Database Users

Issue with Multitasking on Nexus One

I've noticed a serious problem with the way android handles multitasking, at least for me. if I am using opera mini browsing, and I switch to the built in browser and go to a bookmark and load a page, now when I'm done and I go back to opera mini it starts a brand new session of opera. I've lost my page that I had open.
my free RAM during this is around 35 mb. this is why I think we should have control over what runs in the background rather than the OS just loading up everything and deciding for us. I don't have any services or anything running during this time, and I'm on the stock ROM. anyone else experienced this? anyone think this is a serious usability issue?
I've been testing this every which way, using either the home button to switch or long pressing home button to switch, and every single time opera closes.
my current free

No, that is just the way opera was made.

Why blame the os its the app...

Yep, its only Opera. I don't use it anyways, but when I did - I do remember this issue, well I guess its an issue..

its not opera because this issue doesn't happen if you do not go to the bookmarks of the default browser. go ahead and try it out. I can go open 10 other apps and multi task, and I can still return to opera mini on the same page I left it at. its most certainly not a problem with opera mini. It's a problem with the way the OS handles certain events giving them priorities over others, I.e. default browser bookmarks gets some higher priority. so again if we had the ability to actually control what we want to run, it would be better.
Sent from my Nexus One using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

Wait a second, my Opera stays on the same page I left off on, even if I plenty of other applications open. A lot.. Maybe cause I'm rooted, and I have more RAM at the time? I am also using Dolphin, and the default.. and it still is leaving off at the same page.

RogerPodacter said:
my free RAM during this is around 35 mb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This sounds fairly low.
How many apps do you have?
Are you rooted / using a custom rom?

Paul22000 said:
This sounds fairly low.
How many apps do you have?
Are you rooted / using a custom rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He said he is using the stock ROM in the first post. :/

Eclair~ said:
He said he is using the stock ROM in the first post. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woops, missed that somehow.
Well... There's the problem haha!

ok maybe I jumped the gun, because I closed all my apps in one swoop and still only had 30 mb free RAM. so I did a reboot and now my opera mini does not close no matter what I do.
that's strange though, I guess its good to reboot once in a while as something ate up all my RAM. it was at the point where I closed every service and every app with a task manager, and still had barely any ram. my bad guys.
Sent from my Nexus One using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

RogerPodacter said:
that's strange though, I guess its good to reboot once in a while as something ate up all my RAM. it was at the point where I closed every service and every app with a task manager, and still had barely any ram. my bad guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not your bad, Opera's bad. They should do a better job of saving application state so that when the OS shuts it down it doesn't cause you to lose the page you were on.

OK i'm having this same exact problem again. All day yesterday i was browsing with opera mini, press home button to perform other tasks, and come back and it is still showing the same web page i was reading.
but then last night all i had to do was check my email real quick, i switch away from opera with the home button press, and go back to opera and it now has to re-load the entire app, taking me to the start page again. surely this is some problem with the way android OS handles multitasking, no? i mean the app obviously was saving my page all day yesterday, just like its supposed to. but then it suddenly STOPS doing this.
my free RAM was again down near 30MB because the OS has loaded a million apps that i dont need. yet the OS then will close the one app i DO need, opera mini, while leaving all these useless apps running, which i didnt even ever need or open in the first place!!
am i the only one who has a problem with this method of OS task management?
i'm sure a reboot will free up all the RAM and things will work normally again. but isnt android a linux based OS? shouldnt linux be able to run for days or even weeks without the need to reboot the phone just to set the RAM back on track?
very frustrated!

If you have a mirror handy, kindly gaze into it and you will find your problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFytHoXdG3E
lol

RogerPodacter said:
surely this is some problem with the way android OS handles multitasking, no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.
Again, this isn't a problem with Androids method of multitasking, it's a problem with the way Opera was written. It's not saving it's state properly. It should, but they haven't written it properly.
Opera obviously doesn't behave the way you expect, so my suggestion is to use something else until they have fixed it.

I just can't get on board with that argument. so the OS is giving priority to apps like tuneWiki, which I haven't opened in 3 weeks, over an app that I just switched away from 10 seconds ago is the best way for the OS to operate?
I would agree if my issue happened every single time. but 95% of the time opera stays open like its supposed to. so that tells me it IS doing what its supposed to. but in certain situations it just magically disappears even though it was just in use a few moments before.
I agree that opera is not saving state properly when the OS decides to close it. but why can't the OS leave it open with all the RAM and CPU power this phone has? this situation shouldn't even be happening whether opera is coded right or not.
I made a post on the opera forums to see if maybe they know about it and have a solution.

RogerPodacter said:
I just can't get on board with that argument. so the OS is giving priority to apps like tuneWiki, which I haven't opened in 3 weeks, over an app that I just switched away from 10 seconds ago is the best way for the OS to operate?
I would agree if my issue happened every single time. but 95% of the time opera stays open like its supposed to. so that tells me it IS doing what its supposed to. but in certain situations it just magically disappears even though it was just in use a few moments before.
I agree that opera is not saving state properly when the OS decides to close it. but why can't the OS leave it open with all the RAM and CPU power this phone has? this situation shouldn't even be happening whether opera is coded right or not.
I made a post on the opera forums to see if maybe they know about it and have a solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure you're understanding what everyone else in this thread is saying, so here's another way to think about it:
Can you name another big-name app that behaves in the same constant state-losing behavior as Opera?

RogerPodacter said:
so the OS is giving priority to apps like tuneWiki, which I haven't opened in 3 weeks, over an app that I just switched away from 10 seconds ago is the best way for the OS to operate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact that it feels like tuneWiki hasn't been closed even though you haven't used it in 3 weeks lead me to believe that the tuneWiki guys have done it correctly and as a result the user can't tell if the app has been running the whole time or if it is actually loading up a fresh copy of it (loading speed might be the only way to tell). Opera with tabs open probably uses a lot more memory than most programs, so it's a good candidate to close down when memory is needed which is probably why it keeps happening to you.
What Opera should be doing is taking a snapshot of the tabs you have open when you switch to a different applications and writing it to permanent storage so that if it does happen that it get's closed down by the system, when it starts up again later it can reload all of the tabs. It doesn't need to store the page data, just the URLs. I don't know why they don't do that for Opera Mini as their desktop browser does it perfectly.
If you are interested, this developer video on Android application lifecyle might clear things up a bit:
http://developer.android.com/videos/index.html#v=fL6gSd4ugSI

Send Opera an email and tell them to use meta data to remember where you were.
RogerPodacter said:
I just can't get on board with that argument. so the OS is giving priority to apps like tuneWiki, which I haven't opened in 3 weeks, over an app that I just switched away from 10 seconds ago is the best way for the OS to operate?
I would agree if my issue happened every single time. but 95% of the time opera stays open like its supposed to. so that tells me it IS doing what its supposed to. but in certain situations it just magically disappears even though it was just in use a few moments before.
I agree that opera is not saving state properly when the OS decides to close it. but why can't the OS leave it open with all the RAM and CPU power this phone has? this situation shouldn't even be happening whether opera is coded right or not.
I made a post on the opera forums to see if maybe they know about it and have a solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Each properly coded app speaks up and says "I Have _____displaying on screen, I have ____data on hand and I'm doing______".
If the OS says "sorry bud, you gotta go away cause the guy that's always fondling me(you the user) needs to do something else, go away" then that program is killed and that information saved.
Next time you open up your app, the OS asks "alright, I just got finished showing this guy settings, now he needs you again, do you remember where you were when I sent you away?"
If yes, then boom, you are back to where you were. If not then, your app goes back to square one.
Seems opera mini isn't properly implementing their save states. It's an issue with the application not the OS.

RogerPodacter said:
I just can't get on board with that argument.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS OPERA'S FAULT. THE DEVELOPERS DID NOT PROPERLY WRITE THE PROGRAM TO SAVE CURRENT STATE. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANDROID OS
RogerPodacter said:
I've noticed a serious problem with the way android handles multitasking, at least for me. if I am using opera mini browsing, and I switch to the built in browser and go to a bookmark and load a page, now when I'm done and I go back to opera mini it starts a brand new session of opera. I've lost my page that I had open.
my free RAM during this is around 35 mb. this is why I think we should have control over what runs in the background rather than the OS just loading up everything and deciding for us. I don't have any services or anything running during this time, and I'm on the stock ROM. anyone else experienced this? anyone think this is a serious usability issue?
I've been testing this every which way, using either the home button to switch or long pressing home button to switch, and every single time opera closes.
my current free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is already an issue that has been brought up in a previous post. They came to the conclusion that it was the app, and in all common sense, it is the app. There is no reason to blame the OS, that is Android. Might i recommend rooting your phone and uploading a fine ROM like CyanogenMOD? I think it would be on your best interest to do so.

so the OS is giving priority to apps like tuneWiki, which I haven't opened in 3 weeks, over an app that I just switched away from 10 seconds ago is th
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact that it feels like tuneWiki hasn't been closed even though you haven't used it in 3 weeks lead me to believe that the tuneWiki guys have done it correctly and as a result the user can't tell if the app has been running the whole time or if it is actually loading up a fresh copy of it (loading speed might be the only way to tell). Opera with tabs open probably uses a lot more memory than most programs, so it's a good candidate to close down when memory is needed which is probably why it keeps happening to you.
What Opera should be doing is taking a snapshot of the tabs you have open when you switch to a different applications and writing it to permanent storage so that if it does happen that it get's closed down by the system, when it starts up again later it can reload all of the tabs. It doesn't need to store the page data, just the URLs. I don't know why they don't do that for Opera Mini as their desktop browser does it perfectly.
If you are interested, this developer video on Android application lifecyle might clear things up a bit:
http://developer.android.com/videos/index.html#v=fL6gSd4ugSI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just to be clear I literally haven't opened tuneWiki in 3 weeks, and have done many reboots since then. it was just an example of one of the many apps I see running in the background, which I've never opened in weeks, yet the one I just used is the first to close.
to the other replies, I'm not confused and understand what's going on. I just think its a major flaw whether opera is saving state correctly or not.
9 out of 10 times I can switch away, do my tasks, come back and opera is still there where I was browsing. I just don't like the inconsistency. I feel like I have nocontrol over what and how I want my apps to run.
also if opera mini DID have to save my tabs and reload them, then that would be horrible as it takes certain time to get the proxy server going and then reload the pages. the current method where It's just instantly there, still in memory, is the best way for it to happen. and it DOES work this way majority of the time.

The General Windows 8 Thread

The Time of Windows 8 is upon us!!!​
-This thread is for anything from Q&A to mentioning new features that you come upon. It is also for any updates, mods, etc. that you see. I will attempt to update this thread as often as possible. Along with these things, tell us about your rig and then tell us about the performance you are getting.
-News:
-New Features:
- Metro UI
-

Is there any way to CLOSE Metro apps without using the task manager? The only way I can get out of things is using the Windows key on my keyboard it seems. Its such a simple question...one I haven't found an answer to yet.

dreamcaster012 said:
Is there any way to CLOSE Metro apps without using the task manager? The only way I can get out of things is using the Windows key on my keyboard it seems. Its such a simple question...one I haven't found an answer to yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
alt+f4 it will leave you at a blank screen. just windows key back

thepyro6 said:
alt+f4 it will leave you at a blank screen. just windows key back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it seems like thats the only way out right now. Also, does anyone know how to stop Metro IE10 from having that "Only secure content is shown" pop-up at almost every website?

Interestingly I managed to get the "classic" bootloader back by exiting the Windows 8 one in the more option screen. Which I guess is actually a bad thing because it went and put Win8 back as the default selection =/
And at the keynote, the Windows key is how the speaker got out of Metro apps on the demo units without a touchscreen. (I just streamed it, and just the first day's one at that)

expiring date of this pre-beta release is 12 march 2012

Question
Do the apps in the start menu actually work or are they here just to make the start menu look nice?
The only links that actually work are, desktop, file explorer, chrome (that I installed), control panel, and internet explore.
edit: well after searching other forums i solved my problem
the metro apps will only work if you have a resolution of 1024x768 or higher
a simple reg edit fixed this
1) Run regedit
1a) highlight the higest tree level (Computer)
2) Search for “Display1_DownScalingSupported” and changed it from “0″ to “1″
3) Restart the system
4) Enjoy the two new resolutions: 1024×768 px and 1152×864 px
the metro apps will work now.

Can't get the install past 90%
Loading to my netbook how long did the install take for yall
Sent from my Galaxy Tab 7in.

took 30 min.
1.66ghz, 2gb ram
used a flash drive

I have one ram but 1.66 ghz
Did your install hang at 90? Did you install over w7 or did fresh install?
That's what she said...

I installed win8 from a flash drive on to a separate partition. It never hanged for me but I have 2 gb of ram... I also installed the 64bit b/c i was getting a driver error for a dvd/cd drive when i don't even have one.
1gb is the min for 32bit and 2gb for 64bit.

Now my metro ui apps won't open
That's what she said...

ayysir said:
Now my metro ui apps won't open
That's what she said...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If ur apps wont open try this, most likely your resolution is to low.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1265544

very good, i have tested it, and is ok...

Got it running on my Acer Iconia Tab w500, which I may be right in saying is the only Windows tablet you can buy with a multitouch capacitive screen? Either way this thing is MADE for Windows 8, I just have a couple of hardware issues that I don't foresee being able to resolve on my own, but I'm not sure where to post about it. The biggest thing is getting the accelerometer back.....
Overall for a developer preview, its a great experience, it just needs a bit more refinement and some smart people do develop more Metro apps! I don't have the internal storage to dual boot so I'm all-in.

yea my accelerometer doesn't work either.

dreamcaster012 said:
Is there any way to CLOSE Metro apps without using the task manager? The only way I can get out of things is using the Windows key on my keyboard it seems. Its such a simple question...one I haven't found an answer to yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thepyro6 said:
alt+f4 it will leave you at a blank screen. just windows key back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dreamcaster012 said:
Yeah, it seems like thats the only way out right now. Also, does anyone know how to stop Metro IE10 from having that "Only secure content is shown" pop-up at almost every website?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No No No that's not the way.Just put your mouse to the top of the app and drag it down.It will close.No need for alt and f4 at all!
---------- Post added at 01:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:00 PM ----------
ayysir said:
Can't get the install past 90%
Loading to my netbook how long did the install take for yall
Sent from my Galaxy Tab 7in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you doing an upgrade or a clean install.If youre trying to upgrade,try a clean install.It will work:laugh:
---------- Post added at 01:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:02 PM ----------
thevictor390 said:
Got it running on my Acer Iconia Tab w500, which I may be right in saying is the only Windows tablet you can buy with a multitouch capacitive screen? Either way this thing is MADE for Windows 8, I just have a couple of hardware issues that I don't foresee being able to resolve on my own, but I'm not sure where to post about it. The biggest thing is getting the accelerometer back.....
Overall for a developer preview, its a great experience, it just needs a bit more refinement and some smart people do develop more Metro apps! I don't have the internal storage to dual boot so I'm all-in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Y U No Use RTM?

Alt+F4 (which works correctly in RTM) is much faster for people who are used to using keyboard shortcuts, although the "drag from top to bottom" gesture works fine with a mouse and is very easy with touch (less so with stylus, though still possible). That said, closing TIFKAM apps is rarely needed; when in the background most apps are suspended and use no CPU or battery life. I believe they will be closed automatically if another app needs the RAM, although I'm less sure of that. Incidentally, you can also close them using the mouse by going to any other screen (Start, Desktop, another TIFKAM app), then mouse to the upper left corner (shows the switcher), right-click on an app thumbnail, select Close.

Windows 8 bugs

I want to change my OS with windows 8 but is still beta and i want to find out what bugs are. My friend had already told my about 2 of them but i want to find out if there more bugs.
I will apreciate any post
Actual bugs:
Photoshop crash
Sometimes the computer restarts when playing youtube videous

Windows 8 is nowhere near beta.
It's a developer preview.
As in a preview meant for developers.

Anyone know why my Asus touch screen does not allow touch screen with the developer preview? Works fine in 7 but when I go into partition 2 to windows 8 the touch screen won work and says my driver isn't installed...then it won't allow any drivers to be searched for...says thentouchscreen is unknown device

Ok go into windows 7 and go to program files... then go and copy the drivers from there to a flashdrive or external hard drive and the go into win 8 and paste drivers and install...my touch screen worked fine after that
Press THX! If this helped
Sent from my LG-P925 using xda premium

valiro21 said:
I want to change my OS with windows 8 but is still beta and i want to find out what bugs are. My friend had already told my about 2 of them but i want to find out if there more bugs.
I will apreciate any post
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind that the currently available version really isn't a Beta. It was released predominatly to give developers and professional organizations an idea of where MS is going with the product.
I currently have had it installed on an Acer Iconia W500 for about 10 weeks now and use it for about an hour or so every night for casual surfing and some general messing-around-with.
On the one hand the fact that I CAN do this is a pretty good indication that MS is working to develop a solid product.
On the other hand the DP is NOT even close to bug free and is not entirely stable, and really should be regarded as experimental software in every sense of the word.
Just a short list of issues I've had:
Reluctance to connect to certain WiFi Routers and Controllers, escpecially those that are using some type of key-authentican method (more commonly found on Enteprise Networks). WiFi connection "dies" periodically and needs to be restarted, could be a driver issue, could be OS.
Metro IE can be slow, cranky, or hang altogether (but it does work well about 75% of the time). Some websites (TMZ.com comes to mind) can crash it almost every time.
Many of the Metro example apps are unstable.
Most programs WILL install via the "classic" desktop interface, but one needs to realize that everything that made previous versions of Windows so awkward and sucky on a Tablet still hold true on the DP of Windows 8 for legacy applications. The gestures and inputs needed to smoothly use legacy apps are either incomplete or non-existent in the Developer Preview.
A lot of my hoary old legacy apps (i.e. ones that were designed way back when Windows XP was new and have seen no real updates since) won't even install. I doubt very much that will be fixed. (If I were MS I would not fix those issues) Neither Picture Publisher or Digital Image Suite will work for example (again no surprise but I'll miss both)
I'm not trying to discourage you from doing this, indeed if you have a sense of adventure and like to live on the edge, go for it. But I personally would not install it on a primary PC (I have a very healthy Dell Laptop running Win x64 for doing real work) and you definately want to go in knowing that this is an incomplete and not-ready-for-prime-time product.
If you are reticent in any way, I'd wait about 4 weeks and the Consumer Preview will likely be out by then. Every expectation is that version will be several orders of magnitude better on the the completeness/stability scale.

They will change to Consumer Preview . Can't wait to fix this bug's
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA App

I found a bug: when i delete system32 it doesnt start =O
and when i end csrss.exe it chrashes =(
Sent from my GT-S5570 using XDA App

domini99 said:
I found a bug: when i delete system32 it doesnt start =O
and when i end csrss.exe it chrashes =(
Sent from my GT-S5570 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't that what happens normally in windows? BTW I accidentally pressed thanks :/

2.0 said:
Isn't that what happens normally in windows? BTW I accidentally pressed thanks :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
obvious troll is obvious
Anyhow, when the beta comes out it would be better to discuss bugs instead of discussing bugs in a developer preview

well for one, any overclocking apps for overclocking your gpu doesnt work. at least on my end. nvidiainspector, afterburner, or ntune. none work. driver support is also horrible

HELLO!!
well for one, any overclocking apps for overclocking your gpu doesnt work. at least on my end. nvidiainspector, afterburner, or ntune. none work. driver support is also horrible

2.0 said:
Isn't that what happens normally in windows? BTW I accidentally pressed thanks :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know... I know. thats wy windows is funny =)

8 Release Candidate - June 2012

Does anyone have the preview and NOT want to download the RT when it comes out? I admit there are many things which annoy me with Windows 8, it simply takes too long to get many things done compared with Windows 7. I'll still give it a go though.....

phoneyericsson said:
Does anyone have the preview and NOT want to download the RT when it comes out? I admit there are many things which annoy me with Windows 8, it simply takes too long to get many things done compared with Windows 7. I'll still give it a go though.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find that it works much more effeciently than before, ill defo be downloading it and testing it, in fact if its possible i might try an upgrade of Win 7 too this time to see how that performs

i'll try it, just so i can make an educated opinion about it.

i al really digging windows 8, at first it took a while to get sued to metro, but now there are some ui things that i really like about windows 8 and i am dieing to see what they are going to change in the release preview. There are a few complaints, but we all must remember this is a beta product and our judgements should be more geard for RTM and release preview

^^^ How about the settings though? It takes me really long to change different settings...I've had to pin so many things to the bottom screen because there's no Start.
Don't laugh now...I did try without the start and I will try again...but I have been using a mod to put start back...
I do like many of the UI changes though. Also I'm keen to seen how good my laptop battery is on it, Micro said it would be better than Windows 7...also, what do you all think of Micro Security Essentials for Windows 8? They claim it's far more advanced before with some mega anti-rootkit stuff that is not available anywhere else yet...

I would upgrade to windows 8 if there is at least some way to disable metro without breaking the OS in some way. I like the backend changes and the changes to explorer, task manager, and a few other middleware apps.

Rakeesh_j said:
I would upgrade to windows 8 if there is at least some way to disable metro without breaking the OS in some way. I like the backend changes and the changes to explorer, task manager, and a few other middleware apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this!
It doesn't break anything...you install this like a program and can uninstall it. You can change the start screen to look like Xp/Vista/7/other.
http://lee-soft.com/vistart/

phoneyericsson said:
^^^ How about the settings though? It takes me really long to change different settings...I've had to pin so many things to the bottom screen because there's no Start.
Don't laugh now...I did try without the start and I will try again...but I have been using a mod to put start back...
I do like many of the UI changes though. Also I'm keen to seen how good my laptop battery is on it, Micro said it would be better than Windows 7...also, what do you all think of Micro Security Essentials for Windows 8? They claim it's far more advanced before with some mega anti-rootkit stuff that is not available anywhere else yet...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What settings you want,? Almost everything you need is a right click on the bottom left corner of the screen away, instead of reverting to something that adds the start menu, just ask us, there isn't a real reason to use the start menu as everything is still there.
Sent from my HD2 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

I'll be installing it to a VHD for native boot. I've had a lot of problems with power management causing my laptop to shut down with the CP - so much so that I went back to running Server 08 R2 (I use my laptop for Hyper-V labs). Client Hyper-V in Windows 8 CP doesn't like my Atheros wifi anyway (why HP always puts in Atheros cards, even in its business-class machines, is beyond me).

Good..... But, the most annoying thing is that the start menu has been removed.

prime_225 said:
Good..... But, the most annoying thing is that the start menu has been removed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes! Almost anything I try to do takes longer because the central point is gone! I am determined to give the new menu system a try and not having a start button.
(I have cheated and use a mod to reinstall the start button see my link above if you're interested.)

dazza9075 said:
I find that it works much more effeciently than before, ill defo be downloading it and testing it, in fact if its possible i might try an upgrade of Win 7 too this time to see how that performs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I probably won't bother. I did the upgrade with both the Dev preview and the Consumer preview and both times it cocked up in different ways. Give it a shot if you so please, but don't expect it to go smoothly, and do expect that you might need to do a clean install regardless

prime_225 said:
Good..... But, the most annoying thing is that the start menu has been removed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The start menu hasn't been removed, the metro interface page is the start menu, you can start typing your search queries on that page as you would in the start orb in vista/7.

Hope in better version, really hope, too many problems with previous release for me

MantisBoy said:
The start menu hasn't been removed, the metro interface page is the start menu, you can start typing your search queries on that page as you would in the start orb in vista/7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 to this.
Start Search has been in Windows since Vista, and if you still don't know how to use it then there's no helping you.
I jumped from XP to 7 when one of the first developer previews became available, and couldn't be bothered to figure out the somewhat complex re-organization of the various Control Panel items. However, once I found Start Search that didn't matter at all and I was able to get stuff done faster than XP. Example: typing [Windows Key]-p-r-i-[Enter] to get to Printer Management is much faster than moving my hand off my keyboard to my mouse, mousing to the start menu, clicking Control Panel, waiting for the Control Panel window to open, finding and clicking on the category I want, and then finding and clicking on the menu item.
The only annoying thing at present is that Control Panel Start Search results in 8 are, by default, hidden in their own category that isn't focused or expanded by default, which makes it take slightly longer to get to Control Panel items via Start Search. Aside from that I honestly don't really notice the "lack" of Start Menu. I pin the handful of apps that I (almost) always have open anyways, and everything else I launch via Start Search on my keyboard.
Keep in mind this is on a non-touch desktop environment where my workflow and usage have remained 99% the same as with Windows 7. The main reason I jumped to 8 was the frankly ridiculous boot time.
A new mobo with UEFI BIOS+SSD+Windows 8=Usable desktop from cold boot in literally 10 seconds.

DivinityCycle said:
+1 to this.
Start Search has been in Windows since Vista, and if you still don't know how to use it then there's no helping you.
I jumped from XP to 7 when one of the first developer previews became available, and couldn't be bothered to figure out the somewhat complex re-organization of the various Control Panel items. However, once I found Start Search that didn't matter at all and I was able to get stuff done faster than XP. Example: typing [Windows Key]-p-r-i-[Enter] to get to Printer Management is much faster than moving my hand off my keyboard to my mouse, mousing to the start menu, clicking Control Panel, waiting for the Control Panel window to open, finding and clicking on the category I want, and then finding and clicking on the menu item.
The only annoying thing at present is that Control Panel Start Search results in 8 are, by default, hidden in their own category that isn't focused or expanded by default, which makes it take slightly longer to get to Control Panel items via Start Search. Aside from that I honestly don't really notice the "lack" of Start Menu. I pin the handful of apps that I (almost) always have open anyways, and everything else I launch via Start Search on my keyboard.
Keep in mind this is on a non-touch desktop environment where my workflow and usage have remained 99% the same as with Windows 7. The main reason I jumped to 8 was the frankly ridiculous boot time.
A new mobo with UEFI BIOS+SSD+Windows 8=Usable desktop from cold boot in literally 10 seconds.
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Totally agree!
And I can't wait to try the Release Preview in June. Have some problems with my wifi drivers, but nothing hard to fix.

Demaar said:
I probably won't bother. I did the upgrade with both the Dev preview and the Consumer preview and both times it cocked up in different ways. Give it a shot if you so please, but don't expect it to go smoothly, and do expect that you might need to do a clean install regardless
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interestingly its the only way ive been able to get a couple of drivers to work, theres some changes under the hood that's really buggered up older drivers, course that might be laziness on the developers side rather than MSs fault but we shall see, im keen on trying this refresh button as well, kinda wondering how much it will gut the crap out of the all the stuff ive installed and how much is left in place, so anyway, if an upgrade doesn't work too well (and I don't think it ever has on a previously used system) ill test the refresh button as well

IDEA - wait a second...the refresh feature...does that mean that when we buy a laptop we just click refresh and reset in 5 minutes? So...we can get rid of all the bloatware inf 5 minutes? Ha

phoneyericsson said:
IDEA - wait a second...the refresh feature...does that mean that when we buy a laptop we just click refresh and reset in 5 minutes? So...we can get rid of all the bloatware inf 5 minutes? Ha
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Honestly don't know, it suggests so but then its probably possible for OEMs to "edit" the files for the refresh somehow, we shall have to wait and see

still get morw things done
I still get a lot more things done than what I could on iPAD and android tablet. I appreciate x86 for the fiest time after trying win8.
I will stick to this and x86.

[Q] Task switch in WP8, is it still slow?

I just want to know from anyone who had tried WP8 if the task switch is still slow for 3rd party apps, like in WP7.5?
Especially for messaging apps like Whatsapp or Viber. In WP7.5, it is very slow to resume.

That is because the apps are poorly written. My game has np resuming.

No, messenger apps run in background, so do location apps and no aps can resume from the start screen
Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express

I guess this should answer the question. As you can see, the app resumes at the state where you left it. It is really nice to see that. So these damn annoying loading times (except for first loading) are now a thing from the past.
Loading times / fast app resuming

Thanks for the answer. I will choose WP8 for my upcoming phone then.
I'm currently have WP 7.5 phone and also sick with loading times when switching apps.

You know you can switch between apps without having to re-load them...right?

Yes I know, using arrow button right?. But sometimes when we receive toast message (for me, mostly from whatsapp), I just press the toast message and it will launch the apps from beginning and it is very slow to show the message compare with similar condition in Android or iPhone.

morpheuszg said:
I guess this should answer the question. As you can see, the app resumes at the state where you left it. It is really nice to see that. So these damn annoying loading times (except for first loading) are now a thing from the past.
Loading times / fast app resuming
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but the app resume its only if the app is one of the 8 "multi-tasking" right? If you have an app (for instance facebook) opened on the day before without rebooting the phone and opening for instance 30 diferent apps in the between that app wont be fast right? It has to "slow load" again, right?

Instant app resume has to be coded into the apps by the devs for WP8 it doesn't happen automatically. A lot of the current apps do not currently support this.
Sent from my HTC Titan using Board Express

tfouto said:
but the app resume its only if the app is one of the 8 "multi-tasking" right? If you have an app (for instance facebook) opened on the day before without rebooting the phone and opening for instance 30 diferent apps in the between that app wont be fast right? It has to "slow load" again, right?
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As I and several others have said, the app needs to be coded to support this feature.

morpheuszg said:
I guess this should answer the question. As you can see, the app resumes at the state where you left it. It is really nice to see that. So these damn annoying loading times (except for first loading) are now a thing from the past.
Loading times / fast app resuming
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mcosmin222 said:
As I and several others have said, the app needs to be coded to support this feature.
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yes i know that. But windows 7.5 already had instant resume. Is this new functionality only when pressing the tile again instead of going via task-switcher?

tfouto said:
yes i know that. But windows 7.5 already had instant resume. Is this new functionality only when pressing the tile again instead of going via task-switcher?
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Task-Switcher is still there for all Apps. Some Apps can now be fast-resumed from the Tile. Aside from that App startup times have improved because of several things:
Faster Hardware (obviously)
Pre-Compilation of MSIL to Machine Code in the Cloud
Faster network stack (especially for Apps like Facebook that do remote calls on startup)

Just tried this with the new FB app that is optimized for WP8. So I opened FB, and went to the home screen and then opened nearly every app on the phone and made sure that it wasn't in the "deck of cards" multitasking. I then hit the FB tile on my home screen and sure enough it opened right away to where I was at. There wasn't a "resuming" screen or anything.
So like the others have said, if the app is optimized for it (like FB) then it works without a hitch.
Though I must say even on apps not optimized the "resuming" or "loading" screen is soooo short that you barely have the time to even read it.
Overall, I have an LG Nitro HD running CM10 and I have an HTC 8x. The 8x is WAY faster opening apps and just overall speed. Not to mention battery life. ( I know, off subject )

tfouto said:
yes i know that. But windows 7.5 already had instant resume. Is this new functionality only when pressing the tile again instead of going via task-switcher?
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It can be both, depending on how you code the app.
You can see the loading screen for a split second, then go right where you were if the developer so decides to. In fact, the developer can even show you po*n while it loads, so you can't really say if the app did or did not instantly load.
You can also use the task switcher.
Anyway, reload times should be fast even if you go through the loading screen. The only problem would be at first run, when the MSIL code has to be turned into machine code. After that the app should be significantly faster.

mcosmin222 said:
It can be both, depending on how you code the app.
You can see the loading screen for a split second, then go right where you were if the developer so decides to. In fact, the developer can even show you po*n while it loads, so you can't really say if the app did or did not instantly load.
You can also use the task switcher.
Anyway, reload times should be fast even if you go through the loading screen. The only problem would be at first run, when the MSIL code has to be turned into machine code. After that the app should be significantly faster.
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Well lets hope developers from now on will just start making wp8 native code apps...

Microsoft does the MSIL => JIT compilation now in the Store, so it deploys precompiled Assemblys to the phone. There are actually articles out there that explain how you can enable/disable that behavior when working with the emulator to see the difference.
Still native code will be faster and "more predictable" in it's runtime behavior, due to lots of checks not being implemented (Out of Bounds at every array access, Garbage Collection, etc.) The downside is that native apps tend to be more error prone (mainly because you can do many things the CLR would not allow for good reason).

StevieBallz said:
Microsoft does the MSIL => JIT compilation now in the Store, so it deploys precompiled Assemblys to the phone. There are actually articles out there that explain how you can enable/disable that behavior when working with the emulator to see the difference.
Still native code will be faster and "more predictable" in it's runtime behavior, due to lots of checks not being implemented (Out of Bounds at every array access, Garbage Collection, etc.) The downside is that native apps tend to be more error prone (mainly because you can do many things the CLR would not allow for good reason).
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You can still avoid many CLR exception checks if your code your app properly.
I don't think C++ will phase out C# as far as windows phone is concerned. C# is way more viable and stable and a few nanoseconds here and there won't be as annoying as an app crashing in the middle of your work, without any apparent reason.

mcosmin222 said:
You can still avoid many CLR exception checks if your code your app properly.
I don't think C++ will phase out C# as far as windows phone is concerned. C# is way more viable and stable and a few nanoseconds here and there won't be as annoying as an app crashing in the middle of your work, without any apparent reason.
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well is it really only a few nanoseconds? IPhone 5 especially apps loading are blazing fast. WP apps are "slow" by comparisation... Maybe when all windows phones are quad-core loading times are no longer a issue, and C# its ok then...

Yes, it is just a few nanoseconds.
Trust me, if an app is well written, the startup time shouldn't be more than 2-3 seconds.
And if it is bad written, it doesn't matter how much C++ you use in it, it won't make any difference.

well on iphone5 it usually 1-2 seconds... Maybe it's a faster processor...