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As an iPhone owner: I have no idea what a "task killer" is or why I would even consider using one... I'm a supporter of Android (I know many happy Android owne

As an iPhone owner: I have no idea what a "task killer" is or why I would even consider using one... I'm a supporter of Android (I know many happy Android owners), but this post screams to me "Apple does the things they do for good reasons". EDIT: Sheesh. I had read the article. I was referring to keeping these sorts of things out of the app store. I'm familiar with the task model of the Android SDK and understand that this isn't a problem with Android, it is a problem with the open ecosystem. Open ecosystems are a good thing sometimes, and they are a bad thing sometimes.

aphyr 16y ago
The point of the article is that on Android, you don't need to know what a task killer is either, since it's not necessary.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
billybob 16y ago
"Now, it’s true that there are task manager apps in the Android Market. But they are not necessary. The Android system doesn’t come with one and doesn’t need one... There are a lot of things I like better about the iPhone than Android. The multitasking architecture, however, has been an Android advantage, and iPhone OS 4, I think, will pretty much put them on equal footing in this regard. There are technical differences, but they’re small differences, not big ones." http://daringfireball.net/2010/04/mobile_multitasking http://daringfireball.net/2010/04/mobile_multitasking
Karzyn 16y ago
The device that you own is irrelevant, a "task killer" kills tasks. If it were any more clear you'd be able to see through the phone. Additionally, the point of the post is that using the task killer is bad and that "Google does the things they do for good reasons". At no point does Apple even factor into the equation.
troygoode 16y ago
I'm a long time iPhone owner (just upgraded to 4 from my 3G two weeks ago) and just received a Droid X on Friday through work (my first Android phone); I'll be carrying both for the foreseeable future. I'm digging various aspects of the Droid, but WOW is it easy to end up with a ton of processes running on the thing - and it is very annoying to have to go over to my task killer frequently to shut them down. According to this article I've been "doing it wrong," so I'll let them all run freely for a while and see what is what. At the moment I think I prefer iOS 4's version of "almost-multitasking-sometimes", but we'll see how I feel after I get used to the 'droid way of doing things.
- cheald 16y ago
  Android shuts down the processes at the end of the task queue if it needs more system resources. Running a lot of apps isn't a concern - this isn't Windows.
  - troygoode 16y ago
    The reasons I was given for shutting down the tasks wasn't system resources - it was battery life. That reason may be bs as well, but I'm not sure how the Droid would decide when to kill processes at the tail of the queue to conserver battery life. Does it expire them after a certain period of inactivity? Only allow X apps to run at Y% battery?
    - moultano 16y ago
      Think of apps more as asynchronous event handlers rather than processes. When you take an action, some app wakes up and handles the event. They are always memory resident, but that doesn't mean they are doing anything.
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    - edderly 16y ago
      If I understand correctly it depends on how well or badly behaving the applications are. I believe the judgment Android makes to close down an application is primarily free memory (not battery life). This gives a basic overview of how application activities behave (see the diagram a few lines down): http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals.html#actlife http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals.html#... It is possible for a badly behaving application to create a thread which would continue to run whilst an activity is not visible. Take this as a common example for an Android game app framework: http://www.helloandroid.com/tutorials/how-use-canvas-your-android-apps-part-1 http://www.helloandroid.com/tutorials/how-use-canvas-your-an... Your app may need (implementation specific) to take explicit action (SurfaceView::surfaceDestroyed) to stop the rendering thread before being backgrounded,
flogic 16y ago
iOS4 has one. At the home screen double press the home button. Then just hold an wait on an app for the option to kill it. I've used it a few times. Sometimes apps need smacking around.
dablya 16y ago
Do you often "hear" articles, regardless of content or relevance to Apple, screaming "Apple does the things they do for good reasons"?
- mcritz 16y ago
  Rest assured, lots of non-Apple users have plenty to say about Apple products & services. You learn to smirk and click on.

aphyr 16y ago

The point of the article is that on Android, you don't need to know what a task killer is either, since it's not necessary.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

billybob 16y ago

"Now, it’s true that there are task manager apps in the Android Market. But they are not necessary. The Android system doesn’t come with one and doesn’t need one... There are a lot of things I like better about the iPhone than Android. The multitasking architecture, however, has been an Android advantage, and iPhone OS 4, I think, will pretty much put them on equal footing in this regard. There are technical differences, but they’re small differences, not big ones." http://daringfireball.net/2010/04/mobile_multitasking http://daringfireball.net/2010/04/mobile_multitasking

Karzyn 16y ago

The device that you own is irrelevant, a "task killer" kills tasks. If it were any more clear you'd be able to see through the phone. Additionally, the point of the post is that using the task killer is bad and that "Google does the things they do for good reasons". At no point does Apple even factor into the equation.

troygoode 16y ago

I'm a long time iPhone owner (just upgraded to 4 from my 3G two weeks ago) and just received a Droid X on Friday through work (my first Android phone); I'll be carrying both for the foreseeable future. I'm digging various aspects of the Droid, but WOW is it easy to end up with a ton of processes running on the thing - and it is very annoying to have to go over to my task killer frequently to shut them down. According to this article I've been "doing it wrong," so I'll let them all run freely for a while and see what is what. At the moment I think I prefer iOS 4's version of "almost-multitasking-sometimes", but we'll see how I feel after I get used to the 'droid way of doing things.

cheald 16y ago
Android shuts down the processes at the end of the task queue if it needs more system resources. Running a lot of apps isn't a concern - this isn't Windows.
- troygoode 16y ago
  The reasons I was given for shutting down the tasks wasn't system resources - it was battery life. That reason may be bs as well, but I'm not sure how the Droid would decide when to kill processes at the tail of the queue to conserver battery life. Does it expire them after a certain period of inactivity? Only allow X apps to run at Y% battery?
  - moultano 16y ago
    Think of apps more as asynchronous event handlers rather than processes. When you take an action, some app wakes up and handles the event. They are always memory resident, but that doesn't mean they are doing anything.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - edderly 16y ago
    If I understand correctly it depends on how well or badly behaving the applications are. I believe the judgment Android makes to close down an application is primarily free memory (not battery life). This gives a basic overview of how application activities behave (see the diagram a few lines down): http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals.html#actlife http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals.html#... It is possible for a badly behaving application to create a thread which would continue to run whilst an activity is not visible. Take this as a common example for an Android game app framework: http://www.helloandroid.com/tutorials/how-use-canvas-your-android-apps-part-1 http://www.helloandroid.com/tutorials/how-use-canvas-your-an... Your app may need (implementation specific) to take explicit action (SurfaceView::surfaceDestroyed) to stop the rendering thread before being backgrounded,

flogic 16y ago

iOS4 has one. At the home screen double press the home button. Then just hold an wait on an app for the option to kill it. I've used it a few times. Sometimes apps need smacking around.

dablya 16y ago

Do you often "hear" articles, regardless of content or relevance to Apple, screaming "Apple does the things they do for good reasons"?

mcritz 16y ago
Rest assured, lots of non-Apple users have plenty to say about Apple products & services. You learn to smirk and click on.