MultiTasking

[kenlucky91]

I think multi-tasking will be available when mac osx port to iPad.

 

[facebookfrank]

Will the new OS have unrestricted multi-tasking?

 

[rdharper]

I think that multitasking will need to be handled very carefully and only extended to applications that absolutely need it (e.g. music, telephony, and mail). I worry that it will increase the 'crap factor' and make the iPad less elegant and reliable.

It's important to remember that the iPad's simplicity will be the cornerstone of its success. It's really more of a consumer electronics device than it is a computer, which is why it can remain relatively inexpensive and easy to use. It provides all the functionality of a computer without the previous limitations and costs, because it has compromised certain features to keep true to its design maxim. Each app is designed for a specific purpose; form follows function. This is a nice equilibrium.

Forcing developers to keep their apps completely self-contained, as well as saving state persistence between sessions (when the app is closed, then reopened) is really good design discipline. Offering multitasking would endanger this discipline by offering kludges. Developers will get lazy and try to find workarounds, resulting in buggy software. I think that the current situation is much better.

Besides, multitasking could be achieved in a round about fashion by offloading some of the functionality of the app to a server Cloud (as ScanR does) and having the interconnectivity between applications happen there, rather than on the device itself.

No, I'm really glad that the device doesn't support multitasking. It keeps the system simple, reliable, prolongs battery life and forces developers and users to take a new, different and exciting approach to computing.

The basic question is, will the processor handle the added demands without bogging down often enough to be annoying. I suspect not. Even the existing system will bog down occasionally, but not enough to annoy.

Sometimes more is not better. But you said it better.

 

[alanok]

Multitasking is not the point of this device.

Ok, even if it isn't the "point", shouldn't *every* device be able to multi-task? I mean, why not??

 

[iBold]

jailbroken ipad use backgrounder to multitask if you need it...

 

[monkeyboy]

Multitasking is not the point of this device.

Ok, even if it isn't the "point", shouldn't *every* device be able to multi-task? I mean, why not??

agreed... its not like multitasking/multiprocessing is some new technology or invention that has yet to be proven... The understanding of how to do multitasking properly dates back to the 1960's and practically every CS student since then has studied it and re-implemented it ad naseum. Every CPU built for the past 2 decades has hardware support for protected mode multitasking. And claims that it runs down the battery I find to be totally bogus. There is nothing about multitasking per se that will chew up the battery. And "state saving" doesn't begin to address the need for multitasking, because you (the ipad) can't save the state of the outside world.

For the iphone, prohibiting multitasking was prolly to insure better real-time response (particularly for phone events), since MAC OS X is not a real-time OS. But that is just laziness since it is also quite well know how to write decent real-time OSs. For the iPad, real-time response is (somewhat) less important... We can thank Android and webOS for putting enough pressure on Apple to finally do something about it, even if it still sounds so-so in iOS4...

The only real question about multitasking is the UI and how to best allow a user to manage multitasking. But there are plenty of examples, even if some or all have flaws, all are FAR better than not having multitasking at all...

apologists for Apple explaining why no multitasking sound like Gates/MS in the '80's and 90's explaining the "virtues" of "cooperative" multitasking in Windows, when real multitasking, even then, was a well-practiced art (ie feature) of all serious OSs...

 

[avivit02]

These is what you have to do...? While my iPad is stocked because a respringing operation since last night, and won't finish the respringing, you're speculating about Multitask???
Come'on, whenever it comes it comes!

 

[MikesTooLz]

The way multi-tasking works in OS 4 is that first off it does save the apps current state to make switching back quick. The apps are then able to tap into a few services like audio, location, etc... So the audio from pandora will still stream but no processor power is used on that app for displaying and other things like keeping it all in memory.

Its not Full multitasking but it actually is better this way for mobile devices.

 

[lilrabbit129]

Multitasking is not the point of this device.

Ok, even if it isn't the "point", shouldn't *every* device be able to multi-task? I mean, why not??

No, not *every* device should multi-task. Multi-tasking introduces overhead ( more ram, more processing power, etc). If there's no reason to run more than one program at once then you shouldn't. There are a lot of single-purposes devices in our lives that do one thing, and one thing well.

This isn't to say that the iPad shouldn't have multitasking, just saying that not every device magically gets better when it multitasks.

 

[muyoso]

I love how Apple's consumers vigorously defend Apple no matter what. Multitasking is stupid and not needed, right up until the point when Apple introduces multitasking and then its magnificent and a killer feature. So much apologizing for Apple goes on in every single thread on every single Apple themed forum. Yes, a device like the iPad should have multitasking, and no Apple's solution is not better than full multitasking. Their solution is better than no multitasking, but its not true multitasking and therefore is not ideal.

Multitasking With iOS 4 is Horrible: Apple Blew It - Yahoo! News

That pretty much sums it up. You know, its OK to criticize Apple when they make mistakes or when their solution to a problem is not ideal.

 

[Hasty]

Heh do you know why I defend Apple ?
It's because I feel the whole argument is irrelevant.
Like the number of angels who can dance on the head of a pin.

I'm content with the way it works now and really can't say I think about multitasking from one day to the next. I just work with the limitation of whatever machine I'm using.
Guess my glass is half full.......

Whenever I read your name here it has iPad Enthusiast! After it