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Ask HN: Why not require apps using up a lot of CPU to provide a reason to user?
For example, if a podcasts app is using up a lot of CPU and it normally doesn't do so, should you quit it?
If apps are required to provide a reason for using high level of CPU for an extended period of time, then this would help the user decide whether to quit the app.
- PaulHoule 4y agoI think it's a good idea. I'd really like to see applications have to provide a reason for any case where the UI freezes up, or when an application makes you wait. Sometimes you have no idea if you are waiting on a process that will complete or not complete and have no idea if you have to wait 5 sec or 5 hours.
- amichail 4y agoEven if the UI doesn't freeze up, you should still be able to ask an app why it is using up so much CPU when you don't expect it to do so.
- PaulHoule 4y agoAll those things. There should be a computer users bill of rights which would include users being informed about the use of CPU, memory, network, etc. You also should have a right to shut any program down without harassment and also to shut your computer down without any program vetoing it. You should have the not to have notifications about new features show up when you launch a program (I was late getting into a Microsoft Teams call the other day and Firefox made it worse by wasting my time telling me about a new feature.)
- PeterStuer 4y agoI understand your intention but doubt any practicality. If you use an app to give you functionality A and you derived it usually costs X resources. Now it is using Y>>X. You ask it why. It might not be able to answer, since it could be unintended, a bug, something outside it's control (os level, other app contention) changed. So it responds 'I don't know'. It might be able to answer if the behavior is intentional and part of the systems knowledge space for the current parameters. So you'll get a response like 'I'm optimizing the A experience'. Either way its not much more actionable than just noticing the App is using more resources.
- amichail 4y agoIt might give you an idea of how much longer it will use the CPU at such a high level. If your notebook is not plugged in, you might quit the app.
- PeterStuer 4y agoI do understand the intention. You want info for a decision whether to grant or deny the resources. I'm just doubting the practicality. Compare it to progress bars. How often do you see those progressing in linear correlation to time left?
- warrenm 4y agoSay your podcasts app normally uses 25% of one core of a quad-core, 3Ghz, hyperthreaded CPU when the system has at least 32GB RAM Now you toss it on a dual-core 1.4Ghz box with 8GB RAM Should it use 65% of one core? 95% of one core? Something else? You cannot possibly test every combination out there The best you can hope to do is verify minimum system requirements (2GB RAM free, 1Ghz dedicated CPU, etc) and hope for the best