I am not impressed at all with the article. One example:
"Sunbird"..."but with so many comparable Web-based calendars available (all editable via a site), why bother? Sunbird is a pretty solid and straightforward stand-alone app, even if the utility of such a piece of software is in question."
Who is writing this stuff? Is he comparing to an in-house web-based calendar or something non-local like Google? If we are taking about Google/etc calendars:
1) Many people do not want their calendar tied to the web-only experience 2) Many companies might not want to be THAT dependent on a live, must-be-last, always there Internet connection 3) Many people do not want their sensitive data in the hands of some other company (like Google) 4) There are significant performance advantages to having a local calendar 5) Maybe a business wants their calendar tied to their local Email for alerts and reminders, not a third party
Why was this "questionable" status just stamped on Sunbird and not the other "stand alone" apps listed? Why was Evolution not mentioned? Why is "calendar" software considered "Office Suite" software but not Email? Why in their "communications" software article don't they stamp the "questionable" status on all the Email clients?
I have been telling people for YEARS how unwise it is to have or use a "debit" card with a Visa/MC logo on it. My bank kept INSISTING that I use one, and I would have to send it back and tell them to please send me a regular debit/ATM card. Many of the same people that thought I was "paranoid" and "obsessive" or just plain strange don't think so anymore. I know more than one person who has had money taken from their account and then it is up to THEM to try and get their money back, meanwhile checks are bouncing, fees are accumulating, credit scores are plummeting. Hours and hours of work to "fix", and then not really know if it is "fixed".
The whole idea of taking a perfectly good ATM card and then linking a Visa logo to it so someone can take JUST YOUR NUMBER (not even have the card) and wipe out your actual account, live, without even a PIN code, is just crazy. Get a CREDIT CARD and let *THEM* take the risk!!
Aside from Addons, the most important thing about Firefox is that it is OPEN SOURCE & MULTIPLATFORM. IE never will be either. Safari is MacOS and maybe MS-Windows only and is closed. Chrome/Chromium is trying on both fronts, but they had been dropping the ball with Linux- seems to be improving. Only Opera can really claim to also be truly multiplatform (feature/release parity on all platforms), like Firefox/Mozilla, but they are closed source.
No. You can open as many simultaneous cards (apps) as you have available memory (RAM). If you run out of RAM, then you will get a "too many cards open, please close one" error message. This is rarely an issue, except with some of the really big 3D action games which like LOTS of memory. (Palm doubled the RAM & Flash that the Sprint model had, starting with the Verizon model and also the upcoming AT&T version = even more "cards")
>That, and I've also chosen the BSD license for it's do-what-the-f*-you-want spirit.
I think you had no choice to choose the BSD license instead of the GPL. Had you chosen GPL, it is likely the project would have been immediately rejected by Microsoft.
>so I set it on the "touchstone" and it goes from 3% battery to 100% battery INSTANTLY? I highly doubt that.
That is not what I meant. I meant the effort to charge it (no cables, no connector, just slap it on there), not the time it takes to charge the battery. Sorry about that.
>And yes battery life has everything to do with the topic.
Tell that to the 1.6 million units sold. The recent estimates are around 4 to 10 million to be sold this year. That is a hell of a lot of "no one". Did you have some point?
>when the phone features that actually matter are long battery life, ease of use and good reception.
Well, the Pre/WebOS has reasonable battery life (for a smart phone), is very easy to use, and has good reception. But your point about the basic functions of many modern phones getting lost in buzz words and obscure features (sometimes to the point of SACRIFICING basic functionality) is right on the mark.
>So it basically implements multitasking like Android does it, with state saving and helper processes.
If you mean the new iphone OS coming, I believe so.
If you mean WebOS, absolutely not. The apps on those cards are "running" and require no helper process. The apps CAN choose to sleep if not needed or if waiting for focus (which only makes sense). The apps are all loaded in RAM and can continue to run... it is true multitasking.
On the surface it appears Apple's pseudo-multitasking would save battery life over true multitasking, but that is probably not the case. If you need to truly multitask and have more than one app actually doing something at the same time, then it will keep the CPU busier and use more battery. But having an app that CAN do something else at the same time doesn't mean it WILL do something... when it doesn't need to, it will sleep. And a sleeping 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc application will not add any additional drain to the system. And if they DO need to do something, well, that is the point of multitasking in the first place as opposed to just suspend-and-switch... you gotta give to get.
And with the iphone model of suspend-and-switch, it might save memory, but the app isn't READY if you switch back and forth a lot (and on my phone, I do). Ironically, that will incur MORE CPU cycles than if the app were already loaded, running, and just sleeping when waiting for focus.
The only problem with the WebOS model of true multitasking would be a poorly designed app that continues to do unnecessary work when it has no focus. I have yet to see such an app (and I have lots installed). Doesn't mean it can't happen, though.
It *is* a shining example of *how* to handle multitasking. But it is NOT a shining example of the performance in that particular case or point in time. That video is of their low-end phone (Pixi non-plus) with a slower processor, before they doubled the RAM, and before several significant OS updates to address those issues. (WebOS had only been out about 5 months at the video shooting, maybe less). I assure you, on a Pre with updates, it is tremendously faster (even on an updated Pixi+). The concept of the way WebOS handles multitasking is right-on.
You will have to do better than that. 1) Battery life has nothing to do with the topic 2) Welcome to fast smartphones 3) WebOs has been updated several times to significantly increase battery life 4) The Pre's battery life is on-par with the Droid 5) Unlike the iphone, at least you can easily swap the battery in the Pre/Pixi, and you can charge it instantly with magnetic induction on the touchstone.
> or the going bankrupt by catering to whims of tech forum trolls part?
Funny, I seem to remember a time when Apple was moving towards bankruptcy. The fact that they are having financial issues in a crowded market says little about the technology they offer. Again, has nothing to do with the topic of multitasking.
I agree that it might not be something that MOST people will need (TRUE multitasking), but it is very nice to have it. As far as a mechanism by which you explicitly close (or switch to) running applications, that is easy... You really need to go into YouTube and watch any of the zillion videos as to how it is handled in Palm WebOS (Pre or Pixi). It is a simple yet brilliant way to do it, and probably one of the best things about WebOS.
You can run as many apps as you have RAM to handle them. Each has it's own "card" (window), and you can visually swipe between them. When a card loses focus, the OS will well the app that, and the app will either continue to run (which is the default state, and works with anything) or decide it wants to pause (like a game might do, since it requires interaction). Cards can be quickly swiped off the screen to close the app, reordered, or focused. You can leave your most-used apps "running" all the time.
The only drawback is that it requires more RAM. Thankfully, newer devices get more and more:)
I have, and it doesn't impress me. It is far from true multitasking. If you want to see "slick", you need to look at how Palm WebOS does it, and has been doing it for the last 9 months the Pre has been out:
"What Apple is doing instead of 'true' multitasking is offering seven different OS-level services that apps can take advantage of in lieu of actually running in the background: audio, VOIP, location, push notifications, local notifications, task finishing, and fast app switching. To switch to a recently opened app, you double-tap the home button and a dock of your recent apps pops up"
If you want to see real phone multitasking in action, and with a wonderful UI to go along with it/manage it, look at how Palm WebOS does it.
Well, you better tell linuxcounter.org then! They estimate a total of 29 million Linux users world-wide. If just two distros- Unbuntu and Fedora claim 12 + 24 million, that is already 36 million, and you haven't even started counting Mandriva, SuSE, Debian, Mint, RedHat, or the dozens of smaller distros! If you believe all that, then MY estimate (more like guesstimate) would be close to 60-100 million Linux users.
Mplayer? Of course. But that is going too far in the other direction... now you would have no gui, no playlist, no random play, etc. I use mplayer if I want to play a video file, or if I want to play a single audio file. Otherwise, I do not use it for music.
Besides, I have Audacious bound to my keyboard so I can use the play/skip/pause/etc buttons:)
I know where you are coming from, Voulnet... I am irritated also. Won't stop you from being down-modded, though:( Can't wait to see the next multi-platform announcement about how some new program runs only one of Mandriva, Fedora, SuSe, or Ubuntu, instead of just saying "Linux".
Regardless, cross-platform development is always a good thing (as long as it is at least the current "biggest three"- MS-Windows, MacOS, and Linux).
Slashdot Mirror
I am not impressed at all with the article. One example:
"Sunbird"..."but with so many comparable Web-based calendars available (all editable via a site), why bother? Sunbird is a pretty solid and straightforward stand-alone app, even if the utility of such a piece of software is in question."
Who is writing this stuff? Is he comparing to an in-house web-based calendar or something non-local like Google? If we are taking about Google/etc calendars:
1) Many people do not want their calendar tied to the web-only experience
2) Many companies might not want to be THAT dependent on a live, must-be-last, always there Internet connection
3) Many people do not want their sensitive data in the hands of some other company (like Google)
4) There are significant performance advantages to having a local calendar
5) Maybe a business wants their calendar tied to their local Email for alerts and reminders, not a third party
Why was this "questionable" status just stamped on Sunbird and not the other "stand alone" apps listed? Why was Evolution not mentioned? Why is "calendar" software considered "Office Suite" software but not Email? Why in their "communications" software article don't they stamp the "questionable" status on all the Email clients?
I have been telling people for YEARS how unwise it is to have or use a "debit" card with a Visa/MC logo on it. My bank kept INSISTING that I use one, and I would have to send it back and tell them to please send me a regular debit/ATM card. Many of the same people that thought I was "paranoid" and "obsessive" or just plain strange don't think so anymore. I know more than one person who has had money taken from their account and then it is up to THEM to try and get their money back, meanwhile checks are bouncing, fees are accumulating, credit scores are plummeting. Hours and hours of work to "fix", and then not really know if it is "fixed".
The whole idea of taking a perfectly good ATM card and then linking a Visa logo to it so someone can take JUST YOUR NUMBER (not even have the card) and wipe out your actual account, live, without even a PIN code, is just crazy. Get a CREDIT CARD and let *THEM* take the risk!!
Time to get a TiVo. Service is $12/mo or less. No more cable-company-box prison, lots of additional features.
Aside from Addons, the most important thing about Firefox is that it is OPEN SOURCE & MULTIPLATFORM. IE never will be either. Safari is MacOS and maybe MS-Windows only and is closed. Chrome/Chromium is trying on both fronts, but they had been dropping the ball with Linux- seems to be improving. Only Opera can really claim to also be truly multiplatform (feature/release parity on all platforms), like Firefox/Mozilla, but they are closed source.
Maybe because I am human and humans make mistakes sometimes? Was your reply to that really necessary??
I play music all the time and have never had any stuttering. That that was from day one, nine months ago (before the performance increasing updates).
No. You can open as many simultaneous cards (apps) as you have available memory (RAM). If you run out of RAM, then you will get a "too many cards open, please close one" error message. This is rarely an issue, except with some of the really big 3D action games which like LOTS of memory. (Palm doubled the RAM & Flash that the Sprint model had, starting with the Verizon model and also the upcoming AT&T version = even more "cards")
>That, and I've also chosen the BSD license for it's do-what-the-f*-you-want spirit. I think you had no choice to choose the BSD license instead of the GPL. Had you chosen GPL, it is likely the project would have been immediately rejected by Microsoft.
>Actually the battery life part is key to doing proper (which is better than true) multi-tasking on mobile device. The GP is actually 100% correct.
I would agree with you, but only if true multitasking used more battery... which it doesn't. See http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1612316&cid=31783436
>so I set it on the "touchstone" and it goes from 3% battery to 100% battery INSTANTLY? I highly doubt that.
That is not what I meant. I meant the effort to charge it (no cables, no connector, just slap it on there), not the time it takes to charge the battery. Sorry about that.
>And yes battery life has everything to do with the topic.
No it doesn't. See this message: http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1612316&cid=31783436
Tell that to the 1.6 million units sold. The recent estimates are around 4 to 10 million to be sold this year. That is a hell of a lot of "no one". Did you have some point?
Perhaps they overpatched it or something? I have never had to "reboot" my Pre in the 9 months I have owned it... other than as part of an OS upgrade.
>when the phone features that actually matter are long battery life, ease of use and good reception.
Well, the Pre/WebOS has reasonable battery life (for a smart phone), is very easy to use, and has good reception. But your point about the basic functions of many modern phones getting lost in buzz words and obscure features (sometimes to the point of SACRIFICING basic functionality) is right on the mark.
>So it basically implements multitasking like Android does it, with state saving and helper processes.
If you mean the new iphone OS coming, I believe so.
If you mean WebOS, absolutely not. The apps on those cards are "running" and require no helper process. The apps CAN choose to sleep if not needed or if waiting for focus (which only makes sense). The apps are all loaded in RAM and can continue to run... it is true multitasking.
On the surface it appears Apple's pseudo-multitasking would save battery life over true multitasking, but that is probably not the case. If you need to truly multitask and have more than one app actually doing something at the same time, then it will keep the CPU busier and use more battery. But having an app that CAN do something else at the same time doesn't mean it WILL do something... when it doesn't need to, it will sleep. And a sleeping 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc application will not add any additional drain to the system. And if they DO need to do something, well, that is the point of multitasking in the first place as opposed to just suspend-and-switch... you gotta give to get.
And with the iphone model of suspend-and-switch, it might save memory, but the app isn't READY if you switch back and forth a lot (and on my phone, I do). Ironically, that will incur MORE CPU cycles than if the app were already loaded, running, and just sleeping when waiting for focus.
The only problem with the WebOS model of true multitasking would be a poorly designed app that continues to do unnecessary work when it has no focus. I have yet to see such an app (and I have lots installed). Doesn't mean it can't happen, though.
It *is* a shining example of *how* to handle multitasking. But it is NOT a shining example of the performance in that particular case or point in time. That video is of their low-end phone (Pixi non-plus) with a slower processor, before they doubled the RAM, and before several significant OS updates to address those issues. (WebOS had only been out about 5 months at the video shooting, maybe less). I assure you, on a Pre with updates, it is tremendously faster (even on an updated Pixi+). The concept of the way WebOS handles multitasking is right-on.
> The three-hour battery life part
You will have to do better than that. 1) Battery life has nothing to do with the topic 2) Welcome to fast smartphones 3) WebOs has been updated several times to significantly increase battery life 4) The Pre's battery life is on-par with the Droid 5) Unlike the iphone, at least you can easily swap the battery in the Pre/Pixi, and you can charge it instantly with magnetic induction on the touchstone.
> or the going bankrupt by catering to whims of tech forum trolls part?
Funny, I seem to remember a time when Apple was moving towards bankruptcy. The fact that they are having financial issues in a crowded market says little about the technology they offer. Again, has nothing to do with the topic of multitasking.
Now... who is the troll?
I agree that it might not be something that MOST people will need (TRUE multitasking), but it is very nice to have it. As far as a mechanism by which you explicitly close (or switch to) running applications, that is easy... You really need to go into YouTube and watch any of the zillion videos as to how it is handled in Palm WebOS (Pre or Pixi). It is a simple yet brilliant way to do it, and probably one of the best things about WebOS.
You can run as many apps as you have RAM to handle them. Each has it's own "card" (window), and you can visually swipe between them. When a card loses focus, the OS will well the app that, and the app will either continue to run (which is the default state, and works with anything) or decide it wants to pause (like a game might do, since it requires interaction). Cards can be quickly swiped off the screen to close the app, reordered, or focused. You can leave your most-used apps "running" all the time.
The only drawback is that it requires more RAM. Thankfully, newer devices get more and more :)
The number of CPU cores has absolute nothing to do with singletasking vs. multitasking. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_multitasking
I have, and it doesn't impress me. It is far from true multitasking. If you want to see "slick", you need to look at how Palm WebOS does it, and has been doing it for the last 9 months the Pre has been out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waS1jKCrm5I&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mMIHQhSyw4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-bGE7FCmDQ
Sorry, but it is NOT true multitasking. Applications will have to be re-written to act like a service, then they will be "suspended" and enable quick application switching: http://www.precentral.net/apple-plays-its-multitasking-card-its-no-ace
"What Apple is doing instead of 'true' multitasking is offering seven different OS-level services that apps can take advantage of in lieu of actually running in the background: audio, VOIP, location, push notifications, local notifications, task finishing, and fast app switching. To switch to a recently opened app, you double-tap the home button and a dock of your recent apps pops up"
If you want to see real phone multitasking in action, and with a wonderful UI to go along with it/manage it, look at how Palm WebOS does it.
It was a typo. And with Slashdot, you can't edit once it is posted
Well, you better tell linuxcounter.org then! They estimate a total of 29 million Linux users world-wide. If just two distros- Unbuntu and Fedora claim 12 + 24 million, that is already 36 million, and you haven't even started counting Mandriva, SuSE, Debian, Mint, RedHat, or the dozens of smaller distros! If you believe all that, then MY estimate (more like guesstimate) would be close to 60-100 million Linux users.
Mplayer? Of course. But that is going too far in the other direction... now you would have no gui, no playlist, no random play, etc. I use mplayer if I want to play a video file, or if I want to play a single audio file. Otherwise, I do not use it for music.
Besides, I have Audacious bound to my keyboard so I can use the play/skip/pause/etc buttons :)
I know where you are coming from, Voulnet... I am irritated also. Won't stop you from being down-modded, though :( Can't wait to see the next multi-platform announcement about how some new program runs only one of Mandriva, Fedora, SuSe, or Ubuntu, instead of just saying "Linux".
Regardless, cross-platform development is always a good thing (as long as it is at least the current "biggest three"- MS-Windows, MacOS, and Linux).