I don't get it!

[MrMercedes]

Forgive me for sounding dumb, but I just don't get why programs that I don't even open are running in the background. I downloaded a task killer which is another thing I don't think we should need. Anyway when in the task killer there are like 5 or 6 apps running even though I didn't touch them. Why is this? Can I turn this off.

Is there a way to set only the apps I want to run in the background? Or can I turn off multitasking all together? Once again, sorry if I sound like Im complaining......

 

[storino03]

They are set to poll data at intervals. You can turn it off in settings

 

[MrMercedes]

Where in the setting? I cant seem to find them...

 

[storino03]

Settings, Sync, Background Data---check box (uncheck it)

 

[TreyDaPrince]

Task killers are not needed since Android is smart enough to kill apps over time if they are not in use. Some apps need to run in the background at all times in order to operate properly and then there are some apps that have to play with other apps in order to work. Killing these processes could harm the functionality of the app. There is no need to be a memory nazi. Trust me, whether you have 1 app or 10 apps running in the background, a 1ghz processor can handle it WELL.


But...if you really want to use a task killer here's an article that Jerry wrote that teaches you how to use it and some pros and cons.

http://www.androidcentral.com/how-properly-set-and-use-task-killer-oh-yes-i-went-there

 

[tntsniper#CB]

Task killers are not needed since Android is smart enough to kill apps over time if they are not in use. Some apps need to run in the background at all times in order to operate properly and then there are some apps that have to play with other apps in order to work. Killing these processes could harm the functionality of the app. There is no need to be a memory nazi. Trust me, whether you have 1 app or 10 apps running in the background, a 1ghz processor can handle it WELL.


But...if you really want to use a task killer here's an article that Jerry wrote that teaches you how to use it and some pros and cons.

http://www.androidcentral.com/how-properly-set-and-use-task-killer-oh-yes-i-went-there

Wrong..you do want a task killer.. programs running in the bg eat up battery life and system resources.. I honestly think a lot of the bad battery reviews are bc people aren't used to Android and don't properly kill apps..

 

[TreyDaPrince]

google-and-cyanogen-comments-imply-task-killermanager-apps-are-pointless/

So I guess they're wrong too. Did you even click the link, or did you just skim through my post? Been using Android for a while now...think I know what I'm doing and what I'm talking about.

 

[MannyZ28]

To kill or not to kill, that is the question here. Coming from a Pre, I am so happy with how my Evo performs without me having to manage things on my own that I am not even going to start with a task killer. I think we are all suffering from "New Phone" syndrome. You know the Evo is fast, you're scared it might bog down after a while like most WinMo phones did, so you want to keep your ram usage and app usage as low as possible. It's kinda like buying that microfiber towel, obsessively cleaning your screen, just to put your greasy paws on it seconds later to answer a text message.

In my usage so far (and I use it a lot) I haven't run into any performance issues at all, so I am just going to leave it as it is.

Just follow the tips outlined in this article to maximize your batter life instead.

20 tips to improve HTC EVO 4G battery life

This is a nice website with some good info.

 

[kinster02]

Thanks guys especially MannyZ28 for the links to some good tips. I'm a former Pre owner and I use a program call multi task manager and it allows you to switch between 15 programs and kill them similar to Iphone's new OS 4.0.

 

[Kedar]

I read the articles above...
I use Advanced Task Manager or w/e... and close every app but the ones I'm using sometimes.

Like if I'm browsing and listening to Pandora... I close every other app but those two.
I don't close services.
It'd be cool if some tests were done to prove/disprove the beneficial usage of taskkillers.

 

[boomhower1820]

You don't need a task killer on Android. Widgets and other apps run into the background to update data. They do more harm than good. This has been proven time and again by Android veterans. There is plenty of data and articles out there. Let the new users read and make up their own minds. If they want to use them that is their choice.

 

[Caitlyn McKenzie]

I read the articles above...
I use Advanced Task Manager or w/e... and close every app but the ones I'm using sometimes.

Like if I'm browsing and listening to Pandora... I close every other app but those two.
I don't close services.
It'd be cool if some tests were done to prove/disprove the beneficial usage of taskkillers.

Tests? Why do you need tests? It's a simple idea:

Does having 100MB of RAM completely empty make your phone any faster than, say, 20MB of RAM?

The answer is simply, no. In fact, killing those apps off when you might return to them will make your phone actually appear slower. In addition, Android will kill apps all by itself when it actually needs more RAM, a process that is nearly instantaneous.

You should never need to kill an app unless it is spiraling out of control.

 

[akarol]

I keep reading about Android's amazing task management and how it's main priority is to conserve battery life, and yada-yada-yada... but the fact of the matter is, that over time, after opening and closing apps, the phone starts lagging. Low and behold, if you check the RAM available with a Task Manager, you'll see how low it is.

Obviously, Android isn't doing that great of a job managing the applications running in the back and foreground.

I heard about a Task Killer app that allowed you to set a threshold and select which programs you'd kill in order when that threshold is reached. Any idea what the program is?

Thanks in advance...

 

[gabbott]

I don't understand why the people who want to use a task killer have already installed one. Wouldn't you want to use the phone for a couple weeks with your normal usage to actually see how battery life is? Then when you install the task killer after that period you can actually see if it is being beneficial. Otherwise, hard to see what the affect of running one on the EVO.

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

Because the dumb people at Sprint are recommending them to people when they get one. The sales rep who sold me the Hero recommended it being the first thing I buy. Its not like WebOS. Android does a damn good job on its own to kill tasks... WebOS is designed to never kill them and hence why they get the Too Many Cards issue. Trust me, Task Killers do more harm than good. I had one on my Hero at first, but haven't used one in 4-5 months and my battery life improved.
And to answer someone's comments earlier about free memory... it actually does run much slower when you have less free memory. But its not an android problem per se, its a Sense issue. Sense needs more free RAM to stay snappy. This is not relevant on an Evo though.

 

[Caitlyn McKenzie]

rufflez: I said that about free memory, and I was right. Free memory doesn't make something run faster. In fact, it has absolutely no performance impact at all until you NEED memory. And seeing as how Android is designed to kill off apps in that situation, combined with the fact that Sense caches what it needs in RAM to begin with, I don't see anything that makes your statement true.

 

[Darth Mo]

rufflez: I said that about free memory, and I was right. Free memory doesn't make something run faster. In fact, it has absolutely no performance impact at all until you NEED memory. And seeing as how Android is designed to kill off apps in that situation, combined with the fact that Sense caches what it needs in RAM to begin with, I don't see anything that makes your statement true.

People are used to Windows where as the RAM filled up, the system would swap to the hard drive and back and the hard drive access time is literally millions of times slower than physical RAM.

Where there is one byte written to the RAM or 5 MB free, it makes no difference in access speed with no swap drive involved.

 

[akarol]

Guys, I don't know about you, but lagginess and lack of free space is very correlative. Pretty obvious to me that it does impact performance/battery life. Monitor your phone with SystemPanel and you'll know what I mean.

 

[gabbott]

Guys, I don't know about you, but lagginess and lack of free space is very correlative. Pretty obvious to me that it does impact performance/battery life. Monitor your phone with SystemPanel and you'll know what I mean.

But it would take more battery life to load something into memory. So if a tast killer is killing a task and then it keeps getting loaded into memory instead of staying in memory it can be counter-productive and drain more battery.

 

[akarol]

All battery drain tests point to it being a lot more effective to run a Task Killer than having Android manage the apps. Look it up.