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I notice that sometimes android will automatically refresh a web page, one situation that it happens the most is when I am browsing the internet and open a new window from my current page, after browsing the new window and closing it, the original page gets refreshed.
Is there a way to disable this? I dont want it to refresh unless I tell it to, and its really annoying.
I guess the browser simply give up previous page when you open a new window. this is a measure to save memory and increase efficiency. a simple solution is to use a third party broswer like opera mobile.
What's worse is sites that do a perma refresh on a page. The new faceook (non mobile) is an example of that. Totally unuseable with the Android browser
i hate the auto refresh crap. especially if im google reader.
Any news on this?
billc.cn said:
I guess the browser simply give up previous page when you open a new window. this is a measure to save memory and increase efficiency. a simple solution is to use a third party broswer like opera mobile.
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Click to collapse
Except that is SHOWS you the entire page just fine for a second, then refreshes.
Extremely annoying on EDGE especially.
I have no idea how one would go about fixing this, get into the browser code I guess.
I, alas, am no developer, but I'll donate 10 bux toward a developer fixing this, lol.
Ya that auto refresh is terrible, all it does is slow everything down since i only get edge
Most annoying part of android. I hate it to an unmeasurable degree.
I hate opera, as well as any other browser I have seen so far.
I hate this crap too. If someone can hack multi-touch into the browser, surely this can be fixed.
ya come on we need this fixed
JakobFriedrich said:
ya come on we need this fixed
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Click to collapse
This is a caching issue. It has been discussed many times. Use the swapper script if it really is that important to you.
and "we" need to fix this? Yeah, I'm sure you're going to contribute a whole lot.
wow i'm really sorry, i know i can't do **** about it thats why i hope you guys help me i couldn't find a link with the swapper script
so if you could tell me that and how to apply it i would love you
+1 this problem also really bothers me, hopefully someone can put something together.
generic node i'm waiting fofr your help
Search the forums.
thank you so much generic node i owe you one for that
so i searched for g1 swapper script so if i just run that script the webpage won't auto refresh or what
Ever since I have my HTC Magic on Vodafone UK, I have that utterly annoying issue of Magic's internal browser reloading webpages that were previously loaded and switched into background. Simple example: I load a webpage, making sure it's fully loaded. Then I go back to home screen, play around with icons or other apps etc., or open new browser window and load another page. After short while, when I go back to that first loaded page (already fully loaded and sitting in the background) - I get blank browser window, and page gets reloaded from the scratch. Uber-annoying, especially when I try to get few pages pre-loaded for later reading while in the Tube.
There is a bug floating around Android's bugtrack: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=2171 - however I was wondering whether other Magic users are experiencing same thing and if there's any workaround for this?
eva_d said:
Ever since I have my HTC Magic on Vodafone UK, I have that utterly annoying issue of Magic's internal browser reloading webpages that were previously loaded and switched into background. Simple example: I load a webpage, making sure it's fully loaded. Then I go back to home screen, play around with icons or other apps etc., or open new browser window and load another page. After short while, when I go back to that first loaded page (already fully loaded and sitting in the background) - I get blank browser window, and page gets reloaded from the scratch. Uber-annoying, especially when I try to get few pages pre-loaded for later reading while in the Tube.
There is a bug floating around Android's bugtrack: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=2171 - however I was wondering whether other Magic users are experiencing same thing and if there's any workaround for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it a bug or is it just that the web browser has been moved off RAM to make space for another application so that when its re-opened, it has to reload everything again.
If you load a website that is just text only without any graphics or javascript and then go to another application and come back, it will not be reloaded, because the footprint is small.
dwang said:
Is it a bug or is it just that the web browser has been moved off RAM to make space for another application so that when its re-opened, it has to reload everything again.
If you load a website that is just text only without any graphics or javascript and then go to another application and come back, it will not be reloaded, because the footprint is small.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I can understand this point of view, however I'd still regard this as a bug, or at least as a feature that massively undermines user experience as for internet-centric mobile device...
In fact, this is the very first device I've had in my hand that has such 'feature', in every other phone or internet tablet (like Nokia N810) that has multi-window browser, I am able to load many webpages simultaneously and keep them persistent in the background. The new and shiny, internet-centric HTC Magic suddenly offers that 'magic' feature of saving RAM at a cost of utterly horrendous user experience...
dwang said:
Is it a bug or is it just that the web browser has been moved off RAM to make space for another application so that when its re-opened, it has to reload everything again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyway, content should then have been cached on sdcard (or internal memory).
have you tried swapper?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=483110
that extends the internal ram out to flash so maybe that will help.
Seems to work fairly well. I can have imeem streaming and other stuff and the browser pages still stay in "memory" and aren't reloaded.
dwang said:
have you tried swapper?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=483110
that extends the internal ram out to flash so maybe that will help.
Seems to work fairly well. I can have imeem streaming and other stuff and the browser pages still stay in "memory" and aren't reloaded.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea, but I'd need to root my phone first, which is actually quite good excuse to do it.
Thanks for a tip!
eva_d said:
Good idea, but I'd need to root my phone first, which is actually quite good excuse to do it.
Thanks for a tip!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, i've been using it for a few hours and once everything is loaded into memory and swap, and its not bad and I haven't encoutered a browser page reload yet.
Of course when a swap from flash to memory occurs, there's a pretty significant pause, but thats to be expected.
Just a quick update, I've finally managed to install swapper and set the swap space to 32MB. It helps to the issue, however when many other windows are opened, there is still that reloading issue...
I guess it's not a bug, but just a feature of Android and its 'clever' memory management. Fingers crossed that they would improve it in future versions...
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.
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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.
I'm getting quite annoyed at my phone's lack of RAM.
I browse the internet and constantly open new windows (up to the max 4 allowed by the HTC browser, but that's another story) so that I can quickly go back a page when I need to.
If for some reason I go and use a couple of other apps on the phone, and then come back to the browser I constantly find that the oldest 3 pages have dropped completely out of RAM, and the 4th one has as well, and that last one alone loads up again.
This is annoying, time-consuming and messes up my browsing session. Is there some way I can prioritise the browser so that most other apps get killed off before it does?
setspeed said:
I'm getting quite annoyed at my phone's lack of RAM.
I browse the internet and constantly open new windows (up to the max 4 allowed by the HTC browser, but that's another story) so that I can quickly go back a page when I need to.
If for some reason I go and use a couple of other apps on the phone, and then come back to the browser I constantly find that the oldest 3 pages have dropped completely out of RAM, and the 4th one has as well, and that last one alone loads up again.
This is annoying, time-consuming and messes up my browsing session. Is there some way I can prioritise the browser so that most other apps get killed off before it does?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using firefox instead on the defualt browser .its not perfect yet but its getting
better and better with every beta release .
I don't think an alternate browser will help with Android unwantedly killing off processes.
Incidentally, I tried Firefox a couple of months ago and found it to be completely unusable - I take it it's worth checking out again now then?
Another possibility is to set the Android memory manager to be less aggressive in removing things from memory (you can use an app like AutoKiller to change the settings easily---try tweaking the settings to see if helps with your usage model).
I know AutoKiller will also allow you to lower the oom value for the process (the lower the oom, the less likely the memory manager will kill it in the background), but I don't think this will help for the browser (since the OS will dynamically change its oom each time you bring it to the foreground and send it to the background again). If someone knows a way to make the oom value permanently lower, that sounds like exactly what you want.
Maybe someone else has some ideas. I know often times launchers will have the option to keep themselves in memory, and CM6 has the option to keep messaging in memory (more like your situation), so it should be doable.
setspeed said:
I don't think an alternate browser will help with Android unwantedly killing off processes.
Incidentally, I tried Firefox a couple of months ago and found it to be completely unusable - I take it it's worth checking out again now then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
defo ,its much better now i figured since you were annoyed by 4 tab limit
you might find firefox helpful. because it doesnt have limit or if it does its more than 4 for sure also it has an aption called (your tabs from last time) which again i think
you will find it usefull ,you can also sync it with you pcs firefox too .
EDIT: I just tried it to make sure, even if you reboot your phone
and open firefox again you can just press on (your tabs from last time)
and it will restore them all.
The way I see it there are a few things you can do...
Firstly, you could try a renice script. It does what other people have suggested and changes the oomph value to what you like. It was commonly used on the g1 for the dialer so that you wouldn't miss phone calls lol. Its easy to do if you know the syntax, I would make you one myself if I was near a computer lol.
Another thing you could do is try an aosp/CM based rom, as those generally have much, much lower ram usage compared to sense.
Lastly you could try a different browser. There are so many to choose from I'm sure one will fit your needs.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
I use autokiller on my DZ, you have to have root to use this tho... quite satisfied about it, almost all the time 90+ free ram even when doing heavy stuff... quits the unused shizzle...
cheers
I HIGHLY recommend Dolphin Browser HD.
It is significantly faster than the stock Browser and I have had no issues with Android closing it down. One feature I like is that there is actually an 'Exit' button in the menu for those individuals who have OCD like me and don't like the Browser running in the background when not wanted.
Thus far, this is the best mobile Browser I have used. That being said, I have not tried Firefox and have been a regular user of Opera Mini in the past on other devices.
You should try miren browser once, i'm using it now instead of dolphin hd, and there is a exit button in the menu to. I think its better styled, it has got all the features of dolphin HD without all the bloating around... no gestures tho
cheers
I think its more of poorly optimized software because im pretty sure that google devs don't even utilize the full 512mb of RAM in 2.2. Chances are its the HTC sense limiting you.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Yeah I don't think this issue is anything to do with a lack of RAM.
I may try another ROM, however I'm just not up for flashing all the time like I used to with my old Desire or G1 before that. I want a 100% working ROM, preferably something that allows overclocking with a kernel that doesn't break stuff.
And I also want my HTC phone dialler/contacts as well, not vanilla or a cheap copy from the Market. Oh, and I hate the vanilla lockscreen - it's just hard to operate compared to the Sense one. I don't know why it's so hard to unlock side to side on Android - the iPhone takes a little flick and it's unlocked - vanilla Android is like a mission to ensure I've dragged it far enough across to unlock.
And I don't want my keyboard or capacitive keys or quick keys mullered up (I am running a Euro DZ).
If these issues can be dealt with easily when setting up the ROM/phone then I'm prepared to devote a little time to doing it.
So - any suggestions, please?
dont use htc sense roms.
I'm running the virtuous sense rom with his advanced kernel, ive ran the normal rom about 2 weeks, and ive yet to see differences other then a huuuuuuuge speed increase... i would just try it once if i were you its such a relieve...
I played with the latest over the weekend. I ended up uninstalling it. I'd hit a page with scripting and then firefox would lock up and crash.
Web2Go isn't perfect, but at least it doesn't crash as often.
This has nothing to do with RAM. This phone handles RAM just fine. Use Miren and thank me later. It's the best browser by far!
mr.boonet said:
You should try miren browser once, i'm using it now instead of dolphin hd, and there is a exit button in the menu to. I think its better styled, it has got all the features of dolphin HD without all the bloating around... no gestures tho
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No text reflow = showstopper.
Unless I'm just being blind, I can't find any way to enable this in the settings for Miren.
It's sense. Sense roms use way more RAM than vanilla roms do. Also check out dolphin HD or dolphin mini browser.
Another issue I'm having which points to lack of RAM (whether this is due to Sense sucking it all up or not) is that programs do not stay in in RAM for that long, ie I go away from an app then return after using a few other apps (not massive games or anything) and when I return the first app's UI has been kicked out of memory and has to load up again, causing anything between a momentary (dialler, mesaging) to an annoyingly long (browser, maps, market) white screen, as data is downloaded again.
People talk a lot of sh*t about the iPhone, but cacheing (caching? sp?) a copy of the last screen for each app before it's closed so you instantly get a visual image of the UI of the app following the opening animation is a pretty good idea IMO.
Has anyone here used the Desire HD? I would think with the 768MB of RAM on that badboy this would be less of a problem.
setspeed said:
Another issue I'm having which points to lack of RAM (whether this is due to Sense sucking it all up or not) is that programs do not stay in in RAM for that long, ie I go away from an app then return after using a few other apps (not massive games or anything) and when I return the first app's UI has been kicked out of memory and has to load up again, causing anything between a momentary (dialler, mesaging) to an annoyingly long (browser, maps, market) white screen, as data is downloaded again.
People talk a lot of sh*t about the iPhone, but cacheing (caching? sp?) a copy of the last screen for each app before it's closed so you instantly get a visual image of the UI of the app following the opening animation is a pretty good idea IMO.
Has anyone here used the Desire HD? I would think with the 768MB of RAM on that badboy this would be less of a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've now installed Enomther's Official rom - what a difference to the speed of the phone! It absolutely flies, even when clocked at a lower CPU speed, and it appears to retain stuff in memory a lot better than the standard Sense rom. Also, there's over 100MB more of free RAM afte a fresh boot.
I'm definitely sold on the efficiency of stock Android, but I'm now missing some of my HTC goodies... I don't think anyone can deny that the HTC dialler is a different level to the rudimentary Android one. And I am missing my HTC browser - that seems a bit smoother, and the text reflow is more reliable, the stock browser seems a bit temperamental on that front.
Other than that, I can live without all the other Sense stuff. So my next question is, can the dialler and browser be installed on my new rom? Do they have any dependencies which would prevent me using them? How would I go about ripping the apps from the HTC rom? I'm an ADB noob so I need some kind expert to tell me how
I have some questions re: multitasking. My understanding of the way that honeycomb works is that apps usually don't close when you exit them. They stay open until you use them again, or until honeycomb needs more memory, at which point it starts closing background apps. Is this accurate?
What puzzles me is that, if I have several apps open, some of which I want to keep running and some I don't mind if they get killed, when honeycomb needs memory it will just randomly kill apps?
This seems inefficient to me. Why doesn't it allow me to kill apps that I don't want and only "minimize" apps that I want to keep open? This seems inefficient but maybe I am missing something.
Most apps don't use any processing power when In the background, just ram. U could use a task killer however, it will probably just kill more battery life then it saves. Do u have performance issues when running lots of tasks? Ifso, THEN use a task killer to find out what is using up the processing performance and uninstall/stop the app.
(Using a task killer is NOT recommended)
Sent from my mailbox
I hear you. I think multitasking in Android (not just honeycomb) is an illusion. The new 3.1 "recent apps list" is just that... recent apps, it reopens apps you used, but as far as multitasking goes, it happens very rarely.
I'd love to be able to lock my browser into memory so it doesn't have to reload all the pages when I get back into it. I was filling out an online form and needed to get an order number from my gmail app... well, when I went back into the browser, it reloaded everything and I lost what I had filled - this is not multitasking.
I think the only true multitasking mobile os was windows mobile 6.5.
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Dyskmaster said:
Most apps don't use any processing power when In the background, just ram.
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I guess when apps are kept in RAM is isn't a big deal. After all, we have a whopping 1 gig to play with right? Who could ever use up that much?
EP2008 said:
I'd love to be able to lock my browser into memory so it doesn't have to reload all the pages when I get back into it. I was filling out an online form and needed to get an order number from my gmail app... well, when I went back into the browser, it reloaded everything and I lost what I had filled - this is not multitasking[\QUOTE]
It's a bug in the browser then. It should remember all you wrote even if it was closed.
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Magnesus said:
EP2008 said:
I'd love to be able to lock my browser into memory so it doesn't have to reload all the pages when I get back into it. I was filling out an online form and needed to get an order number from my gmail app... well, when I went back into the browser, it reloaded everything and I lost what I had filled - this is not multitasking[\QUOTE]
It's a bug in the browser then. It should remember all you wrote even if it was closed.
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Technically, if it was truly multitasking (as in keeping the browser running while doing another task), then it should have just resumed. This happens on all browsers, but not all the time, only when Android decides to kick it out of memory.
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By far the best multitasking mobile OS is webOS. If a card is open and is anything other than a video, then it's running in the background unless the developer specifically codes it to suspend. Since I switched to Android, this is the one thing I miss the most about webOS.
For me, the only problem with how Android multitasks is with Quickoffice and Polaris Office. Try this: create a new document, add some text, and then start switching back and forth between it and other apps. Eventually (sometimes immediately) you'll return to a blank document, with no way to retrieve any edits. It's the same for a document that's been saved, and really limits how an Android device can be used to write long-form pieces while doing other things. Basically, you have to save every time before you switch to a different app (say, to look up some research).
In webOS, you'd just keep the card open and your document would be retained. And note: I'm not here to bash Android or glorify webOS. I did switch, after all. But man, either developers or Google have to fix this. At the very least, an app like Quickoffice should save its state when it's suspended, to include the currently open document. It doesn't actually have to run in the background, but it certainly shouldn't lose information.
Given how I'm using the Transformer, this a huge thing for me. I wouldn't switch to, say, the Touchpad, because webOS doesn't even have apps like this yet and probably won't for awhile. It might have Quickoffice sometime in the next few months, but that's about it. Oh, and the Touchpad is a weak tablet as well, and certainly doesn't have anything like the keyboard dock available. It's just that Google and the Android development community could learn a thing or two from webOS, starting with better multitasking support.
Okay, venting over. I feel much better now.
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wynand32 said:
By far the best multitasking mobile OS is webOS. If a card is open and is anything other than a video, then it's running in the background unless the developer specifically codes it to suspend. Since I switched to Android, this is the one thing I miss the most about webOS.
For me, the only problem with how Android multitasks is with Quickoffice and Polaris Office. Try this: create a new document, add some text, and then start switching back and forth between it and other apps. Eventually (sometimes immediately) you'll return to a blank document, with no way to retrieve any edits. It's the same for a document that's been saved, and really limits how an Android device can be used to write long-form pieces while doing other things. Basically, you have to save every time before you switch to a different app (say, to look up some research).
In webOS, you'd just keep the card open and your document would be retained. And note: I'm not here to bash Android or glorify webOS. I did switch, after all. But man, either developers or Google have to fix this. At the very least, an app like Quickoffice should save its state when it's suspended, to include the currently open document. It doesn't actually have to run in the background, but it certainly shouldn't lose information.
Given how I'm using the Transformer, this a huge thing for me. I wouldn't switch to, say, the Touchpad, because webOS doesn't even have apps like this yet and probably won't for awhile. It might have Quickoffice sometime in the next few months, but that's about it. Oh, and the Touchpad is a weak tablet as well, and certainly doesn't have anything like the keyboard dock available. It's just that Google and the Android development community could learn a thing or two from webOS, starting with better multitasking support.
Okay, venting over. I feel much better now.
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I was just using the Playbook at staples and it also has the browser multitask problem... when I open a bunch of tabs (cnn, bbc, globeandmail, espn, etc.) and go to another app, returning to the browser causes all tabs to refresh - it's actually worse than on android because at least on android the tabs can remain "active" without the need to refresh SOME to MOST of the time.
So the illusion of multitasking remains on all mobile os's.
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Multitasking means services running in the background. Which Android can, and does do. It does not mean having every single process and application running live in the background(who wants that anyways? not even windows does multi tasking like that anymore.).
JCopernicus said:
Multitasking means services running in the background. Which Android can, and does do. It does not mean having every single process and application running live in the background(who wants that anyways? not even windows does multi tasking like that anymore.).
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Yes, light services that check for certain notifications is one thing, but apps that were run in the last 5 minutes should not close so quickly. In the meantime, I have a lot of services running and taking up memory that I DON'T want - I wish there was a way to adjust what apps stay in the memory (and which never load automatically), even if it does mean having to manually manage memory usage, I would rather it truly multitask than "fake it".
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Apps don't close, they are hibernated. If an app restarts from zero, it's a problem of the developer not implementing their save states properly. (I believe engadget app is notorious for this).
The concept of "closing" an app doesn't really exist. The closest thing is a force close, which is just removing it from memory.
There are a few apps that allow you tweak the thresholds, but they require root if I remember correctly.
Maybe even if it could use some of the 16/32 GB storage as a swap file it would help. It wouldn't slow the system down much since it's not on a magnetic platter like on a PC. I'd gladly give up a gig or two of my 32GB for a swap file if it meant the apps (or browser tabs) I was working with wouldn't get unloaded from memory while I was using them.
Mutnat said:
Maybe even if it could use some of the 16/32 GB storage as a swap file it would help. It wouldn't slow the system down much since it's not on a magnetic platter like on a PC. I'd gladly give up a gig or two of my 32GB for a swap file if it meant the apps (or browser tabs) I was working with wouldn't get unloaded from memory while I was using them.
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Archos did this on their 256mb ram devices (added 32mb swap I believe). It did absolutely nothing on those devices, but maybe a gig or two would make a difference. I'm willing to sacrifice some battery life and speed for a true multitasking device.
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JCopernicus said:
Apps don't close, they are hibernated. If an app restarts from zero, it's a problem of the developer not implementing their save states properly. (I believe engadget app is notorious for this).
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I hear you, and I do wish Quickoffice and Polaris Office would handle this correctly. That's really my only concern with Android, that these apps lose edits and new text with frustrating regularity.
illusion multitasking ? lol
want to see fake multitasking ,look at ios,it fakes it. but android is pure multitasking. multitasking allows app to still running and finish it's process in the background. try open a browser,load a rich content page, change to other app,wait for few second n backt to browser,the page should be loaded.
case when ur app won't continue from previous state just because android has its own way to kill processes, this is merely due to memory management.
xufuchang said:
illusion multitasking ? lol
want to see fake multitasking ,look at ios,it fakes it. but android is pure multitasking. multitasking allows app to still running and finish it's process in the background. try open a browser,load a rich content page, change to other app,wait for few second n backt to browser,the page should be loaded.
case when ur app won't continue from previous state just because android has its own way to kill processes, this is merely due to memory management.
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But the point is, if I return to the browser more than just a few seconds later, it restarts and then reloads all my tabs - this isn't multitasking. With the amount of RAM we have on these devices, apps shouldn't be closing so aggressively - and worse yet, apps that I don't want in memory shouldn't be taking RAM away from important 'active' apps!
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EP2008 said:
But the point is, if I return to the browser more than just a few seconds later, it restarts and then reloads all my tabs - this isn't multitasking. With the amount of RAM we have on these devices, apps shouldn't be closing so aggressively - and worse yet, apps that I don't want in memory shouldn't be taking RAM away from important 'active' apps!
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yes some apps just buggy, even honehcomb itself isn't perfect. but multitasking sure is working in android.
wynand32 said:
By far the best multitasking mobile OS is webOS. If a card is open and is anything other than a video, then it's running in the background unless the developer specifically codes it to suspend. Since I switched to Android, this is the one thing I miss the most about webOS.
For me, the only problem with how Android multitasks is with Quickoffice and Polaris Office. Try this: create a new document, add some text, and then start switching back and forth between it and other apps. Eventually (sometimes immediately) you'll return to a blank document, with no way to retrieve any edits. It's the same for a document that's been saved, and really limits how an Android device can be used to write long-form pieces while doing other things. Basically, you have to save every time before you switch to a different app (say, to look up some research).
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Click to collapse
That sounds like a design flaw in the applications. What happens when you switch to another application is the application being pushed into the background receives an OnPause() event. The application should handle this event by saving the user context in a manner that ensure no loss of data (ex write to the drive) and free resources. When you make the application the active you move it to the top of the activity stack and the app receives and OnResume() event. The app should handle this event by restoring the user context to the saved state.
This is all very well documented in the Android API along with the expectations of the actions the application should take. However, a developer can choose to ignore the recommendations.
jerrykur said:
That sounds like a design flaw in the applications. What happens when you switch to another application is the application being pushed into the background receives an OnPause() event. The application should handle this event by saving the user context in a manner that ensure no loss of data (ex write to the drive) and free resources. When you make the application the active you move it to the top of the activity stack and the app receives and OnResume() event. The app should handle this event by restoring the user context to the saved state.
This is all very well documented in the Android API along with the expectations of the actions the application should take. However, a developer can choose to ignore the recommendations.
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Thanks for the explanation. I'm surprised then that these particular apps are having the problem--I mean, Quickoffice should know better, right?
Well, I've reported the issue, perhaps they'll resolve it.
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Can someone clarify this for me... (as I am used to Windows).
Let say I will start task like zip/unzip of a file/files or download of a file from the net. Can I do something different in the meantime and wait for the task to finish in the background?