia for CD-ROM distribution (1998 release). By today's standard, this relatively small 72 megabyte sized program could easily reach your hands through a digital download. Back then, slow speed dial-up modems were a deterrent for digital distribution. However, technology always marches on as does the Empower Encyclopedia story! Graduate school advisers rejected this project proposal as part of the body of study I needed to receive my second degree. This didn't matter to me. They could keep the degree. The project was more important, so I did it anyway. Empower Encyclopedia was developed from the ground up using the Visual Basic programming language. The software included hundreds of biographies, many with pictures of the people. You could print out all of the biographies from your personal computer. There were videos, animations, internet links, slideshow, a sound "name pronouncer" and other useful features that benefited users. When we pulled the CD-ROM off of the market in 2005, some of the content was already there to morph into the various Black History mobile apps that we started releasing in 2011 and continue to develop today. So now you know the backstory. Watch this video with my comments about Empower Encyclopedia. See it in action. A throwback gem that's gone, but not forgotten.

  • 0 Black History App Choices: Making The Cut

    In December, 1999 Ebony Magazine published "The 100 Most Important Blacks In The World in The 20th Century." The Four mobile apps we created below represent nearly everyone on their list, but not 100%: Black History Quotes Express (quotes) Black History Express (knowledge base & trivia game) Black History People (quick, concise knowledge base) Black History People Game (fast, entertaining hand - eye action) Why not 100%? Because in the app world editorial decisions must be made based upon space limitations dictating who can be included if the finished concept ever hopes to reach you. Certainly pre-20th Century folks have to be represented too. We get lots of suggestions to add 21st Century achievers into these mobile apps and we continue to do so. I always thought of these Android and iOS apps as a starting point for you to discover more about these important Black history people on your own. You can do it and be successful at it. Continue to offer suggestions. That's part of the reason why specific new people join the collection of entertainers and entrepreneurs, inventors and instructors, politicians, publishers and other notable success story winners. 

  • 0 Building Black History Quotes Express

    What does it take to create a valuable mobile app? Here's a recipe. Generate some creative energy, conduct some consistent research, and tie-in some technical knowledge to put it all together. For our highly successful Black History Quotes Express project, we started with a storyboard listing the quotation categories: Love, motivation, inspiration, instruction, Friendship, Humor, Family, Reflection, leadership, Empower, Faith. Next, over seven months from June, 2018 to November 2018 we curated the quotes. Here are running totals during a sample 5 day period: Quote total = 1,922 (6/28/18) Quote total = 1,978 (6/29/18) Quote total = 2,079 (6/30/18) Quote total = 2131 (7/1/18) Quote total = 2,211 (7/2/18) Quote total = 2,251 (7/3/18) At the end of the process there were 2,688 quotes. Many more have been added since. Each author was collated into a massive list. We assigned a category to each quote. Here's an example for historian Lerone Bennett Jr....   1  "An educator in a system of oppression is either a revolutionary or an oppressor" - reflection  2  "History is knowledge, identity and power. History is knowledge because it is a practical perspective and a practical orientation. It orders and organizes our world and valorizes our projects" - instruction  3  "It is difficult, if not impossible, to understand American history without some understanding of the Black experience" – reflection   Finally, the Software Development kit Android Studio was used to create the app for Android. We used the Xcode SDK for the iOS (iPhone and iPad) version of Black History Quotes Express. After the apps were complete, we created the promotional material to support awareness. The last step was to submit the app to three app stores (Apple, Google Play and Amazon). Watch and listen to the video below to see more quotes in action. Learn how you can download the free Black History Quotes Express, a mobile app you can use all year long. Use the quotes yourself or easily share them.  

  • 0 Parker, Spikes, and Boykin Score Invention Patents

    Morristown, New Jersey resident Alice H. Parker detailed in her July, 1918 U.S. patent application a creative new way to use gas to power a heating device.   She received a patent on December 23, 1919 for an improved heating furnace. Parker's goal was to heat houses and buildings using independently controlled ducts in rooms. Heating units raising the temperature of a common cold air box in the furnace supplied the warmth to different floors. The unit above represents a 19th to 20th century design rather that the actual Parker gas furnace itself. Richard B. Spikes from San Francisco, California thought out the complex mechanics of the automatic car gear shift. Here's what the inside of a modern transmission looks like. Spikes applied for his patent in 1931. He describes it's operation: A "driver can manipulate levers representing the various speeds, these levers being mechanically or otherwise connected to mechanism which will throw in the clutch of the desired gear train, the clutch operatively connecting the drive and driven shafts together when the automobile clutch pedal is depressed." That's a mouth full! Today we'd call this "automatic gear shift" a manual transmission. Spikes' patent was awarded in December, 1932.   Resistors, pictured below are used in electric circuit boards to control the flow of electricity. The electrical resistance of a resistor is measured in ohms. German physicist Georg Simon Ohm mathematically worked out how the flow of electricity through a conductor is computed. Chicago, Illinois African American inventor Otis F. Boykin reasoned in his 1956 patent application that the manufacturing process of resistors up to that point had limitations. He designed a precision wire wound lower cost resistor with higher tolerances to relieve some stress factors. Modern resistors are shown here. Boykin received his patent in February, 1961.   Alice H. Parker, Richard B. Spikes, and Otis Boykin are just three of the creators featured in our Black History Inventors mobile app for iPhone or Android. We include a brief audio anecdote about each patent holder describing what they've done. Learn more about Black History Inventors and watch the video below.

  • 0 MLK Day Quotes Galore Video

    Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. Dr. King has been honored with a national holiday in the USA on the third Monday in January since 1986. MLK Day of community service encourages you to get involved locally to help your neighborhood, town or city deal with important civic issues. Here's a 3 minute video that I produced featuring some of King's quotes in text. We posted it on our sister YouTube channel Black History People. Discover more Black History quotes in our mobile app Black History Quotes Express. All images and film in the video were taken during a personal visit to the King Memorial in Washington, DC.

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