While Engadget gets many things wrong in this article (not mentioning the n900 in an article about mobile multitasking?), the reason they seem to think it's a myth is that almost none of the mobile OSs do multitasking very well. Those 3rd party task managers shouldn't have been necessary to use a WinMo device. When I've taken a look at Android or Symbian devices, it's not exactly obvious (on first glance) which apps are open. A little dot in the corner of the icon means it's open?
That said, mobile multitasking is definitely not a myth, not even for the average Joe. Say what you will about the readiness of the n900 for the average Joe, but that has nothing to do with multitasking. Maemo 5 really gets multitasking right, and I couldn't see a smartphone being nearly as useful without the multitasking Maemo has. And as far as more mainstream users go, my Mom loves the multitasking on her n900 and had no trouble just picking it up and understanding it as far as open applications and how to manage them.

Yeah, he starts out saying it's mostly a myth and ends up saying that Microsoft etc should let power users like him multitask. Some reasoning!

This is a double post, but true:

This kind of sounds like when Sega was killing Nintendo with the Genesis, when they still only had the NES out. Nintendo kept telling people "8bit is all there really is and all anyone needs".

In this case (fueled by their forum spin), it is both Apple and MS spinning for their OS's which have minimal to no multi-tasking. Though register stacks and wait states are used to give the illusions of some levels of multi-tasking on most mobile OS's, the N900 with Maemo 5 does make a more honest attempt at it, more than any other device.

At least MS is going whole-hog now and their new OS is exactly like Apples

MS's new joint commercial with Apple:

Uni-tasking, it is the future!

Informed Bloggers are mostly a myth.

So are some mid-range computer and laptop?
My Computer behave very similarly, clicked on X and take 1seconds delay to two.

Before the app is closed, it communicate with the CPU and RAM and also addressing the location. The bigger the app the slower the response. But I agreed that N900 was not the best lol. Why? because it is only running a 600Mhz CPU and 256RAM. My junkie computer at work that I'm using right now for testing purposes ran at 1.7Ghz and 756MB RAM. Still feel sluggish!!

Multi-tasking really kill the RAM and CPU you know! Sacrificing more RAM and CPU to get all the goodness.


WELL!!!
I cursed Enggadget for this crime!! The crime of ignoring the Multi-tasking beast mobile device

http://www.engadget.com

has funding from apple. mmooree brainwashing. how can it be a myth lol WDFFFF

As much as I can disagree with the article, and the resulting attitude here and other places that have linked to this piece, behaviorally, yes, multitasking is a myth - and mostly because of the input paradigms placed on our behaviors in respect to pocketable devices.

This does not mean that the devices are incapable of facilitating behaviors that lend one to multitasking events, such as using one finger to control the sound of an audio player in an applet panel while interacting via another finger (or input mechanism) in the primary application. The fact of the matter is that this isn't how mobile OSes, outside of webOS (as was cited unclearly to a degree in that article) behave.

The myth aspect of multitasking though was pointed at the wrong area. Its never the case that mobiles don't multitask. They *always* do. They have to, otherwise in tapping the screen, you'd get disconnected from the network.

The myth that has yet to be (dis)proven is that users do multiple actions on a screen through a primary input mechanism to multiple applications. There's nothing about any applications on Maemo now - including its vaunted task manager - that enable users to do this. And therefore, multitasking is indeed a myth until UI and behavior prove otherwise.

playing music via the desktop widget while getting lyrics via tune wiki from a second widget above and using FM transmitter widget at the side, i consider this multi tasking as all are being controlled from the desktop widgets which are all on one screen

The myth is that the user has to be multi-tasking in order for it to be called multi-tasking. Well, it just so happens that I'm a real task master, and whenever it suits me I give my n900 a laundry list of chores to do. I decide how I want to time slice my CPU. This kind of FUD-spreading ignorance pisses the fu©k out of me. And how dumb will idiots like this feel if on June 22 Apple announces an iPhone OS that allows third-party multi-tasking. Fu©ktard.

Interesting, about one of the comments up there about using the kill command -- I have never used the kill command on any of my tablets. I know what it is, but it has never come up... Usually closing the terminal or even rebooting is what I personally do.