Er....I am also a train spotter too. Another hobby from early childhood. The only app available, for some reason, can only be found on Android devices.
@Michael Dean The ability to track in-flight commercial planes is truly amazing. My wife uses InFlite something or other, tracking our friends enroute to AZ from IL or IN. The real time feature is astounding, often approaching near instantaneous info. Frank
Indeed! If, for instance, someone you knew and cared about was departing from Sydney airport Australia. As long as you had the flight no. You could follow the aircraft's progress all the way around the world to Heathrow!
Like corns, bunions, and moles, I've managed to make it this far in my life without the need for any "Apps". (And that also goes for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Cellular Telephones, Tablets, and Laptops!) But I do respect devices such as this, and I can tell you the function of every component in its 10-foot, 9000 pound package. Hal
I like the weather app, if that indeed is an app. I use it the most. If weather is not an app, I guess I don't have one, one dthat I know about.
Thank you, @Bill Boggs , for getting this thread back on topic ! ! Yes, the weather app is an app, and there are actually quite a few of them to choose from. I mainly use the Weather Channel one on my iPad; but I also have the NOAA weather app, Weather Underground, and ones specifically to show earthquakes and hurricanes. Because we live in tornado territory, having good weather information is very important. Unlike a computer, almost everything that we use on a smartphone or tablet comes from a specialized app for that purpose. Since you enjoy playing the harmonica, you might like to try some of the harmonica apps, too, Bill. Most are free, but have in-app purchase if you like it and want the deluxe version. Here is a link to one of them on the App Store (you need to do this with your iPad) so you can check out one of the free ones and see what you think about it. If you like it, there are more of them on there. Honey Harmonica by Honey Run Software https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/honey-harmonica/id503040693?mt=8
Given that there is an obvious interest in discussing atomic bombs, nuclear bombs, and the like, I have created a thread for these posts, copying Hal's opening post on the subject to that thread so that the context wouldn't be lost.
@Yvonne Smith @Ken Anderson Obviously, I am largely to blame for going astray of the OP. Sorry. If an excuse exists or is acceptable, I still do not know exactly what an "APP" is, how it works, or why it's even needed. I see the funny little coded gizzies on various products, and read where it advises to "scan with your phone". Beyond that, I am cluless. My phone is not capable of doing any such performing. Frank
There's nothing to apologize for. It's not unusual for one topic to evolve into another, and it's no problem for me to create a new thread for the new topic.
Unless you have a smartphone (like an iPhone) or a tablet (like an iPad or Kindle), you probably do not use apps , @Frank Sanoica . Some computers have them now as well. Next time you are shopping where they have electronics, look at some tablets or smartphones, and you will have a better grasp of what they are and how they work. Essentially, an app means an “application”, and it is a special program that does a specific thing on your tablet/ phone. Instead of going to the walmart website (as an example) to shop for something online, you open the walmart app, and it shows you everything that you might find on the website. The Kindle app opens a reading program so that you can read online books. A banking app allows you to see your bank balance, transfer money, and almost anything that you might do at the bank. Some apps are for music, like the harmonica one that I shared for Bill Boggs, and some are for drawing , and there are zillions of apps that have little games on them that you have probably seen people playing on their phones while waiting somewhere. The app that uses the little “coded gizzies” is what is called a scanning app. It uses the camera on your phone to take a picture and then reads the scanner to tell you the price of an item, or sometimes to purchase the item. It is similar to what the checker in the grocery store does with the barcode reader. Many apps are free, and some cost a few dollars to purchase, and once you have them on your phone, it puts a little icon on the screen so that you can just tap on your touchscreen with your finger and it opens the app so that you can use it for whatever the application is for. Here is an example of the Weather Channel app. You can see some of the different things that the app will show you , and it always keeps the weather right up to date and easy to check. The little blue square that says Weather Channel is what the icon will look like on your screen, so you can always tell what each app is for very easily.
An app is nothing more than a computer program. Although most apps, as used for things like smartphones and tablets, are smaller in size than some of the computer programs we are used to, Apple refers to all computer programs as apps. Since the iPhone is an Apple product, that's probably where the name came from.
I realize that "app" is short for "application", which is why I don't like it! They turned an action Verb into a Noun! You don't say "After an app of iodine, then you can put a band aid on it." I never say "24-7" either. I say "24 hours a day, 7 days a week." It's traditional and sounds so much better! Hal
An app that I am really starting to appreciate is the Health app for the iPhone. This app links with several other health/fitness related apps, and it gives me an excellent picture of my activity, heart rate variations, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrition information. Of course, for the Health app to work, I have to add all of the basic info, such as what I ate during the day; but it syncs with my Apple Watch and shows me how many active calories I am burning, how many total calories, how many steps, and how far I have walked. I tried the My Fitness Pal app for logging in food info, and I totally HATED that app(plus they inundated me with sales emails); so I deleted that one and I am still using the CarbManager app. It makes it really easy for me to log in my food, and I like easy. If it is a packaged food, then I can just scan in the barcode, and it has all of the nutrition information for one serving of that item. The Health app seems to be an Apple thing, so it might not be available for any other phones besides the iPhone, and it only works on the phone and not on my iPad. Even so, it is an app worth having if you are at all concerned about your health and want to see how everything is looking from day to day, and it is free.
I don't have any "apps", mainly because I don't have a Cellular Telephone, a Laptop, a Tablet, an IPhone, a Smart Phone, a Kindle, or an I pad. I'm not on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram either and I don't use Google, because I have AOL Search, which is better. I have no apps on my computer either. (At least I don't think I have), I enjoy traveling light! apps, shmapps! Hal