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so i found out how to force close apps under settings but theres gotta be a better way.
for example lets say i have browser, market, and facebook apps open. all showing under the window selection button. after time i get a ton of windows there and i don't want all of them open. how do i close them selectively without going through all the settings menu crud?
some apps let me close from within, most don't though and leave me stuck with a ton of windows (apps) open.
What you are asking isn't necessary unless an application has malfunctioned. There is no other way to close applications other than using the force close button in settings. Android handles this itself -- if this doesn't satisfy you download a task manager.
I don't think there is a way yet.
What Google needs to do is make those preview windows in the multitasking bar long-pressable for a menu to be able to close them.
modru2004 said:
so i found out how to force close apps under settings but theres gotta be a better way.
for example lets say i have browser, market, and facebook apps open. all showing under the window selection button. after time i get a ton of windows there and i don't want all of them open. how do i close them selectively without going through all the settings menu crud?
some apps let me close from within, most don't though and leave me stuck with a ton of windows (apps) open.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no need to manually close out apps. Since 2.1, Android has done an excellent job managing memory. It's been written many times (some directly from Google) that micromanaging your apps will actually hurt battery performance. You'll essentially be working against the system as opposed to helping it.
I am not sure if my task manager is working on this device. I use AutoKiller and when I killed task it doesn't appear as though anything closes. Can somebody confirm?
atoy74 said:
There is no need to manually close out apps. Since 2.1, Android has done an excellent job managing memory. It's been written many times (some directly from Google) that micromanaging your apps will actually hurt battery performance. You'll essentially be working against the system as opposed to helping it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
id like to point out thats NOT the issue.
the issue is the ton of windows you end up having to sort through unless you close them. its a quality of life thing, i don't like having unused unnecessary windows open that i have to sort through to get to the stuff i am using. its just bad form.
foldog22 said:
I am not sure if my task manager is working on this device. I use AutoKiller and when I killed task it doesn't appear as though anything closes. Can somebody confirm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will most likely not work until its rewritten. The way 2.2 and now 3.0 allow access is completely different then 2.1 and below. Plus as said about 200 million task there is 0 reason to run a task killer. If you wanna clear them out, even though there is 0 reason, reboot.
Okay, I get the memory management issue, but as the OP pointed out, I've got all sorts of icons in the "task bar area" (bottom right hand corner) that just sit there or keep coming back.
For example, I haven't listened to any music on my Xoom since yesterday morning, yet I've got an icon down there for Music and Rhapsody. Also, there's no way to clear some notifications.
There's got to be a way to at least clear out the notification isn't there?
you tap on the little icon music for example and you will see a little x on the right of it, click that and it closes it from the notification system
There is absolutely no reason to use a task killer or manually kill tasks. 2.2, 2.3, 3.0, etc. handle memory and tasks extremely well. In many cases, task killers will only cost you more battery and more slowdowns than letting tasks just run out and sit in memory. Unless you're seeing rogue or malfunctioning tasks in the background causing slowdowns, there is no need to kill them.
I do wish you could scroll through the recent running apps rather than only being able to access the latest 5, but spam closing background apps doesnt help at all.
arrtoodeetoo said:
I don't think there is a way yet.
What Google needs to do is make those preview windows in the multitasking bar long-pressable for a menu to be able to close them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I haven't used a task manager since I started learning how android actually works last year when starting to make apps, I can't help but want the same thing in honeycomb for malfunctioning apps. I think google left it out intentionally to discourage task-killing rampages by oblivious users.
Every time I read "you do not need to close apps" I want to scream. first hour of usage I had a second browser installed and it and the stock browser were conflicting with each other... all I wanted to do was a quick close of one of the browsers.
There are always a multitude of good reasons to want to close a background app. I completely understand the technical reasons why an app does not need to be closed, but from a user experience point of view, it should be made simple.
mjpacheco said:
Every time I read "you do not need to close apps" I want to scream. first hour of usage I had a second browser installed and it and the stock browser were conflicting with each other... all I wanted to do was a quick close of one of the browsers.
There are always a multitude of good reasons to want to close a background app. I completely understand the technical reasons why an app does not need to be closed, but from a user experience point of view, it should be made simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which is exactly why in my first post I said "...isn't necessary unless an application has malfunctioned" otherwise such a thing is barely necessary. And in your case, the classic "Settings > ....... > Force Close" would have easily sufficed.
So what you are saying is that a method to kill tasks is necessary, just not often. I, for instance, just had the xda app stuck on the splash screen. I killed it and restarted the app and all was good. There is a potential for harm if used over zealously but at times it would be nice if there was a more convenient way to close an app when necessary.
Applications do not always behave as they should so to say there is no need to kill am app is making a naive assumption that every android app is perfect.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
martonikaj said:
I do wish you could scroll through the recent running apps rather than only being able to access the latest 5, but spam closing background apps doesnt help at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oddly enough, if you turn to portrait, you get a few more. So, technically its not a hard limit on 5, but rather (literally) limited by space on the screen.
Anyone want to place a bet as to what rev we see scrollability?
Sent from my Evo using the XDA App
JanetPanic said:
So what you are saying is that a method to kill tasks is necessary, just not often. I, for instance, just had the xda app stuck on the splash screen. I killed it and restarted the app and all was good. There is a potential for harm if used over zealously but at times it would be nice if there was a more convenient way to close an app when necessary.
Applications do not always behave as they should so to say there is no need to kill am app is making a naive assumption that every android app is perfect.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If this happens use the built in task killer, settings/applications/running tab.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
bwcorvus said:
If this happens use the built in task killer, settings/applications/running tab.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did and it worked. As I said it would be nice to have a more convenient way of force stopping apps that are not behaving.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Closing apps isn't necessary for two reasons.
1. Android does a good job at managing apps on its own.
2. You have 1GB of RAM to work with.
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk
Watchdog does a considerable job since it only lets you know when an app is misbehaving. And since being on 2.3 its barely given me any alerts. Perhaps further proving the awesome memory management.
Sent from my Xperia X10 using XDA App
delete please
I got into a little argument with my manager today because I told the customer that exiting an app stops the app from working since android is extremely efficient with multi tasking. As soon as the customer walked out he told me I was wrong and that a task killer was necessary to stop any data usage by the app. In this case it was the browser that was in question. I tried to explain to him that it's not needed but of course he pulled up an article from 2010 which I pointed out the data right away. So now I have to present to the team why I am right on Friday.
My question is.... As soon as you exit an app and go back to the home Page.... Will it stop its data consumption?
Yes it will . Although some app will still consume ram . But for data as in internet data yeah they will stop as u exit them unless they background enabled like Pandora .etc.
I might be wrong though ..
Sent from my LandLine
I'm inclined to agree. If set to work in background, app killer will start and stop it more therefore theoretically use more data then not using an app killer at all. Although I'm tired and may be way off base haha. Got rescued from the ocean today so I might be a little off lol
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
I would say no, not all apps stop consuming data just because you aren't in them. If you have Facebook, Gmail, etc then you will still get notifications after backing out of them.
Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk 2
I think it would stop data, unless of course it has background data perms. Which I don't think the browser has. Also since froyo task killers have been outdated. Unless you are selling a phone with eclair your boss needs to get with the times there.
Sent from a strange blue box hurtling through time and space.
I can't believe it's more then halfway through 2012 and people still want to use task killers on current Android systems.
Windows conditioned people for some bad habits.
Wish I had the time to get into this now.
You won't have to search far for a landslide of proof why you are right.
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/06/02/revisiting-android-task-killers-and-why-you-dont-need-one/
Still over a year old but is more relevant that his sources.
Top comment from that article. I think its a good analogy.
Say you're out golfing, and you have a caddy carrying your clubs for you. You ask him for a driver, he has it right there with him and hands it over. Then, after you tee off, you ask him for a 5-iron and he's got that handy as well. A good caddy will even recognize what club you're probably going to want next, and have it out of the bag already to hand it to you as soon as you need it. That's how Android approaches memory usage - it keeps the things you're likely to need right there and ready so you can just pop it open immediately.
If you're using a task killer, it can't do that. It's essentially the same as if you were to tell your caddy to leave all your clubs in your car. Any time you want a new club, you hand him the old one, and he walks all the way back to the parking lot, puts it away and gets the new one. Worse, occasionally he'll try to be helpful and bring back a second club (say, your putter as you're getting close to the green), but you'll just tell him you didn't want the putter right now and send him all the way back to the car again. Meanwhile, you'll take your shot, and stand around at the green waiting for him to get back so you can hand him your 5-iron and tell him to go get the putter...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with the above statements on how task killers are not needed (or even helpful) on most Android OS phones, although does Sense 4 on the HTC One-X muck up the general explanations as to how our Android phones typically manage memory, perhaps?
That is, last I read Sense 4 would cause reloads of apps sent to the background - such as a browser, Maps, etc. - because those background tasks are apparently being killed by a kill-happy task manager.
- ooofest
A program in the background can be using data (syncing, streaming, etc) when you're not using it and killing it will stop the data usage. Not very complicated.
Imatoasta said:
A program in the background can be using data (syncing, streaming, etc) when you're not using it and killing it will stop the data usage. Not very complicated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only programs with sync enabled such as Google apps and facebook which do not stop on exit. Sync means it will still sync personally at all times until you disable sync. So all in all exiting apps does no good anyhow. The memory handling makes that possible. If you want proof check the firewall. You can find a firewall application easily and it will show data usage and all that. Also most roms now show data usage internally. They will show minimal to no usage whatsoever if you have not done something.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
jclendineng said:
Only programs with sync enabled such as Google apps and facebook which do not stop on exit. Sync means it will still sync personally at all times until you disable sync. So all in all exiting apps does no good anyhow. The memory handling makes that possible. If you want proof check the firewall. You can find a firewall application easily and it will show data usage and all that. Also most roms now show data usage internally. They will show minimal to no usage whatsoever if you have not done something.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A browser in the background can still stream. Not complicated.
Imatoasta said:
A browser in the background can still stream. Not complicated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not necessarily. And yes it is more complicated. Their are variables to consider.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
I've used an Android tablet for about a year now, and although I've put in a lot of time to make it useful and controllable, it still has a lot of troubling mysteries. I have a few questions for developer types that hopefully will help shed some light on things:
1. Why don't applications feature a "Close" button? In both Windows and GNU/Linux with a GUI, you get a neat little "X" at the top right of the window. Usually, when you click this, the application terminates. Is that so much to ask for on Android? The means of closing apps on Android seem to be entirely up to the devs and there doesn't appear to be a standard way at all. Some of the apps I've used on Android don't have any way to close them whatsoever, with the exception of killing them from a task manager or the "Manage Apps" section of settings.
2. Why do many of these programs suddenly and mysteriously start running entirely on their own? It's terribly frustrating for me to kill an app and in a half an hour find it there on the task manager list again, running without my having asked for it to do so. Where is this controlled? If there is some sort of task scheduler making this happen, why can't I easily see a list of scheduled tasks and choose which ones to run or not to run?
3. For programs that *are* running in the background (the ones I *want* to have running), why is it that they usually don't have some sort of taskbar icon to indicate at a glance that they are still running?
4. Why can't I see everything that's loading when the tablet starts? I guess I'm asking to see a logcat screen instead of a splash screen. GNU/Linux distros don't usually hide everything from the end user, so why isn't it optional on an Android tablet? Even in custom ROMS all I get are neat looking splash screens, not a terminal interface on boot.
5. Why doesn't a decent firewall application yet exist for Android? All I seem to be able to find are really coarse ones like Droidwall, where it's an all or nothing proposition (allow/block). I'd like to be able to control protocols, ports, zones and individual IP addresses and ranges like a good firewall on Windows or GNU/Linux allows. I am constantly under suspicion that someone is doing something on my tablet without my even being aware of it.
6. Why are permissions for applications so difficult to control? Maybe I don't want some stupid game getting a look at my contacts list. I realize I can just uninstall the game, but so many apps seem to tap into stuff that they shouldn't be allowed to, I feel like some sort of permissions control should be a default standard thing in Android. Instead all there seems to be are a couple of apps on the market that may or may not work.
7. Do any of you developers feel dissatisfied about the state of Android, and does Google take your feedback seriously?
8. Are there any forks of the Android OS that don't rely on Google for anything? I'm not 100 percent sure about the difference between a GNU and an Apache license. How much of the OS is closed-source? Is it enough to prevent a true, fully open-sourced Android-based OS from being made?
Sorry if any of these questions sound stupid, but even though Android is supposed to be more open than iOS, it's still not open enough for my tastes. I actually feel safer using Windows than Android, and that's just not how it should be. Am I alone in this feeling?
Ok. I would honestly say you should have gone with a Windows tablet if you want all those... It's not a computer. It's a mobile device running a mobile os. It's not gonna be a full blown computer.
McMick said:
I've used an Android tablet for about a year now, and although I've put in a lot of time to make it useful and controllable, it still has a lot of troubling mysteries. I have a few questions for developer types that hopefully will help shed some light on things:
1. Why don't applications feature a "Close" button? In both Windows and GNU/Linux with a GUI, you get a neat little "X" at the top right of the window. Usually, when you click this, the application terminates. Is that so much to ask for on Android? The means of closing apps on Android seem to be entirely up to the devs and there doesn't appear to be a standard way at all. Some of the apps I've used on Android don't have any way to close them whatsoever, with the exception of killing them from a task manager or the "Manage Apps" section of settings.
2. Why do many of these programs suddenly and mysteriously start running entirely on their own? It's terribly frustrating for me to kill an app and in a half an hour find it there on the task manager list again, running without my having asked for it to do so. Where is this controlled? If there is some sort of task scheduler making this happen, why can't I easily see a list of scheduled tasks and choose which ones to run or not to run?
3. For programs that *are* running in the background (the ones I *want* to have running), why is it that they usually don't have some sort of taskbar icon to indicate at a glance that they are still running?
4. Why can't I see everything that's loading when the tablet starts? I guess I'm asking to see a logcat screen instead of a splash screen. GNU/Linux distros don't usually hide everything from the end user, so why isn't it optional on an Android tablet? Even in custom ROMS all I get are neat looking splash screens, not a terminal interface on boot.
5. Why doesn't a decent firewall application yet exist for Android? All I seem to be able to find are really coarse ones like Droidwall, where it's an all or nothing proposition (allow/block). I'd like to be able to control protocols, ports, zones and individual IP addresses and ranges like a good firewall on Windows or GNU/Linux allows. I am constantly under suspicion that someone is doing something on my tablet without my even being aware of it.
6. Why are permissions for applications so difficult to control? Maybe I don't want some stupid game getting a look at my contacts list. I realize I can just uninstall the game, but so many apps seem to tap into stuff that they shouldn't be allowed to, I feel like some sort of permissions control should be a default standard thing in Android. Instead all there seems to be are a couple of apps on the market that may or may not work.
7. Do any of you developers feel dissatisfied about the state of Android, and does Google take your feedback seriously?
8. Are there any forks of the Android OS that don't rely on Google for anything? I'm not 100 percent sure about the difference between a GNU and an Apache license. How much of the OS is closed-source? Is it enough to prevent a true, fully open-sourced Android-based OS from being made?
Sorry if any of these questions sound stupid, but even though Android is supposed to be more open than iOS, it's still not open enough for my tastes. I actually feel safer using Windows than Android, and that's just not how it should be. Am I alone in this feeling?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Well, its a mobile OS and it would be rather annoying to have a close button on every (even most) apps. No mobile OS has had a close button
2. That's an app problem, the developer either wanted the app to do that for some function, or they made some mistake in creating causing that to happen.
3. There would be too many apps, and I doubt people want extra notifications in the status bar just informing them what's running. For example, my friends Stratosphere has a status notif whenever WiFi is connected, and it annoys the crap out of me whenever I use it.
4. Probably, because people don't care... remember Android (like WP and iOS) are supposed to appeal to consumers as a phone for "facebook, games, and internet," and if the splashscreen/bootanimation was a logcat, people would just go "wut?" Also, as smartphones get faster and faster, so does bootup time. And there wouldn't be enough time to read what's on the logcat before it fully boots and you're at the lockscreen
5. Ask the devs.
6. Once again, dev thing. They are entitled to putting whatever permission they want, and Google isn't going to stop them. Just think about it though, most people don't care about permissions. iOS doesn't display them (even though they are there) and people download apps like there's no tomorrow anyway.
7. I read somewhere that the main designer of Android was "40% complete" at ICS. It gets me excited at what's next to come, since 4.0+ is already pretty amazing.
8. I'm too retarded to understand this question
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
As gagdude said for 1-7.
8. There's the Chinese Aliyun OS which looks and feels a lot like Android but doesn't rely on Google - but I would't try it. You could try Ubuntu Linux if your device supports it.
Android needs to be like apple with updates time to close source this already and just have one phone already
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Reopened, but if it gets unproviding and or heads Off Topic, well then I will readdress this thread.....
Thank you and you can Thank user: Syncopath
gagdude said:
No mobile OS has had a close button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong, PocketPC 2002, which I used for 10 years on my HTC Wallaby, had a close button for every application.
@McMick, many of your points struck a chord with me and I have often asked myself the same things since migrating to Android from Pocket PC 2002 on my HTC Wallaby. Certainly points 1, 3, 7 and 8.
Since I jumped from PPC 2002 to Android 2.3.6 I've had the same thoughts. And I was for instance surprised to see that only now (Galaxy Note 2) are the very first steps being taken towards multiple windows.
I agree with point 4 too. On a PC (Linux or Windows) you can choose whether you see what's starting (BIOS and OS boot) or prefer a reassuring animation.
5. I have Avast!Mobile Security which has what is reckoned to be one of the best firewalls for Android, but even that only has, as you say, block or allow (individually for WiFi, 3G and mobile network).
6. The trouble with limiting permissions for apps is that if they can't get the access they want, they won't work. Personally I use the app Privacy Blocker which works around that by feeding the apps you choose not to allow to snoop nonsense information.
However it's not enough just to stand on the sidelines and issue one's wishes to "the developers". The point and the spirit of XDA-developers is that we can all start modifying things if we want to. So instead of saying "Why can't I" the thing to do is to start reading and learning and seeing if you might not after all just be able to ... do something yourself when it comes to your device.
Every Android developer does what appeals to them, which is why there is such a wonderful diversity of ROMs and apps for Android, particularly here on XDA.
So get stuck in and start trying to change things on your own device for a start. On point 5 for instance, you do see a logcat screen when you boot into recovery mode, so perhaps there's a way to display that when booting. If you do get started on modifications in the directions you indicate, I shall certainly follow progress with interest.
Thanks to BigJoe2675.
syncopath said:
Wrong, PocketPC 2002, which I used for 10 years on my HTC Wallaby,
However it's not enough just to stand on the sidelines and issue one's wishes to "the developers". The point and the spirit of XDA-developers is that we can all start modifying things if we want to. So instead of saying "Why can't I" the thing to do is to start reading and learning and seeing if you might not after all just be able to ... do something yourself when it comes to your device.
Every Android developer does what appeals to them, which is why there is such a wonderful diversity of ROMs and apps for Android, particularly here on XDA.
So get stuck in and start trying to change things on your own device for a start. On point 5 for instance, you do see a logcat screen when you boot into recovery mode, so perhaps there's a way to display that when booting. If you do get started on modifications in the directions you indicate, I shall certainly follow progress with interest.
Thanks to BigJoe2675.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
---------------------------
PocketPC 2002, which I used for 10 years :crying::crying: sorry for this....
syncopath said:
Wrong, PocketPC 2002, which I used for 10 years on my HTC Wallaby, had a close button for every application.
@McMick, many of your points struck a chord with me and I have often asked myself the same things since migrating to Android from Pocket PC 2002 on my HTC Wallaby. Certainly points 1, 3, 7 and 8.
Since I jumped from PPC 2002 to Android 2.3.6 I've had the same thoughts. And I was for instance surprised to see that only now (Galaxy Note 2) are the very first steps being taken towards multiple windows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, but I wasn't born in 2002.
Lol jk I was, but I wasn't "born" to technology back then. I got my first phone only 3 years ago or so... and that just makes it seem that close buttons are now obsolete (on Mobile OSes, at least
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
gagdude said:
OK, but I wasn't born in 2002.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL as I believe they say these days. I forgive you instantly! I am amazed by your over 1000 posts in about 4 months.
McMick said:
4. Why can't I see everything that's loading when the tablet starts? I guess I'm asking to see a logcat screen instead of a splash screen. GNU/Linux distros don't usually hide everything from the end user, so why isn't it optional on an Android tablet? Even in custom ROMS all I get are neat looking splash screens, not a terminal interface on boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The app [root] live logcat by the one and only Chainfire [/hyperbole] should fix this. There are free and paid versions. Something to check out if you're rooted. Please let us know of the results. Added on edit: from Google Play.
syncopath said:
LOL as I believe they say these days. I forgive you instantly! I am amazed by your over 1000 posts in about 4 months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh no that just means I'm a loser and I spend too much time on xda
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
@bigjoe,
bigjoe2675 said:
PocketPC 2002, which I used for 10 years :crying::crying: sorry for this....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't quite understand this message, probably due to my inability to correctly interpret emoticons (reverse autism?). Anyway, thanks for re-opening this one because I
think what is being discussed here is worthwhile. Given the pressure of spammer-threat I think the OP should respond soon (or anyone else). Otherwise it will be understandable if you close the thread if you prefer.
bigjoe2675 said:
Reopened, but if it gets unproviding and or heads Off Topic, well then I will readdress this thread.....
Thank you and you can Thank user:
Syncopath
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I understand your priorities as moderator. This is of course a thread near the "top" of XDA and as such will far more readily attract spammers and other lowlife than further down in the more comfortable device threads where I am more used to posting. So you will want to quickly close any thread that seems to be becoming stale. Right?
@gagdude
gagdude said:
Oh no that just means I'm a loser and I spend too much time on xda
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think so, over 200 thanks didn't come from nowhere!
This is off subject having prob w/ no boot sound for boot anim
Sent from my Huawei-H867G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Another epic fail for Microsoft - seems the surface RT OS does not have any alarm clock functions (unless it's very well hidden). Seems to me that this is such a basic function in an OS that I find it surprising that Win RT does not have it - (both Android and IOS have a multiplicity of alarms available). Any solutions?
The store is full of different Alarm Clocks, many of them for Free.
Robin
robincop deel 2 said:
The store is full of different Alarm Clocks, many of them for Free.
Robin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a single one works because they must be running in the foreground and active - so when the tablet sleeps they become "deactivated" - this is apparently a fault of the OS. You can see this by reading some of the reviews.
docfreed said:
Not a single one works because they must be running in the foreground and active - so when the tablet sleeps they become "deactivated" - this is apparently a fault of the OS. You can see this by reading some of the reviews.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure it will get addressed. With App stores the need to bundle os apps is not needed anymore.
docfreed said:
Another epic fail for Microsoft - seems the surface RT OS does not have any alarm clock functions (unless it's very well hidden). Seems to me that this is such a basic function in an OS that I find it surprising that Win RT does not have it - (both Android and IOS have a multiplicity of alarms available). Any solutions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you use the calendar to set an alarm? That's kinda what I would have expected to use.
schettj said:
Could you use the calendar to set an alarm? That's kinda what I would have expected to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless the Calendar is running in the foreground (active) I do not think so. I am noticing that when the Surface sleeps, or when you switch from certain running apps to another, the first process shuts down - it's not 100% true but mostly so. Kind of defeats the purpose of having alarm or wake up functions of the app setting the alarm always has to be actively running.
I've tried 3 or 4 alarms in the store, they all work sporadically at best. To get the best results, I set the tablet not to sleep when the lid is closed or after X minutes while on power and left it plugged in and turned on all night.
The calendar seems to wait until the next time you turn the device on to update and show notifications.
I gave up having an alarm on the Surface, it seemed a bit too unreliable to me.
You could try using Windows scheduled tasks; that's what I did for an alarm on my PC the few times I needed one. No idea if Scheduled Tasks will do Connected Standby, though. In fact, I'd guess that they won't.
GoodDayToDie said:
You could try using Windows scheduled tasks; that's what I did for an alarm on my PC the few times I needed one. No idea if Scheduled Tasks will do Connected Standby, though. In fact, I'd guess that they won't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, connected tasks will not work - I cannot believe that Microsoft still can't come to grips with background apps - even Apple allows these to run. I mean you cannot even stream music with the screen off except with the poorly designed internal music app. Alarms (or the lack of thereof) have plagued MS since the early days of WinCE - it's no wonder that MS has failed big time in the mobile sector. Whoever at Microsoft thinks Win RT is a multitasking OS is nuts.
Well, end of rant - do you suppose there's a workaround on the horizon?
docfreed said:
Right, connected tasks will not work - I cannot believe that Microsoft still can't come to grips with background apps - even Apple allows these to run. I mean you cannot even stream music with the screen off except with the poorly designed internal music app. Alarms (or the lack of thereof) have plagued MS since the early days of WinCE - it's no wonder that MS has failed big time in the mobile sector. Whoever at Microsoft thinks Win RT is a multitasking OS is nuts.
Well, end of rant - do you suppose there's a workaround on the horizon?
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windows RT is multitasking just in the Microsoft way. The act of app suspension and app killing takes the burden of open apps away from the user into the OS managed space (even iOS does this), however you should be looking at the display being off as suspend, I can understand them not letting apps other than their own preventing the system from suspending, otherwise anyone could write an app that is going to give you horrible battery life on your surface that never sleeps.
lilstevie said:
windows RT is multitasking just in the Microsoft way. The act of app suspension and app killing takes the burden of open apps away from the user into the OS managed space (even iOS does this), however you should be looking at the display being off as suspend, I can understand them not letting apps other than their own preventing the system from suspending, otherwise anyone could write an app that is going to give you horrible battery life on your surface that never sleeps.
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Not sure that i buy this - I can set an alarm on my Iphone 4S and then let the screen go off (sleep) - in the morning it will wake me up and of course, battery life is fantastic. Same goes for Android. On Win RT how bad would the battery life be if MS had a simple alarm clock running in the bkgnd - I mean I'm not asking to run Halo while it'as sleeping!
docfreed said:
Not sure that i buy this - I can set an alarm on my Iphone 4S and then let the screen go off (sleep) - in the morning it will wake me up and of course, battery life is fantastic. Same goes for Android. On Win RT how bad would the battery life be if MS had a simple alarm clock running in the bkgnd - I mean I'm not asking to run Halo while it'as sleeping!
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That was more in regards to third party music apps. With the alarm clock though if you take notice they will both be first party apps.
i assume that anyone needing or owning a tablet alreay own a smart phone, why the heck that ppl moan about things like alarms, and camera and etc. these features increase price. i wud happily purchase a cheaper surface with no camera, alarm, radio, gps, and so on, cos thats what my smartphone is for. the tablet is for proper work and entertainment. but hey opinions differ
spaco22 said:
i assume that anyone needing or owning a tablet alreay own a smart phone, why the heck that ppl moan about things like alarms, and camera and etc. these features increase price. i wud happily purchase a cheaper surface with no camera, alarm, radio, gps, and so on, cos thats what my smartphone is for. the tablet is for proper work and entertainment. but hey opinions differ
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The alarm wouldn't increase price of the tablet at all, and it's such a basic feature that there's really no excuse for MS not having it.
spaco22 said:
i assume that anyone needing or owning a tablet alreay own a smart phone,
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netham45 said:
it's such a basic feature that there's really no excuse for MS not having it.
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but you don't use your pc as an alarm clock do you? and if it were an x86 tablet like the plenty that already existed you wouldn't complain about the lack of alarm clock would you?
docfreed said:
Unless the Calendar is running in the foreground (active) I do not think so. I am noticing that when the Surface sleeps, or when you switch from certain running apps to another, the first process shuts down - it's not 100% true but mostly so. Kind of defeats the purpose of having alarm or wake up functions of the app setting the alarm always has to be actively running.
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calendar alerts go off even if the calendar is closed. I get alerts for all my meetings.
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express
schettj said:
calendar alerts go off even if the calendar is closed. I get alerts for all my meetings.
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express
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OK that's a start, do they also go off if the Surface is sleeping (screen off)?
lilstevie said:
but you don't use your pc as an alarm clock do you? and if it were an x86 tablet like the plenty that already existed you wouldn't complain about the lack of alarm clock would you?
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I don't understand these posts where people tell you how to use your device from a practical sense. I know people who use alarms on tablets so why should you tell us it shouldn't be a feature. Personally my daughter uses her android tablet all the time as an alarm clock next to her bed, while her phone is in the other room charging at night. I also would use the alarm on a Surface as I don't always keep every device I own at arms reach.
Saw the same argument about not having GPS on the Surface -I can see people wanting a GPS on a bigger screen like a tablet. So let's not judge everybody's use . : .
Calendar reminders/notifications for sure work when the device is in sleep mode.
I often hear my Surface at night in the room next door, or from my back-pack when traveling. It even allows you to "snooze". If it is very convenient as an alarm clock I do not know. It is kind of a hassle to set-up I guess.
MS in general does know how to do it of course, the native alarm app on the Windows Phones (7 and 8) works flawless and has been my best mate in the past years when traveling. It has only let me down once, but that was because the battery of the phone ran flat during the night.....
I was not aware of the "problem" of the Alarm Clock apps in the suspend state. It kinda defeats the purpose of the app if it does not run when the Surface and its owner are sleep mode...
Robin
guitar1969 said:
I don't understand these posts where people tell you how to use your device from a practical sense. I know people who use alarms on tablets so why should you tell us it shouldn't be a feature. Personally my daughter uses her android tablet all the time as an alarm clock next to her bed, while her phone is in the other room charging at night. I also would use the alarm on a Surface as I don't always keep every device I own at arms reach.
Saw the same argument about not having GPS on the Surface -I can see people wanting a GPS on a bigger screen like a tablet. So let's not judge everybody's use . : .
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I'm more referring to the fact that it is a windows tablet, and this isn't a complaint that people have had with previous versions of windows, even on tablets. It is a use case that Microsoft have probably never even thought about.
I recently noticed that the CPU on my rooted, stock rom Nexus 5 was running at levels of 70*% on all 4 cores. It came to my attention because this really slowed down the phone and made apps run very slow.
I asked about it and investigated but got no satisfactory responses. Finally I came across this
http://androidcommunity.com/nexus-5-camera-and-cpu-usage-bug-acknowledged-20140305/
I uninstalled the camera updates and the CPU usage immediately dropped to normal with only 2 cores being used most of the time.
So, if your phone has been running slow lately, it might be because of the latest camera update. Uninstalling the update might be the answer for you too.
the camera daemon was an issue way before the new camera came out. many many many have been experiencing it with the old camera. its not the camera itself btw, its a service your phone runs when taking photos(using the cam). and there are 2 temporary fixes for it.. 1. reboot your device, 2. use a free memory app to kill your services. as you can see that article was written way before the new camera app came out.
Which service should I kill? The battery app said it was "Android os" that was hogging it. Would disabling the camera app and using a different app make a difference?
Here's the difference I saw.
i use an app called FMR Memory Cleaner. i open it, press the button to run it(kill everything), and it frees my ram memory up. as a side effect, it kills that camera daemon service running. so it stops the high cpu usage/battery loss right after. basically, right after i stop using my camera, i run it.
btw, i used to work for androidcommunity.com(and actually get paid for it). i used to head and run their forums. and if you search simms22 in their search, a whole bunch of their news articles will pop up with me in them
Thanks. I thought task killers were useless because Android just reloads what it needs, but maybe it doesn't reload the camera daemon until the user calls it again. I don't use the camera much which is possibly why I had not noticed this till now.
Wonder if a boot manager could selectively prevent the camera and similar daemons from loading till actually called. But I don't know much about the inner workings of android.
Anderson2 said:
Thanks. I thought task killers were useless because Android just reloads what it needs, but maybe it doesn't reload the camera daemon until the user calls it again. I don't use the camera much which is possibly why I had not noticed this till now.
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its a matter of opinion. sure, android does the job. personally i dont like how android does it. ive been using a few free ram/fast reboot type memory freers apps for the past 5 years, and am very selective of which i use, as some are just junk. anyways, it keeps me happier in the end, and thats whats important. isnt it?
simms22 said:
its a matter of opinion. sure, android does the job. personally i dont like how android does it. ive been using a few free ram/fast reboot type memory freers apps for the past 5 years, and am very selective of which i use, as some are just junk. anyways, it keeps me happier in the end, and thats whats important. isnt it?
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Yes it is what's important.
And thank you for your help.