Database Info

Why is multitasking good?

I have an argue with my friend who can't accept that multitasking is something which people need. He has an iPhone and I have a HTC TD2, I told him there are 100 reasons why multitasking is better and that iPhone is far behind because it can only run 1 process at the time.
Could you guys provide me with some reason WHY multitasking is good or better than just running 1 process at the time?

Enjoying music when navigating.
Push mail
Apps running in background open faster
online sync while playing games for example.
That sort of thing.

[ElCondor] said:
Enjoying music when navigating.
Push mail
Apps running in background open faster
online sync while playing games for example.
That sort of thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually took up most of these things and also the fact that you can talk to someone on the phone and go OUTSIDE the dialer and navigate to like email, messages and notes (very important for me) but what he says is this:
You can run music in background and use other programs at the same time.
Who the **** needs to go out of the dialer? Are you retarded? You can just say to the guy you're talking to that you will call him in 2 secs.
But that's exactly what you don't wanna do..

ArtieQ said:
I actually took up most of these things and also the fact that you can talk to someone on the phone and go OUTSIDE the dialer and navigate to like email, messages and notes (very important for me) but what he says is this:
You can run music in background and use other programs at the same time.
Who the **** needs to go out of the dialer? Are you retarded? You can just say to the guy you're talking to that you will call him in 2 secs.
But that's exactly what you don't wanna do..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
holy...
is that déjà-vu? exactly led this kind of kind of discussion with a collegue (quite bright otherwise) and listened to it between him and another of my colleagues
believe me, it's absolutely useless to discuss: any argument you lead will be smashed irrelevant of how reasonable it is
my personal opinion changed after that: it's got to be something like a general attitude in certain people who are at the same time (or for this reason?) mysteriously attracted to the iphone
spare your energy and leave them alone in their tiny little linear world, it's self inflicted imprisonment anyway; if they don't want to see the light, leave them in the dark

DrakenKorin said:
holy...
is that déjà-vu? exactly led this kind of kind of discussion with a collegue (quite bright otherwise) and listened to it between him and another of my colleagues
believe me, it's absolutely useless to discuss: any argument you lead will be smashed irrelevant of how reasonable it is
my personal opinion changed after that: it's got to be something like a general attitude in certain people who are at the same time (or for this reason?) mysteriously attracted to the iphone
spare your energy and leave them alone in their tiny little linear world, it's self inflicted imprisonment anyway; if they don't want to see the light, leave them in the dark
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, that's amazing But you're right, it's useless to argue because it could go on forever and they will never realise the truth.

Ask him to listen to Internet radio and surf the Internet at the same time.
Ask him to listen to the Internet and use a music identifier program to find out the name and singer if that nice song.
Ask him to download a movie then while waiting for it to complete listen to his iPod music.
BTW iPod can and does multitasking the stock programs. It also run the stock program in the background and one third party program in the foreground. It just does not allow third party program to run in the background. Unless he jailbreaks or use OS 4.0.

eaglesteve said:
Ask him to listen to Internet radio and surf the Internet at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's not impossible with a lot of radio stations on the iPhone w/o jailbreaking - see section "1.2.1 Playing in the background" in my dedicated article at http://www.iphonelife.com/blog/87/e...need-know-about-listening-radio-iphone-part-i .
Note that both ooTunes and Pocket Tunes have received background playback capabilities in the meantime.

Tell him that multitasking is good because Steve Job's has added it to iPhone OS 4 (don't bother trying to explain the limits and conditions that come with it, you might give me a brain tumor).
That ought to change his world view real quick.

Menneisyys; said:
it's not impossible with a lot of radio stations on the iPhone w/o jailbreaking - see section "1.2.1 Playing in the background" in my dedicated article at http://www.iphonelife.com/blog/87/e...need-know-about-listening-radio-iphone-part-i .
Note that both ooTunes and Pocket Tunes have received background playback capabilities in the meantime.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strictly speaking you're right. I was just saying that in general it is the case. My own Internet radio has this feature too without jailbreak, but most of them can't do it without jailbreak.
Great article you've written there.

The human brain can in general only focus on two tasks at a time.
Same would go for the device.
You do not want a phone that while you are talking to somebody
1. also plays music
2. and is also providing turn-by-turn voice navigation
3. is reading your incoming text messages
4. announcing your appointments
Multi tasking only makes sense when the task themselves make sense to be done together.

Instant Messenger Programs
some program just end the connections when switch to other apps, causing you to log off from the server.

chikoo said:
The human brain can in general only focus on two tasks at a time.
Same would go for the device.
You do not want a phone that while you are talking to somebody
1. also plays music
2. and is also providing turn-by-turn voice navigation
3. is reading your incoming text messages
4. announcing your appointments
Multi tasking only makes sense when the task themselves make sense to be done together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say that the human brain can only really focus on one task at a time. We are terrible at multitasking despite protests to the contrary by some.
If I am reading a web page while listening to music, it is very unlikely that I am actually paying attention to the song or its lyrics. The same goes vice versa.
There is what we are currently focused on, and then there is background noise. If we try to split our attention, we usually end up doing both tasks less well.
Thus multitasking on computers is not usually about allowing us to do two things at once, it is about not shutting down or halting one task when we briefly switch our attention to another.
For many situations, simply suspending the operation of of a program until it regains focus is sufficient. But there are always, always exceptions where having the option of true multitasking will save a lot of headaches and frustrations. Usually this involves cases where the computer needs to maintain a persistent connection to a server such as for IM, SSH, etc.
The scenarios you mentioned all involve background apps interfering with the in-call speaker. This is easily solved by simply giving the phone "app" exclusive use of the external audio while a call is in session.

chikoo said:
The human brain can in general only focus on two tasks at a time.
Same would go for the device.
You do not want a phone that while you are talking to somebody
1. also plays music
2. and is also providing turn-by-turn voice navigation
3. is reading your incoming text messages
4. announcing your appointments
Multi tasking only makes sense when the task themselves make sense to be done together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I'd find that very useful.
If I'm going for a long journey to somewhere new, I'll have my blackstone bluetoothed to my radio, giving directions from tomtom while either playing music from the storage card or internet radio. It's also recieving emails in the background. Reading out texts would be a boon as it would mean I'd not have to hit the home button, then read the text, then drop back to tomtom (which was merrily running in the background).
Similarly if I need to pull over and take a call, look up information in one of the notes and send an email after cutting and pasting that information, then drop back to tomtom without having to wait for it to find the gps signal again.
Today I had to phone the tax office, so switched from the dialer to notes to give them the reference number and take down any info they gave me. If I couldn't do that, I'd have to write the information on my hand or carry around a notebook and pen all the time.

chikoo; said:
The human brain can in general only focus on two tasks at a time.
Same would go for the device.
You do not want a phone that while you are talking to somebody
1. also plays music
2. and is also providing turn-by-turn voice navigation
3. is reading your incoming text messages
4. announcing your appointments
Multi tasking only makes sense when the task themselves make sense to be done together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not disputing that at all. Users can't watch a video and use TomTom at the same time.
It makes sense that VOIP could continue to receive call in the background. Or download to continue in the background. Or GPS position tracking to continue if you havev to receive that call and when the call is finished your gps should be showing you at where you are without having to start it all over again. Or music, radio, podcast must be allowed to continue while reading an ebook or surf the net. These activities could go together for most users without distractions.

ArtieQ said:
I have an argue with my friend who can't accept that multitasking is something which people need. He has an iPhone and I have a HTC TD2, I told him there are 100 reasons why multitasking is better and that iPhone is far behind because it can only run 1 process at the time.
Could you guys provide me with some reason WHY multitasking is good or better than just running 1 process at the time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a good one, tell him to tell his boss that multitasking is bad...
Let the boss enlighten him... LoLz..
I have been talking to iphone users n have given up a loooooong time ago.. To them iphone is "God", so when u threaten or question their God... U know what happens next,haha...

[Q] Tablet for physically challenged

I have a person in my surroundings who basically always has been digitally challenged. We've tried in the past to setup laptops, email accounts, MSN etc., to relatively little avail.
Now, this person has suffered a series of strokes and dealt with some nasty cancer. As a result motor skills are quite limited and mental capacity has deteriorated.
I am moving off-shore far away from home, and I want to stay connected through Skype. Now, as we've established laptops won't offer the one-touch simple online experience, but I am guessing tablets might. Basically I am looking for a tablet to function as a photo-frame+videophone (one touch answering calls)
So I am looking for a tablet + OS combo with the following features:
1. Option to make icons and other interface elements LARGE.
2. One-touch startup (skype immediately online)
3. Videoconferencing options
4. 'Never' crashes
There will always be someone around to help out with setting up stuff and trouble-shooting.
I am looking for opinions here: which hardware+OS to buy for this low-fi use>

Buy a tablet that offers something like siri.
Funny, this was the only solution we could think of in my com sci class.
$1 gets you a reply

Buy an OG Galaxy Tab, install LauncherPro, or GoLauncher EX, enter the launcher settings and set the number of icons to 3x3 In the middle of the screen you put the skype. On the dock you put some useful apps like settibgs, etc. Leave it charging all day and with some kind of dock to make it stand. That's everything I could think off. I'm glad to help
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A

Update
So far I've come to the next narrowing down:
- must have 3G (no wifi in the care home)
- Android better than Windows
- no apple hardware shall enter my family ;-)
Currently eyeing the Eee-pad.
Thoughts?

[Q] Guidance for a Family with multiple Android Devices

Hello Members !
I am a long time lurker here, a year or so now since I bought my I9300. Thanks for everything. Made an account for my specific problem. Anyhow now that I have an account I hope to be more active here and share what I've learnt and learn some more along the way :laugh:
My dilemma is the upcoming androidization, so to speak, of my household. I have a I9300, and I will be buying two more Androids for my parents by the end of October just before Diwali (Indian Festival, like Christmas in the sense that lots of shopping and of course victory of good over evil yada yada yada)
So, first question, my aim is to have some sort of sync between the devices in the neighborhood of the following, just to give you an idea,
1) Dynamic Shopping Lists - You know like if the three of us could update it from our own respective devices. Something my parents can use too. I can handle a fairly high amount of complexity but they cant so please keep that in mind while helping me out. I was thinking of making a new common Google ID and using Google keep as a common cloud notebook ? Has anyone tried this ? Any other suggestion ?
2) Communication between us - Like I now know Whatsapp can be used with Wifi at home, and 3G outside, Skype too the same way I suppose, any other apps you know of ? I am the geek in my home as I said but I cannot expect the same out of my parents.They are totally new and unexposed to smartphones , let alone android. One of them uses Nokia N8 , the other has a sorry excuse for a smartphone based on S40 , the Nokia C2. So you see, uncomplicated apps would be nice, even the ones I could check on or setup from time to time but requiring minimal effort from their side.
3) Photo Sharing (Even Video if possible but not a necessity) - I know ! Facebook. But what you don't know is that they are not and will not get on social networking sites anytime soon if at all, so any suggestions as to how to get them to share stuff easily with me and among themselves ?
Face to face we have NFC and Wifi Direct ( Sorry I am from Sammy background , I think other androids all it Android beam ? ) but when apart , sharing options through WIFI / 3G/ 2G , app suggestions please ??
Second question, some specific uses, how would you harness the power of android if your whole family was using Androids , even the same model if need be
1) Some family specific Apps ? I found a few on Google play but I sincerely would like recommendations. Base requirements is nothing too high fi , even the most basic app would suffice, location tracking and all that is nice , though even if I get an app that just is a simple glorified diary even then it could work, it just has to be a little polished and easy to use.
2) How do I keep control over all these phones? I am sure the parents will take time to learn it fully. So maintenance tasks ? Example - Do I make a new Google ID for the family as such and then handle the updating and installation of apps from there ? For the future too, they would require another phone each and 2 tablets. So Around the middle of next year, I would be unofficial "tech support" for 5-6 phones and at least 2 tablets. What would you recommend me to start with so that I don't face problems down the line ?
And finally , the last question, What FUN can I have with more than one devices in my home and what about them ?
1) Age specific apps ? Any of you who have older parents and have seen that they prefer using some apps , please let me know !
2) What phones should I buy ?
My mother is sold on the NOTE 2 ( Note 3 if the price is right when it comes in a few days now), mostly because of the stylus , she thinks making notes and shopping lists as I mentioned above would be easier for her on the NOTE with the stylus, rather than a keyboard. Any better suggestions ? Dad likes something stylish and I was thinking HTC ONE , there is only one drawback , that is the lack of a extendable storage , he is someone who really keeps on recording stuff from TV and makes me digitize those songs / programs / what not so I am thinking of getting him a 64 GB card and see an old man wonder with amazement that he can carry practically the whole nine seasons of X Files in his pocket So I thought maybe S4 /S3 or Note 2/ Note 3 as it happens. I would upgrade my own phone too, keeping this S3 as my secondary and finally putting the N958GB , my current back up, to the deep sleep in my footlocker along with my previous phones , yes, somehow I cant seem to make my heart to get rid of my old tech stuff , even have a Riva TNT 2 lying in there.
If you think that buying same model for all three of us would help in automation that would be acceptable too. Or you could suggest a nice cocktail of models if you think that would better suit me. I really want to get them to experience Android so I really would appreciate all the help you could provide. Any Ideas as to what all stuff they can and I can use android for in our daily lives as a family would be appreciated too.
Thank for reading guys, looking forward for the replies Cheers! :good:

vikram_singh said:
1) Some family specific Apps ? I found a few on Google play but I sincerely would like recommendations. Base requirements is nothing too high fi , even the most basic app would suffice, location tracking and all that is nice , though even if I get an app that just is a simple glorified diary even then it could work, it just has to be a little polished and easy to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use "HomeBudget with Sync" app. It is different from other budgeting apps because one can create a group in it. Members of the family can each install it on their devices and join the group. So each member can add his/her expenses and incomes, and the budget can be calculated and reviewed for the whole family!

Thanks a lot. It solves many things. A few more questions...
1.Anything to talk/text/video over the hjome wifi network amongst ourselves other than skype ? I am able to use skype but any alternatives would do.
2. How to set up Any.do for multiple members ? So that each can edit and view tasks ?
Thanks a ton, once again :good:

The Downfall of Android OS (or What Happened after 4.4.x?)

First off - I'm a hater, okay? And this topic is complete hatred against what's called 'upgrade/development' of Android OS.
Second - I don't care at all if you disagree with me. I express my personal opinion and whoever feels the same – you’re welcome! For the rest - I just disagree with you! Totally, full, absolutely disagree and insist my opinion is right from my standpoint. Also I need to express what I think as this just helps me dissipate my anger which is a lot nowadays.
I'm going start like this: something wrong happened between Android OS ver. 4.4.x and 5.0.x and on... something terribly wrong! Why? -A 100 reasons... I'll give a few:
The total change of the background color from dark to light in App Menu/Settings, most stock applications: Dialer, Messages, etc. I simply don't get it! How on earth is it possible to completely transform the outlook of a system from one spectrum of the color to the other without giving a chance to choose between just two options, making my eyes hurt facing this bright display each time I turn it on, especially at night; and -please pay attention - almost all high-end Samsung device is equipped with AMOLED Display, and everybody knows, that this type of display consume power for emitting light for every pixel light up. It is a battery killer sentence!
Basically this change does only two things:
- Hurts my eyes
- Kills the battery
Why should it be necessary to spend time on unlocking bootloader, rooting phone and installing third-party applications just to be able to change the background color of the menus? This is complete non-sense to me!!! Seriously, guys, I'm not a programmer, but as far as I know, it's just a differences from #ffffff to #000000 - should it be that damn difficult? Really?
Recent Application List - Now if you compare the two designs on 4.4.x and 5.0.x you'll notice how neat and easy is to navigate on 4.4.x and how hard it is to distinguish between apps on 5.0.x. Simply by making a space between the apps, the mind can easily separate the information and quickly choose. Making an animated rolling stack of screens on 5.0.x is really confusing and not practical for me, period.
Melting the Wi-Fi and Network Signal bars as one - there used to be a distinguishable number of bars on both Wi-Fi and Network Signal on 4.4.x. It was very easy to tell if you have 2, 3 or 4 bars coverage. On 5.0.x they are just 'more' or 'less' - total stupidity. Moreover, the Wi-Fi had two arrows under the bars, which showed whether there is Download/Upload activity - very clever, very useful! Again - no (easy) option to choose between what I am used to; what worked well for me, and what the new design is.
Battery percentage - almost invisible - on 4.4.x. there was an option to choose between Battery in Bars or as Percentage. As I have never ever in my life thought I could use Bars for this purpose, the size of the text showing the Percentage was big enough, readable and clear. Now, on the 5.0.x the text is inside the battery icon, making it so tiny, I have to gaze in the screen. And since I'm using a phone with e-ink display as secondary display, it is almost impossible to read from it, making the presence of the e-ink display practically pointless in this regard. Again - I am forced to install third party app to have a regular size text, thus giving the phone's resources away!
Trend in Stock Applications Development - beside the white backgrounds, basic Google apps like Calendar, Clock, Maps, YouTube, Chrome, Drive, Gmail and so on, are ever more heavier, complicated, less responsive, more resource-consuming, more ads-annoying.
-The Calendar is totally messed-up.
-YouTube is full of sh't.
-So is Maps - should I drive or should I response to the hundred questions I've been constantly asked, Google Maps?
-Clock/Alarm has a funny colors, disproportionally big digits – total design flaw! (I actually had to pretend to be a programmer as I did decompile of the Clock 5.2, edited the code and recompile, using Apktool 2.3.0 (credits to iBotPeaches))
-And, guess what - I still use the Calculator, but I had to install ver. 1.0.6, because I simply can't stand how the buttons are melted together on ver. 6.0.1, so the fingers don't know where is the end of one button and the beginning of the other. And the History option is omitted (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)! Total insanity!
-Google Search bar has a persistent presence on 5.0.1, so I was forced to Destroy it using gsb destroyer within Xposed Module Repository - why should I have to do that anyway, damn it!?
-Every update of Google Play services requires more space and RAM.
-Location, Wi-Fi usage and Statistical information send to the Google Servers are ever more hidden in the background, less accessible - total control of the Giant.
The list goes on and on and on…
//Slight off-topic: I have to admit that years ago I was freaking mad on having the latest version of every piece of software I got on my computer or on my smartphone. At one point I realized it's just pointless to 'repair something that works' and it is more or less like this with the current updates. So now I don't update something which serves its function.//
I believe the following philosophy applies to any business - if you sell a product on the market, which people like and are used to, a sudden change; a complete change overnight, will let many people down. Those who used to buy your product will be disappointed and might as well reorientate their interest to another brand. Constant supply and steady quality is vital!
If we have a look in the Nature - the changes/mutations aren't happening too fast; everything evolves step-by-step! Using the successful features of the predecessors, adapting and evolving gradually.
Google has a different approach - in my opinion they shoot in random directions, regardless of what has been achieved so far; regardless of the successful features; changing everything overnight. Well, I don't like that! It simply doesn't fit my needs. And I don't understand why should I change from soothing dark background to hurtful to my eyes light.
What I embrace and need is OPTIONS! I need to be able to choose what and how I want my device to look and act like. This gives me freedom to satisfy my preferences and be happy with MY choices. But this should not come with the price of countless hours of modifying and customizing by tedious programming. I'm not a developer, I'm not intending to become one, but that doesn't mean customization shouldn't be available for me. It's simple as that!
------------------------------------------
There's probably a lot more to share on the topic, but I feel what I've said so far is giving me some sort of relief, so I'll stop here.

absolutely agree ; KK ftw.:good:
fear a life unlived , not death

I think some things are changed for the sake of changing. Development has somewhat become stale as new versions of Android continue to roll out with no earth shattering changes.
Brands are chasing each other and as a result we're getting bigger screens and better cameras. But software development isn't what it once was. ?

You have a Yota phone??¿????????????

shanegarm said:
You have a Yotaphone??¿????¿????¿??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that a question and how is it related to the topic?
I've got several devices and I've had many others before - like most of the people in this forum. What I'm talking about here is software, which has little to do with hardware. That's another story; another topic.

tashev2078 said:
Is that a question and how is it related to the topic?
I've got several devices and I've had many others before - like most of the people in this forum. What I'm talking about here is software, which has little to do with hardware. That's another story; another topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was merely impressed with the fact that you had said device...

Well it's true that Android updates are hit/miss at the same time. However, the updates usually offer better battery management and performance so you end up getting them. I still use custom roms to get functionality that has been lost/changed such as the recents panel, the colors and so on...

ZareliMan said:
Well it's true that Android updates are hit/miss at the same time. However, the updates usually offer better battery management and performance so you end up getting them. I still use custom roms to get functionality that has been lost/changed such as the recents panel, the colors and so on...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that really the reason most people want updates?
For me the improvements in battery and performance would have to be quite significant to would want to risk a stable and familiar system for it. My main reasons for sometimes regretting being stuck on 4.4.2 are security issues and compatibility problems with newer apps. The latter more than the former tbh - nowadays so many apps require at least LP
To add to the OP's list of things that were(/are) nice on KK, but seem to have been abolished on newer Androids: Lockscreen Widgets

Damn... Your life must be terrible without the option of choosing between two colors. I think whole life is messed up. So why not Android? You need to make the best off by yourself in life. So with Android too. Android gets bigger and bigger and has at least the option to make it yours. My opinion said xda becomes bigger and bigger about that. And we all got our own personalized phone. Or you have an iPhone? How easy life can be with options. My decision is without.

Hooked on your phone/p0rn? Help make the first HumaneTech smartphone experience

Hello everybody
Small intro:
I'm building a startup to create the first HumaneTech smartphone experience. For you.
Our project is to create a smartphone experience that is: Excellent. But not addictive.
A smartphone experience that respects your brain. And doesn't mess with your neurotransmitters. To allow you to use your phone without getting hooked, If you want.
To do that, we want to remove/redesign features that are addictive (believe me ! ) :
Glowing colors on screens
Notifications (the pings, the red numbered icons)
Thumb scrolling down (twitter/fb/etc news feed scrolling)
(and many other things)
We understand the psychology of it but we don't have tech skills (yet).
Let's say you have a smartphone/internet/p*rn addiction. And you want your own phone to help you.
Can you imagine android with :
AI based image recognition & filtering
One unique browser (designed to filter p*rn)
DNS/ HOSTS file based p*rn site filtering
Forced Google/Bing/etc SafeSearch
Phone use analytics (amount of time spend on X website/app etc)
Customisable "self parental controls" (limit the amount of time you can use an app, access a website,etc to keep you more productive) that you cant easily remove once set, to protect you
Customisable internet filters (hard to remove)
And in a moment of weakness, no easy way for you to remove it?
We thought of an app but all it takes is to boot in safe mode to bypass it (or not?)
Can we develop a customised Android that flashes like a ROM on a users phone and makes these changes?
We realise anybody motivated enough could do most of the above on his phone himself. By installing 4-5 third party apps, for example. But it wouldn't be perfect.
It could be easily removed. And the average user wants it easy to install.
Any ideas? I have very little technical skills and I'm still looking for answers on how to do this.
Thank you !
P.S.
First post so I'm not allowed to post links
Please go to HumaneTech dot com to understand what this is about.
There is a already a Chrome extension that filters nude images using AI. Its called vRate and works through a server
P.P.S.
I apologise in advance if I posted this in the wrong area.
This is in no way intended to promote a product. Nothing has been coded yet. I'm even willing to pay for a short conversation with someone who can answer these questions.