Re: This is real multitasking!
 

I know :).. I just find it funny how people like to come screaming at me "THE IPHONE CAN TOO MULTI-TASK!!"..

Yeah.. and there's a laundry list of "if"'s that follow that statement including "if it was written by apple".

To me that's not truly multi-tasking... you should be able to run *any* two or more applications to qualify for me.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Even if you jailbreak your iPhone, even if you install some Super-Extra-Power-Magnum-MultiTask-Fovever 2.0 Limited Edition in your iPhone, even if you manage to obtain some sort of active dashboard in your iPhone, how many apps could you keep opened at the same time with 256MB of RAM and no virtual memory? And how long will your battery live?

You would just have a micro-wave cooker without any warranty.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Coming from a guy who's done his fair share of OS work, multitasking *is* state-saving; some OSes just do it better (and faster) than others :)

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

even if multiple apps constantly do stuff in the background in real time?

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

I was being facetious :) Before another "task" ("thread", "process", whatever it's called) can be run, the OS has to save the state of the current task (mostly CPU registers) to RAM so it can restore the state of the other task; therefore, multitasking is a form of state-saving (it's just done automatically by the OS many many times a second). You are right, though, in pointing out that some OSes essentially freeze the "backgrounded" tasks and won't give them slices of CPU time until the user "foregrounds" them, thereby effectively making those OSes single-tasking systems.

Be careful with the term "real-time" though; it has very specific meanings in OS land, and the truth is that hardly anything runs in real-time and doesn't really need to. Hardware is so high powered these days, and typical user requirements (even developers and power users) don't necessarily require it.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Ok, ok. :) I meant multitasking as in context switching, VM, semaphores, etc.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/...ddc48470_o.png

This is great for me. Now to share this image with my fellow friends

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

great to hear... but now a days.. me having some problem.. especially web browsing.. it tends to hang and then said web browser is not responsive the close.... that is only 3 running apps.... sigh... anyone expereinceing this?

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

multitasking is really great:)
and btw:has someone used the full ram and swap yet?
would be very interesting....

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

It usually happens to me only when my device's uptime is more than 5/6 days. A reboot solves it perfectly, but in your case a reflash might help.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

I agree with OP, multitasking on this phone is absolutely amazing, and the iPhone 4's "multitasking" doesn't even come close. And having to double press a button to get access to just 4 apps where you then have to slide left and right, just to access your mail. Very finicky.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

my brother played with my n900 the other day.
he opened app after app...

at one point, the n900 wouldnt react to any input. it got so freakin hot that i decided to quickly pull the battery out before something bad happens xD

i think he had opened around 50 programs.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

The iPhone 4 isn't a real multitasking, it just supports some Apple-verified apps and it's very limited. For example (there's a video proving this): if you open a Youtube video, then "multitask" opening some other app, the buffering of the Youtube video stops and then starts again only when you call Youtube foreground again.

That is not multitasking, that is a useless simulation.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

I could easily choose to limit users to one process on this 12 core 80 gig server Linux I just installed.....

I don't as in the real world users would lynch me for such harsh limits imposed on them on my server never mind something they brought themselves... Errrrr hang on a sec.....

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Its a newly flashed... so thats the prob..... wonder what is actually the prob when i checked that it is no heave load on the swap, ram or the cpu.. just wondering what is making it unresponsive...

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

This thread is awesome.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

I tried taking my friend's Iphone 3gs and another friends iphone4, really didn't like the task switcher since we are already used to the quick transition of the task switcher (especially with camkeyd or shortcutd)....

tried other phones as well... and trust me

"you're really buying the experience" - Steve Jobs on the Ipad

I think it really is the line for us to say

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

@dark_angel85: do you spend more time 'on' multitasking or on the apps?

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Pausing Apps in background: fake multitasking
Running Apps in background: limited multitasking
Running and displaying more than one App: true multitasking

I only need limited multitasking on my smartphone, but on a tablet/mobile computer I need true multitasking !

Example: side-by-side Apps (aka programs) taking advantage of the entire screen (and its generous 9in size)
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/7...ltitasking.jpg

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Months back when NITDroid didn't have a snazzy tap-to-install available, I was reading dj_steve's instructions with MicroB, copy-pasted code from the browser to terminal for SD card formatting while downloading the NITDroid file. Might've had some good house music on the earphones :) Overall, just another day in N900 multitasking. Fraking love it.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

It's no fun multi-tasking apps that haven't been updated in a long time...

I'm just saying...

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

This thread made my day and my old years night

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Why do you have to display them at the same time? Even my desktop pc doesn't allow me to have two mouse pointers and use both apps at the same time with both my left and right hand. (hmm, maybe it does? lol. Haven't tried)

btw, N900 does that while in the task switcher anyways. Also, displaying multiple "interactive" widgets on the desktop showing me different live feeds means it's true multi-tasking according to your theory. :p

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Widgets =/= Apps (or programs).
I think N900 still has "limited multitasking" rather than true multitasking. However, on a screen that small, the N900 can't really multi-task any better and frankly you wouldn't need/expect to do true multitasking.

Nevertheless, the reason why it would be beneficial to have two (or more) programs on the screen are so many in examples that its hard for me to decide on one.

For instance, I might be monitoring a graph of sorts on the right while reading news from a browser on the left.

And I'll re-iterate, this form of multitasking (true) is indirectly linked to the screen real estate, and something like this implemented in an Android or MeeGo tablet would be quite revolutionary to the user (imho).

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

That's visual multi-tasking for the end user. N900 already does "true" multi-tasking technically. (I can even play an xvid video in the background while browsing the web. NO phone can do this except the N900.)

In saying that, it actually would be really cool to have 2 apps showing simultaneously on a mobile phone or tablet. That would definitely be interesting and very different to anything else out there.

eg. Web browser on one half and a avi/mkv video playing at the same time on the other hlaf. Now this would be AWESOME.

In fact, WHY don't anyone do this? This is a gold mine of an idea imo.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Actually the N900 can do true multitasking according to your statements: I can watch two applications running simultaneously using the task switcher, for example a flash video in the browser and an image in the Photo Viewer (and if you rotate the phone/tablet while in the task switcher you'll even see the image rotating!).

The only defect is that this "true multitasking" is not very usable, due to the limited windows' sizes, but it still remains useful for situations where you do not need visual multitasking. :)

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Well, if you use modified task switcher, it's actually a bit more useful. (although you obviously still cannot interact with an app while staying in that view. =P)

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=63419

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

I always wondered what it would be like to have two apps share the N900 screen like my contact list plust a couple conversations in tab form like on Pidgen Messenger

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

And while all that is going on, upload an image to your Facebook gallery.

I've actually had a video minimized and the image gallery open, started the gallery scrolling and then minimized that so the video is still playing while the gallery is scrolling side by side. And then started the "Bounce Evolution" intro video running as well.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

@ysss

hahahaha... well... since i'm already used to the desktop experience (most of us are)

so, just the idea that I can do it on my phone is well enough...

I have at the most 5-7 apps open when i'm really at it... but truthfully... i'm like 2-4 things going on at the same time most of the time

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Well it's nearly there, but not quite the final-true-multitasking.
When I mean it displays it, I also mean you can interact with it.

Just imagine a 10" MeeGo/Android tablet in landscape mode where you can have two different things at the same time. And because of multitouch, you ca actually use both of them IN THE SAME TIME.
That would be sweet, like "Tap Tap" and Chess, just to test yourself XD

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Meh

I can't even run a song while doing a phone call. I want my friend to hear the song while he is with me on the phone.

he has Sonyerricson C905 and he can run a song while I am on the phone with him.

sometime we do a group call (conversation call) and i even cant run a song or a recorded audio unless I have to hangup. is this multitasking your referring to?

don't forget about sending MMS. thats another issue you cant multitask is you are online browsing.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

@lolloo

That doesn't really refer to multi-tasking.
It's a feature built into the OS, when the phone functionality starts the software forces all other sources of sound/music to pause/stop/mute.
This is to convineance the user, so the user can initiate the call in the shortest time possible and also helps keep the voice quality higher.

And this function is built in, to pretty much, all other mobile OS's out there especially Symbian. I'm guessing the SE C905 chose to disable the feature, still not relating to multi-tasking.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

Problem is, in comparison with the iPhone there's actually not that much worth multitasking. I do find the Conversations multitasking behaviour brilliant, but really due to power suckage (especially with many of the more interesting apps basically in alpha) I'm nursing apps in actual use.

And in real life, although I find the iPhone multitasking frequently annoying, it appears to be a better compromise of power management vs multiple mobile app management - although as Apple is usually inclined, things are a little too Fisher-Price at times.

It's kind of ironic, since the N900's multitasking zoom visuals appear very OS X like.

I'm interested to see how Microsoft will crack this nut - whether they'll just ape Apple or throw something else more true multitasking-like into the mix.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

There's a phone number in that shot that you may want to hide?

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

The iPhone has fake multi-tasking.
Android has a fake-limited (hybrid) type of multi-tasking (ie better than iphone).

I find the multi-tasking on Android to be insufficient most of the times, and the period where my Galaxy S must wait to kick start the App (eg browser) is considerable for something that is supposed to be mobile.
Also Android randomly kills open Apps without your consent, and this becomes increasingly annoying (I almost bricked mine by throwing it at a wall).

The N900 is very very good at power management compared to Galaxy S/Android ... so I believe the N900 has the best compromise of "power management"/"multi-tasking" ratio (better than the iPhone), trully.

I want each Apps to be active in the background (multi-task) when I go to the Home Screen, however if I select to kill them, then they should be killed (not automated like Android), so then I can literally take control of multi-tasking and thus use it tailored for my needs (and power consumption).

This isn't rocket science, but only Maemo 5 has got it right and I hope this feature makes its way to MeeGo

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

This is a great thread with amazing examples of the N900's power. But, people here seem to be extremely critical of the flaws of apple devices such as those of iPad. I agree that ipad has some major flaws like lack of flash and limited multitasking but it is great for what it is marketed as, which cant be said for the N900(phone capabilities by default fall short compared to even older nokia phones), albeit that is a good internet device too. You guys say the ipad is bad becuase of no multitasking, but, the ipad does have an order of multitasking most users would find useful. For example, I can listen to songs while browsing and then go play a bit of angry birds, simultaneously, on my ipad. I can also install an app while doing the same, while the n900 gets extremely slow while installing programs using the default application manager in the background. The 9.7 inch screen(biggest tablet in that price range) also helps perform these tasks with ease. So, im not saying that any of the devices, ipad or N900, is better(simply because such a comparison is very subjective and limited in its view) but I am saying that both the devices have their own set of pros and cons. Every device has its flaw. And both the iPad and N900 are excellent devices. Also, this is simply my opinion which was typed on my N900 :p

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

My opinion differs somewhat from you when I'm looking at a dead N900 in the early evening - while the iP4 is showing about half charge, while doing essentially the same simple day-to-day stuff (media, push messaging, heavy SMS's etc).

The N900 has a better radio than the iP4 in marginal reception areas, so it's the one I put my main SIM into. But when I'm only carrying the two, it's sometimes necessary to swap the SIMs over in the evening so I still have my main number available. I've already punched my SIM's out with the mini-SIM cutter so I just carry the leftover frame of the SIM in my wallet.

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

I've noticed the battery management in the iPhone 4 to be better than pretty much all smartphones out there.

Hell my Galaxy S has roughly the same size battery and roughly the same specs ... it still just gets through an eventful day, whereas the iPhone4 goes through one and a half eventful days, really no comparison.

The N900 performs just as good (or slightly better) than the Galaxy S when it comes to battery life ... so I think its quite superb considering its drawbacks.

It just needs users to not hog resources when they're unnecessary, which isn't too much to ask (but those n00b users probably cannot manage)

Re: This is real multitasking!
 

when i first got the n900, and yes, playing around with multi-tasking.

a day when i am having fun playing with bounce (i have no OC that time yet) and i have 5 apps running on background. my mom called me to do something for her, well from a symbian device guy i just simply minimized the game thinking it'll pause, when i am ready to continue, it was a game over showing scores. i was "WTF????!!!" and not sure to be pissed cause of the game or be amazed to discover that everything still runs, even at background.