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Is there a section to talk about Java ME? Apps, etc. (6)
to General by Kalatti - 5 days, 3 hrs ago - more...
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2010-09-07
, 16:31
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#52
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Originally Posted by Pigro
Thanks! Rest assured that multitasking remains strong also in MeeGo devices. Recent screenshots from the MeeGo project confirm the multitasking strength in the UI.
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Multitasking is the phone's biggest USP and for 'sensible' use it works pretty well for me - however I'd say 4-5 open app's would be the most I'd generally attempt if I wanted both 'foreground' & swap performance to remain acceptable, and I'd always close them down as soon as they were no longer in use.
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2010-09-07
, 16:32
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#53
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if it doesn't impact noticeably battery life nor performance in general, i would be willing to run a prog int he background to gather statistics of how many and of which app i keep open at any given time
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2010-09-07
, 16:34
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#54
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I typically have a few browser pages open. I have mainly used the N900 as an almost-computer, and haven't consistently used it as a phone as well, but when I DID use it as a phone I found that I typically also regularly had a conversation window or two open for texting.
Beyond that, I often find myself having XChat open, FreOffice in order to take notes in class (college student), and when working on my books (was waiting for FreOffice in order to be able to do that for a while). Typically I try not to have too much stuff open if I use VNC or RDesktop to connect to my home machines, but I never had problems having ~4-6 other apps open at once in the background with it. I would run SSH is I was better with it as well, but for the time being I only use it occasionally.
I don't know why people complain about the 256 RAM - yes it's a bit slower than a typical laptop for things like heavy browsing with all the swapping it does, and the occasional hang-up while you tap at the screen wondering why nothing is happening is annoying, but over-all I feel the multitasking holds up really well.
One thing I want to emphasize, that this poll may not necessarily show at a glance: What's great about the N900, and I think a lot of users would agree, is that even if you don't typically use more than 1-3 apps at once, when you do want to pop open 10 browser windows or various apps at once, it can handle it, and it does it conveniently and smoothly. Because I suspect that while a lot of people (myself included) do close all or most of their apps when they are done with them, what makes the N900 experience enjoyable is that you don't really feel trapped or impeded when a situation comes up that does make you want to use 10-15 different apps and/or browser windows. I don't 'typically' use more than 6 windows at once. But sometimes, I want to open a handful of new links, without having to stop using what I am using, and what's great about the N900 is that it lets me do it easily.
Just thought I should say that in case someone at the head of future Maemo/MeeGo developments decides to assume that just because most users use 1-3 apps regularly, that they don't greatly enjoy having the opportunity to use 10+ when they want to.
- Edit -
I see this was already somewhat addressed (somewhat in more direct terms, as well), by the time I had finished typing and posted my reply. The screenshot of MeeGo do indicate multitasking is going strong. Just hoping no one at Nokia takes the poll results to be indicative that making multitasking beyond the first 3-6 apps convenient or workable would be something that wouldn't impact the quality of the multitasking feature.
Last edited by Mentalist Traceur; 2010-09-07 at 16:39.
Beyond that, I often find myself having XChat open, FreOffice in order to take notes in class (college student), and when working on my books (was waiting for FreOffice in order to be able to do that for a while). Typically I try not to have too much stuff open if I use VNC or RDesktop to connect to my home machines, but I never had problems having ~4-6 other apps open at once in the background with it. I would run SSH is I was better with it as well, but for the time being I only use it occasionally.
I don't know why people complain about the 256 RAM - yes it's a bit slower than a typical laptop for things like heavy browsing with all the swapping it does, and the occasional hang-up while you tap at the screen wondering why nothing is happening is annoying, but over-all I feel the multitasking holds up really well.
One thing I want to emphasize, that this poll may not necessarily show at a glance: What's great about the N900, and I think a lot of users would agree, is that even if you don't typically use more than 1-3 apps at once, when you do want to pop open 10 browser windows or various apps at once, it can handle it, and it does it conveniently and smoothly. Because I suspect that while a lot of people (myself included) do close all or most of their apps when they are done with them, what makes the N900 experience enjoyable is that you don't really feel trapped or impeded when a situation comes up that does make you want to use 10-15 different apps and/or browser windows. I don't 'typically' use more than 6 windows at once. But sometimes, I want to open a handful of new links, without having to stop using what I am using, and what's great about the N900 is that it lets me do it easily.
Just thought I should say that in case someone at the head of future Maemo/MeeGo developments decides to assume that just because most users use 1-3 apps regularly, that they don't greatly enjoy having the opportunity to use 10+ when they want to.
- Edit -
I see this was already somewhat addressed (somewhat in more direct terms, as well), by the time I had finished typing and posted my reply. The screenshot of MeeGo do indicate multitasking is going strong. Just hoping no one at Nokia takes the poll results to be indicative that making multitasking beyond the first 3-6 apps convenient or workable would be something that wouldn't impact the quality of the multitasking feature.
Last edited by Mentalist Traceur; 2010-09-07 at 16:39.
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2010-09-07
, 16:47
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#55
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Originally Posted by fatalsaint
What I want to know is indeed how much apps are typically open, not at maximum when you need it. It's also important to know the max but for the sake of marketing and usability testing, it's more important to know right what you typically in your own view do and need. And no worries, this is not a question on whether you need the feature in the future but how you use it now and with which apps. We have lots of consumer research and usability research, but very often the depth is missing in this research such as which and how many community apps you are using. The posts here give a lot of insight.
To be honest the question scares me. The question in the poll is:
The "keep open" scares me. Obviously when a company such as Nokia asks questions like these they are gauging interest and usability of a particular feature. The primary reason for such would be to determine if including that feature in future projects is worth the effort.
Deductive reasoning seems to give the implication that Nokia is wondering how to handle Multi-tasking in their UX for say, MeeGo.. just throwing something out there.
The problem is that the way the question is asked gives a rather, skewed, answer pool that actually isn't reflective of the "feature" itself.
Multi-tasking is not beneficial, usually, because of having 100 apps at the same time all the time.. which is implied by the "keep open" part of the poll. Multi-tasking is beneficial in having the ability to open those 100 apps, at the same time, when you need them.
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2010-09-07
, 16:47
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#56
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most of the time, i multitask with 4-6 programs open. whenever i browse, i always open a new browser for a thread / article that i want to read after i finish what i'm currently reading. there are other apps open too for daily checks like feedingit, email, tweego, and etc.
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2010-09-07
, 16:51
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Joined on Dec 2007
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#57
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About 9 months ago over 100 people voted via a bug report for the most useful, simple addition of multi-tasking, and it's still missing. And yes, for the amount of time, energy and battery that gets wasted, I still consider this a bug:
Where is the "Open Link in Background" popup-menu item for microb?
I'm writing this from one of my 9 windows; 5 of which are transient browsers that I have to visit more than once because there's not enough multi-tasking.
Where is the "Open Link in Background" popup-menu item for microb?
I'm writing this from one of my 9 windows; 5 of which are transient browsers that I have to visit more than once because there's not enough multi-tasking.
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2010-09-07
, 16:51
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@ Canada
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#58
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I usually have 3, 4 web browser windows open. Throw in email on occasion also or xchat.
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2010-09-07
, 16:54
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#59
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Originally Posted by Mentalist Traceur
This feedback can be taken into account for testing and confirm the UI layout, no doubt. More important from use case point of view is that a lot of you guys are actively managing the amount of apps. Sometimes consciously few apps, sometimes a good bunch when needed. So, an average is never representative but only you know what you consider typical.
...
One thing I want to emphasize, that this poll may not necessarily show at a glance: What's great about the N900, and I think a lot of users would agree, is that even if you don't typically use more than 1-3 apps at once, when you do want to pop open 10 browser windows or various apps at once, it can handle it, and it does it conveniently and smoothly. Because I suspect that while a lot of people (myself included) do close all or most of their apps when they are done with them, what makes the N900 experience enjoyable is that you don't really feel trapped or impeded when a situation comes up that does make you want to use 10-15 different apps and/or browser windows. I don't 'typically' use more than 6 windows at once. But sometimes, I want to open a handful of new links, without having to stop using what I am using, and what's great about the N900 is that it lets me do it easily.
Just thought I should say that in case someone at the head of future Maemo/MeeGo developments decides to assume that just because most users use 1-3 apps regularly, that they don't greatly enjoy having the opportunity to use 10+ when they want to.
- Edit -
I see this was already somewhat addressed (somewhat in more direct terms, as well), by the time I had finished typing and posted my reply. The screenshot of MeeGo do indicate multitasking is going strong. Just hoping no one at Nokia takes the poll results to be indicative that making multitasking beyond the first 3-6 apps convenient or workable would be something that wouldn't impact the quality of the multitasking feature.
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2010-09-07
, 16:55
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#60
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Originally Posted by Peter@Maemo Marketing
Then really the question has very little to do with multitasking in the N900 and more to do with some of the other threads around here about "Your favorite N900 Applications" with a slight twist of: "Your favorite N900 Applications you leave running."
What I want to know is indeed how much apps are typically open, not at maximum when you need it. It's also important to know the max but for the sake of marketing and usability testing, it's more important to know right what you typically in your own view do and need. And no worries, this is not a question on whether you need the feature in the future but how you use it now and with which apps. We have lots of consumer research and usability research, but very often the depth is missing in this research such as which and how many community apps you are using. The posts here give a lot of insight.
So, the question really had me confused. The only 2 apps (not including desktop widgets and Queenbeacon stuff) that are almost always 100% up on my phone are a single XTerm window and XChat.
Everything else is entirely situation dependent.
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Deductive reasoning seems to give the implication that Nokia is wondering how to handle Multi-tasking in their UX for say, MeeGo.. just throwing something out there
The problem is that the way the question is asked gives a rather, skewed, answer pool that actually isn't reflective of the "feature" itself.
Multi-tasking is not beneficial, usually, because of having 100 apps at the same time all the time.. which is implied by the "keep open" part of the poll. Multi-tasking is beneficial in having the ability to open those 100 apps, at the same time, when you need them.
So again.. the wording and possible implications of this poll scare me. For example:
The apps I typically keep open (always running):
XChat
1-2 Xterm windows
Active Conversations windows (after I stop talking to someone for a while though I close them)
I also have a few widgets on the desktop such as Calendar and Email. I consider those uses of Multi-tasking as they periodically check for new mail and keep my calendar for the day readily visible. As such, I chose 4-6 apps.
The problem is.. technically if we only look at that specific usage of my phone, Android even fills that gap. (Well.. I had issues with android maintaining an actual, constant, all day IRC connection but we'll talk theory here).
However... when I actively need to use my phone, especially for work, I keep my IRC window and Conversations open from above.. but I also wind up with something similar to Khertan's screenshot. I end up with several Xterm windows SSH'd into multiple servers, with some editing python files or the like, maybe have some music going, still keep my conversations with my buddies going, add a couple of browser windows googling whatever problem I'm currently working on - and all this while seemlessly transferring from browser window to browser window, copy/pasting text from terminals to conversations to browsers... etc.
Doing all that on something like Android would be more difficult, if at all possible, than the interface of the N900.
So, the point is: The power of multi-tasking is not what you typically keep alive on your system - but what the most you have used in any given situation that would not have been possible (or harder) on any other device.
That is where the N900 truly shines.
If I've helped you or you use any of my packages feel free to help me out.
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