0 Wacked Out Mobile App Permissions

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 05/22/2024

Have you had any problems getting one of your mobile apps to operate with a smile? 'Allow camera to make and manage phone calls' popped up on our favorite, constantly used 8.4 inch Android 14 tablet. Some of these permission requests are mind numbingly bizarre. My other 10 inch Android 14 tablet, or my trusty 10-1/4 inch iPad never walked down this peculiar path! Accept the permissions or you lose I've had the naughty 8.4 inch tablet for more than a year. Never used it to take pictures. It is not used to make phone calls. Those duties are assigned to multiple phones. You may have guessed that I denied the camera app on this tablet the permission to 'make and manage phone calls.' So, I can't use the camera without allowing it to 'make and manage phone calls.' This month we updated nine apps to Android 14 / Level 34. In our apps, we don't ask for permissions we don't need. We don't ask for permissions that don't make logical sense for the app to work correctly. Camera error If your Android 14 camera app shouts "the app does not have critical permissions needed to run. Please check your permissions settings." Do the following, in order. Go to: > Settings > Apps > All Apps > Camera > Clear Storage > Delete App Data (it delete's the camera's app data, not your pictures) Now you should be able to go to Settings > Camera > Open, and grant the permissions that are necessary for the camera to work. By Android 15, these steps may change, as the operating system constantly moves around setting options. Moving right along to other Android 14 handshaking... What Apps did we update to Android 14 this month? Always Thanksgiving Blackjack 21 AA Black History Picture Puzzle Black History People Game Black History Quotes Express Black History Quiz Black History Express RnB and Hip Hop Quiz Any Updates for iOS? AAeMojis New emojis were added and released to the App Store. The Android version was also updated, but not released yet. We'll have more comments about this the next time we write some fresh thoughts to keep you informed.  

0 Smoke Free, Fresh Air Motivation

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 01/10/2024

Saving money is a goal many of us never master. Excuses rescue us from discipline, but wasting money on the other hand is easy. Live for today, forget about tomorrow. Some know this drill. One of the easiest ways for smokers to put money in their purse or pocket is to give up the habit. I am not a smoker, but I loved playing around with the calculator at Smokefree.gov, created by The National Cancer Institute (NCI) to help you or someone you care about quit smoking or vaping. Smokefree.gov is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Worldpopulationreview.com in their U.S. cigarette prices by state chart, show the median price of $9.00 per pack. Someone smoking 3 cigarettes per day at $9.00 per pack saves $493.00 per year. Listen to the full first chapter of our Quit Smoking audiobook.  Your browser does not support the audio element. Our iOS and Android Quit Smoking mobile app includes 25 audio chapters. Follow the link above on our site for more info and discover the audiobook.  

0 RnB and Hip Hop Quiz Rules, Your Way Video

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 06/21/2023

Whether your favorite sounds come from the school of Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Beyonce', Naughty By Nature, A Tribe Called Quest or Salt-N-Pepa, RnB and Hip Hop Quiz trivia is a music throwback game you'll really enjoy. The version above is for iPhone or iPad. We also feature Android. Watch the video to see the iOS gameplay. When you set things up before playing for the first time: Choose your avatar on the home screen upper left Toggle music and/or sound effects in settings upper right Play to select single answer, multiple, or true or false Touch time limit or no time limit Scroll to pick an R&B or a Hip Hop level Loads of trivia, lots of fun! The android version leans into multiple choice questions exclusively and shares the same range of questions in either the R&B or Hip Hop levels that you can choose in any order you want. I really like the iOS version and play it on my iPad. Since Android is my main phone, I play it there a lot too! RnB and Hip Hop Quiz trivia game is free from your favorite store.

0 Texting While Emoji-Expressing Yourself

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 04/12/2023

What's the one thing that six of the stickers below have in common? You might be surprised by the answer. AAeMojis are 162 colorful emojis that are perfect for texting on your Android or iOS device.  All six of the featured emojis referenced above (but not the ones on the phone in the photo) were actual requests by users who grabbed the AAeMojis collection from either Google Play or the App Store. The Newest AAeMojis were drawn by our artist. In 2018, when we launched the app, there were 102. In 2023, the count is up to 162 with full iOS support and solid support for the latest Android 13 as of this writing. Find out much more about AAeMojis for iPhone, iPad, or Android. The perfect black emojis to light up your emotive message.

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 Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle Clairvoyant

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 11/08/2021

The Random House Dictionary defines a clairvoyant as "having the alleged supernatural power of seeing objects beyond the range of vision." Clairvoyance according to The American Heritage Dictionary is "the supposed power to perceive things that are out of the natural range of human senses attributed to certain individuals." I had to learn more! Here I am trying to see if my hand-picked world famous clairvoyant is legit. Listen: Your browser does not support the audio element.   Ya, he is. Just ask Queen Elizabeth. Maurice Woodruff described the future of Prince Andrew of England for her.   We don't do astrology predictions here but we love all of your zodiac signs.   Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle Game app for iPhone or Android offers three different sets of signs for you to construct.   The main image style features human cosmic caricatures for all 12 signs:       Our 2nd style offers a more celestial look into the cosmos.     Next, signs in space give you another perspective.     Grab Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle for iPhone or Android and complete all 150 levels. Developer Hugh Smith and clairvoyant Maurice Woodruff are featured in the audio clip at the top of this update. 

0 Thanksgiving Mobile Games Times Two

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 11/03/2021

Thanksgiving Match 3 Game has been a year-round surprise for me. Winter or summer, spring or fall, fans are always enjoying themselves playing the game. We created a replacement version for the 2017 original in September, 2021. Laurel S. wrote and said "I don't like the update I like the original game where you click on your matches and not swap them!" Fair enough. I decided to bring back the original 2017 version of Thanksgiving Match 3 Game for Android based on Laurel's feedback (now called Thanksgiving Retro Match 3 Game) . As you'll see in the video below, touch to match is all it takes in the retro game. The newer companion Thanksgiving Match 3 Game for iPhone or Android is a swap to match game. The iOS version of the game has always been a swap to match challenge. Get into the holiday spirit or boost your fun factor anytime you want with Thanksgiving Retro Match 3 Game for Android or Thanksgiving Match 3 Game for iPhone or Android. Watch the video 29 second video (there is no sound): 

0 iOS and AAeMojis Sticker Help

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 10/13/2021

You may not use emojis as much as you used to, but your family, friends and neighbors might still be all in the game! Some of the folks you personally know may have joined the thousands who just had to have our AAeMojis: 159 stickers with a variety of genders and ages for iOS and Android. Cynthia L. recently contacted us saying "I cannot get the emojis on my iPhone 12." Here's what you can do to put these AAeMoji stickers on your iPhone or iPad to charge up the expression in your messages. Watch this helpful 59 second video below. I do a clean installation to an iPad. It's the same process for your iPhone.  

0 Halloween Headliner: QuikMoji App Just for Fun

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 10/06/2021

For the young at heart or the young ones in your circle. Just for fun, it's Halloween QuikMoji Game for Android (recently updated). Match the spinning Halloween heads using the slow, medium or fast game controls. Start begins the spin, Stop ends the spin. Did you get a match? Here's the game in the video below. 

0 12 Mobile Apps For Fraternity And For Fun

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 08/26/2021

6 Black History mobile Apps and 6 mobile game apps are in the spotlight for this update. Why should you check them out? As the headline says, for fraternity and for fun. Anytime is a great time to discover or rediscover pioneers and trailblazers who made their mark in the past resulting in progress in our society today. The fun factor also calls. That's why playing a game a day will keep the blues away. Check out all of these Quikthinking winners throughout the many pages on our website. Download a new discovery now.  

0 Righteous App Reviews: Ranting Or Rejoicing?

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 04/06/2021

When you take the time to share your soul through writing about a service or product you've used, it suggests three things. You really like it, you dislike it, or the service or product fell short in delivering its promise. Trolls and haters try to artificially skew the sense of love or distaste about consumable items in public reviews. You and I may question the validity of these reviews. However over the long haul, opinions do even out so you can trust what you are seeing in the trends as they average out. Many of our mobile apps get tens of thousands of downloads. Many do not, but... What we always look at is the rating score, a running average of the thumbs up or thumbs down 'votes' you leave in app stores after using and engaging with our apps. Here are our Top 7 mobiles apps (as of April, 2021) based on user satisfaction ranked by your rating on a 1 to 5 scale with 5 being the top rating.   What I really like about written app reviews beyond the numeric rating is the wealth of user feedback. There is a lot to learn about fine-tuning your craft in order to meet the needs of your community of app users. As a matter of fact, several or our apps were created to answer the firestorm of criticism about the apps of other developers who just didn't have their foot on the gas. Usually, if you see a single, 3 or 4 word, one sentence summary with bad grammar many of those reviews are fakes by artificial intelligence bots that have downloaded the app using boilerplate 'review' responses to fool you. Some of these phony reviews never reference the app or what it does. When it comes to appraising public app ratings and reviews, remember the Latin phrase caveat emptor. You are responsible for checking the quality, suitability and believability of the public bulletin board. With that said, we do thank you for reviewing, rating, and enjoying all of our apps! Grab a free download, and share your opinion anytime in the review.

0 Quit Smoking App Ignores Doctors Nicotine Knowledge

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 09/28/2020

What do doctors know about cigarettes, nicotine, and the toxic substances in cigarette smoke? Apparently, not enough to correctly identify the causes of cancer. A national study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, surveying more than 1,000 doctors from six specialties between September 2018 and February 2019 about their knowledge of tobacco use, found that 80 percent of those surveyed believe it is the nicotine that directly causes cancer. This Rutgers University (my alma mater) led survey asked physicians about their understanding of tobacco treatment practices, harm reduction beliefs and tobacco and e-cigarette use. A summary of the study in the publication Rutgers Today articulates the following: ----- Less than one-third of the doctors surveyed correctly agreed that nicotine directly contributed to birth defects, while 30 percent did not answer the question, indicating they did not know the answer. Younger and female doctors were more likely than males to perceive correct nicotine risks causing birth defects, while OB/GYNs surprisingly misidentified them more than other specialties. Family doctors were more likely than oncologists to misunderstand nicotine as a cancer-causing substance. ----- 34 million people smoke cigarettes in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It's a frightening statistic, which is why we developed and released the Android app Quit Smoking Audiobook in April, 2017 quickly followed by an iOS version. The app doesn't dive into medical debates. What it does do is offer tips to stop smoking together with alternative behaviors you can embrace during the withdrawal period. The dangers of nicotine, second-hand smoke, and the impact on heart health are all covered in the audiobook app. You'll discover an abundance of stark reminders if you aren’t already convinced or aware of the damaging effects of cigarette usage.

0 People Power Factor

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 07/01/2020

The theme is People Power! See below. The first examples: smart heads creating three data driven pictures to visually simplify complex problems in the USA from COVID-19 to floods to the police. 1) In this NPR interactive map The Coronavirus Crisis Tracking The Pandemic: Are Coronavirus Cases Rising Or Falling In Your State? middle page, you can touch the circle in your state (laptop only) for the latest numbers. 2) Climate changes notwithstanding, among the 50 states, what's your home's flood factor whether or not you live in an apartment or house? Enter your zip code to find out at FloodFactor.com. 3) Garden State residents, The ForceReport.com for New Jersey lets you search the most comprehensive statewide database of police use of force in the USA by the name of a police department or an officer. ForceReport is especially important to us since we are headquartered in New Jersey. The interactive Coronavirus map, the FloodFactor risk models, and the New Jersey statewide database of police use of force hits home how simplifying the display of information helps people better understand significant issues. We all do work. Work is a job. Your work may not be "database wiz," but it matters. When we created our mobile app People Power Jigsaw Puzzle we were thinking about what people do all around us. We cover the professions and pastimes, blue and white collar, urban, suburban, and rural in the puzzles. Dive into the three data driven resources above, and have some fun with our People Power Jigsaw Puzzles for iOS and Android that you can grab free from the app stores.

0 Texting with AAeMojis

• Apps
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 06/20/2020

If you have an iPhone, you know how easy it is to text with emojis. For Android users, it is more of a challenge. Here are just a few of our AAeMojis for iPhone and Android spelling out the acronym BLM for Black Lives Matter. For Android phones, there are two easy ways to use these emojis in a text message.Method 11) Open the app.2) Swipe left to the 2nd screen.3) Scroll up to select the emoji you want.4) Touch the emoji you want.5) A "Share with" box will pop up.6) Select your messaging app.7) Your image from step 4 is automatically added.8) Write your text and send your message.Method 2** (Do this only once) Make sure you followed the "Use Emojis on Facebook" instructions on screen 3 of the app. Scroll down and touch "Go" on the "Use Emojis on Facebook" picture. Answer "Yes" when prompted to create the emojis album gallery on your phone. This is required to use the emojis for texting.1) Open your text messaging app.2) Select your contact and type your message.3) Open the image Gallery you saved **4) Press the "+" next to "Type a message" to open your emoji gallery.5) Scroll to the emoji you want and select it.6) Send your message. I can tell you that on Samsung phones, Motorola phones, and iPhones we've used, it is easy to text wth these AAeMojis.