Comments on: iPhone memory management and supposed ‘multitasking’

By: d1554573r

d1554573r — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:07:15 +0000

Open this file: /System
/Library/CoreService/SpringBoard.app/N82AP.plist
and set multitasking to FALSE to get rid of it.

Cydia has better offerings in terms of multitasking.

By: Colin Henderson

Colin Henderson — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 01:08:37 +0000

Good discussion here and I am learning too. thanks Rob M.

By: Rob M

Rob M — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 07:01:45 +0000

This is a common misconception people have with desktop operating systems too. Completely free RAM with no useful contents is wasted RAM, so every OS shipping today seeks to maximize it’s usage of it with various optimizations.

In this case, if no other program asks for the memory, there is no reason not to leave older programs in memory. As soon as another program asks for the the memory, the OS purges older programs to make room (which doesn’t require any noticeable performance hit).

I’d much rather have Safari still have my tabs loaded and cached when I return to it later in the day, then have those purged out and have to reload them if there was no need to.

By: Colin Henderson

Colin Henderson — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:35:06 +0000

Yoshi .. your points are well taken and I kind of intuitively thought that. However I still see the multitask bar as useless until I can control what is in there. I never use it. It is faster to keep everything organised in folders on the home screen. ( I do like the folders).
I remain suspicious that memory being held to the extent it is, is not somehow reducing my phones performance.
And Ray, yes I complained about many more things using my blackberries for 10 years. I would not go back despite the above.

By: Ray Gaunn

Ray Gaunn — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 04:29:35 +0000

memory management on blackberry sucks as well, what else is new?

By: yoshi

yoshi — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:39:51 +0000

So what? Is something not working on your phone? All your rant tells me that you have a 1995 view of what a computer should and should not be doing. Its not 1995. Its 2010. My advice is to delete the memory app because its useless in telling anymore what the real performance is on the phone.

And there is no such thing as “fake” multitasking. All OS’s limit what an application can and cannot do to varying degrees based on how they chose to architect the system. Apple choose a more stringent method to deal with the tighter resources of the device. Google chose a less stringent method. Personally I think Apple’s method is an better balance versus Android.

(and appadvice is hardly an expert on anything)