Thoughts on Multi-Tasking

[talkingnewmedia]

Ever see the AT&T commercial with the guy saying that on an iPhone you can take a call and surf the web at the same time? Sure you have.

Expect similar commercials from future tablet manufacturers stating that their tablet let's you surf the web and listen to Pandora at the same time -- or some variable of that.

Apple is creating marketing opportunities like crazy for the competition. Yes, they have lots of advantages, as well, like sleek products, a good OS, etc. But if I were going in the tablet business (like HP and others) I'd make sure multitasking, a camera, and 3G came on every model, no matter how butt ugly my product was.

 

[lordhamster]

Ever see the AT&T commercial with the guy saying that on an iPhone you can take a call and surf the web at the same time? Sure you have.

Expect similar commercials from future tablet manufacturers stating that their tablet let's you surf the web and listen to Pandora at the same time -- or some variable of that.

Apple is creating marketing opportunities like crazy for the competition. Yes, they have lots of advantages, as well, like sleek products, a good OS, etc. But if I were going in the tablet business (like HP and others) I'd make sure multitasking, a camera, and 3G came on every model, no matter how butt ugly my product was.

Good points. I think its going to be a matter of Getting to market first. If apple can manage to capture significant market share early on, they'll have significant advantage... even if competitors offer competing units with "better" specs.

For example, I have an iPhone 3GS. When the Nexus One came out I was severely tempted to jump ship, but all my media, and my little apps I've purchased kept me with the iPhone. I just don't want to be without my Navigon and my Pocket god and iBeer. If Apple can capture the developer and user community, then the competition will need to be VERY innovative indeed.

 

[EssentialParado]

Expect similar commercials from future tablet manufacturers stating that their tablet let's you surf the web and listen to Pandora at the same time -- or some variable of that.

Apple is creating marketing opportunities like crazy for the competition.

Is Pandora that well known? I thought it was primarily used by techy people, I might be wrong though, we don't have Pandora in Europe.

 

[nutmac]

Regarding push notification as a viable solution for lack of multitasking, the current implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

As it stands, iPhone only displays the last notification message. All the previous messages are lost, unless the app respects and updates the badge icon (not many do), as well as have a screen where one can easily review these notifications (again, not many do).

Perhaps you should be blaming app developers for that, but Apple could do a better job as well. There should be a screen to review all the past notifications, for instance.

The current reality is, iPhones have limited amount of memory for running many multiple apps at once. I think Apple can (1) specify background requirement to get App Store approval (e.g., lower memory and CPU usage, prohibit certain APIs when running in the background) and (2) make multitasking a user provisioned feature, much like GPS and push notification currently are ("Allow Map to use current location?" dialog box).

 

[Dammit Cubs]

I feel like multitasking is a bit overrated. I know the first thing people say is "i want to listen to pandora while browsing the web" and I'll agree with you, thats badass. But thats easy to get around, have you seen espn's radio implementation for dealing with background tasks (its genius).

The thing is, with the space you have, its not a true multi-task. Those screens are designed for one app. One app that give that specific user experience. They should have better tools for switching, but most of the apps auto save when close, you dont lose anything. if all you are gonna do is open one app and then move to another app and move back. When thats what you are already doing now aren't you?

I think to get around multitask is to do a multiapps. take 2 tasks and create them into one app.

 

[Dammit Cubs]

am i the only one who thinks iTunes is a advantage that google can't compete with yet.

The fact, that I can just put my phone docked walk away and iTunes does the rest is something I'm not willing to give up. Even if the google phone is awesome.

 

[samcraig]

I feel like multitasking is a bit overrated.

The thing is, with the space you have, its not a true multi-task.Those screens are designed for one app. One app that give that specific user experience.

I'm sorry. But multitasking is not over-rated. You can live without it - we have on the iPhone (those who haven't jailbroken) - but it's not overrated.

Second - the space you have? Huh? The iPad is almost a 10" screen. Apps don't have to run full screen - they can be in pods. How is 10" not enough real estate? Why couldn't you choose to run apps full screen OR the size they were originally created in? I'm talking the existing apps, not the ones designed FOR the iPad that will come. And with the new apps, certainly they can offer some way to run them in a window/pod vs forcing full screen.

You could also still run things in full screen but have a gesture - like three finger wipe to switch apps.

The bottom line is - your argument falls flat.

 

[EssentialParado]

I have a question since I don't have an iPhone but can we expect the iPad to allow music listening via iTunes while reading e-books, surfing the web, working in iWork? Or is that not even their and they just expect everyone to be using their dedicated music device(nano, shuffle, touch, etc) for listening to music while doing other things on the iPad?

Thx.

I'm sure it will allow listening to iTunes while using other apps, seeing as you can do that in the iPhone / iPod touch already.

Shouldn't be very hard to extend the pop-up functionality to include simple multi-tasking functionality.

The problem isn't that it's difficult to do, the problem is it's difficult to do without making the device laggy and making it more likely to crash, and without draining excessive battery. Have you ever used multi-tasking on the Nexus One for example?

Most of the people asking for multi-tasking often haven't experienced how badly it works on other phones. Even multi-tasking solutions on a jailbroken iPhone have a lot of problems, and a lot just end up turning multi-tasking off.

Right now I can have Safari open on my macbook and word and toggle very quickly between the two. I don't need to exit out of one program, open another, copy/paste, exit out and then re-open my first program. I can have both open - and even have them share the same screen rather than have it "reduced" and copy/paste very quickly.

Notice the imperative term there: "toggle" — switch, change, move, shift, transition… whatever you want to call it, you need to leave the state of doing one thing and move into the state of doing another thing.

A human being cannot do more than one thing on a computer at a time. You don't actually "need" multi-tasking, because it's impossible for you to use two apps at once. What you're really arguing for is for switching between Apps to happen fast and start from where you left off. There are a lot of possible implementations to solve this, but I think it's wrong that people assume multi-tasking to be the best solution.

In many apps when you go back it won't be where you left off. So you'll have to go through the menus all over again, open a saved file, or load a game level and start from the beginning.

And I have many apps where it starts up fast and takes me right back where I was in the game. In fact, I believe the majority of games are like that on the App store. Thus surely the answer is to get more developers to implement this function?

In terms of game development on the iPhone, you cannot have a game running at the same time as another app. A majority of the games are optimized to use 100% of the available RAM. Some games even go as far as to clear the Safari page caches to ensure it has enough of the device's power available. If an app goes 0.001% over the limit it'll crash, no questions asked. It isn't just games either, many apps use 100% of the power.

So in many cases, multi-tasking just isn't possible. We need to come up with another idea to solve these problems.

 

[nutmac]

So in many cases, multi-tasking just isn't possible. We need to come up with another idea to solve these problems.

I think the ideal solution is background widget, with reduced set of APIs and much smaller pool of memory and thread. When an app decides to run in the background, it would exit and execute as a widget. Just like location service and push notification, user must implicitly allow apps to run in such state.

I've noticed that iPad is missing several apps, most notably Clock, Calculator, Stocks, and Weather. Instead of taking over the entire screen, which is a bit silly on a screen as large as iPad, perhaps these are better run as a widget entirely.

 

[EssentialParado]

You could also still run things in full screen but have a gesture - like three finger wipe to switch apps.

The bottom line is - your argument falls flat.

This is easy for you to say as a technical person, but try explaining multi-tasking and 3 finger swipes to my mom. She wouldn't have a clue what you're talking about, or even remember to do that. All that would happen is she complains that her battery only lasts a few hours each day, because she's still got 2 background apps running that she doesn't even use — Trust me, that's exactly what her MacBook dock looks like. But in that case it's not a big problem.

Apple understands this completely. If they can't create a multi-tasking interface that feels completely logical and intuitive, they won't implement it. And it really does appear to be that these problems can be overcome through much more intuitive methods, such as the 'save state' on quit method that a lot of apps incorporate.

 

[marksman]

If you need to multitask buy two ipads. They only cost $499.

 

[samcraig]

This is easy for you to say as a technical person, but try explaining multi-tasking and 3 finger swipes to my mom. She wouldn't have a clue what you're talking about, or even remember to do that. All that would happen is she complains that her battery only lasts a few hours each day, because she's still got 2 background apps running that she doesn't even use — Trust me, that's exactly what her MacBook dock looks like. But in that case it's not a big problem.

Apple understands this completely. If they can't create a multi-tasking interface that feels completely logical and intuitive, they won't implement it. And it really does appear to be that these problems can be overcome through much more intuitive methods, such as the 'save state' on quit method that a lot of apps incorporate.

If your mother can operate the iPhone OS - she can figure out a three finger swipe. or a two finger swipe. Give your mother and other people some credit. Are you saying the gesture itself is hard to learn/remember? Copy/Paste is just as hard. So is switching iPhone "screens"

stop insulting the intelligence of your mother and other people with such general statements.

As for solutions to multitasking - it all depends on how you define true multitasking. Humans can't do to thinks at once? Gee - I can walk and talk on the phone. I can listen to music and type. I can watch a web conference and take notes.

I have no idea why anyone would really argue against multitasking. If you wouldn't use it or need it, fine. But I wouldn't argue against it.

Some people are fine with a few fonts on their computer. Would you argue against having more options?

Some people are fine with the wallpapers that come with their phones. Would you argue against being able to create your own?

Some people are fine with having wifi only. Would you argue against having 3g?

The "argument" is silly.

 

[EssentialParado]

If your mother can operate the iPhone OS - she can figure out a three finger swipe. or a two finger swipe. Give your mother and other people some credit. Are you saying the gesture itself is hard to learn/remember? Copy/Paste is just as hard. So is switching iPhone "screens"

stop insulting the intelligence of your mother and other people with such general statements.

I'm not insulting the intelligence of users, i'm insulting such an arbitrary control method.

Why three fingers? Swiping to move down a list is intuitive, as is pinching to zoom, and along with all other gestures Apple have spent years developing so they're completely natural for even a baby to use. How exactly does three fingers for switching multi-tasking apps - even the concept of multi-tasking at all - fit into an intuitive interface? It doesn't. Maybe for you, not necessarily for everyone else.

 

[nutmac]

I have no idea why anyone would really argue against multitasking. If you wouldn't use it or need it, fine. But I wouldn't argue against it.

The fear stems from inadequate implementation. The current version of iPhone OS lacks multitasking because (1) designing the right UI for provisioning and switching apps, (2) hardware may not handle many apps at once, and/or (3) stability issues if too many apps, especially resource intensive ones.

UI is the easiest to speculate. Copy and paste eventually found its way into iPhone OS, and Apple is likely experimenting with multiple UIs before picking the optimal one.

As for the hardware, iPhone 3GS probably has enough muscle to run at least few apps at once, and iPad even more so. Older iPhones, probably not so much.

Stability issue requires more engineering on Apple's part, in the ways of SDK and better sandboxing of apps.

I have no doubt that multitasking is coming, quite possibly as a key feature of iPhone OS 4.0 to be featured on this year's WDC.

 

[GermanSuplex]

To me, I can live without multi-tasking. It would be nice, but its not something I particularly care about one way or the other. What I would be much more happier with is the ability for more interaction between apps. Still no sproggling my iPod plays on the go to last.fm without a jailbreak?

 

[samcraig]

I'm not insulting the intelligence of users, i'm insulting such an arbitrary control method.

Why three fingers? Swiping to move down a list is intuitive, as is pinching to zoom, and along with all other gestures Apple have spent years developing so they're completely natural for even a baby to use. How exactly does three fingers for switching multi-tasking apps - even the concept of multi-tasking at all - fit into an intuitive interface? It doesn't. Maybe for you, not necessarily for everyone else.

tell that to people using the macbook. It's very easy to adapt to a UI. Like I said - it's not hard if you can "master" a single swipe. Are we really going to argue the difficulty of one finger versus 2 or three? Really?

 

[yodaxl7]

[/quote]
If you can see the potential of the iPad - surely you can or should see the potential advantages to multitasking. To not see that or to argue that the iPad shouldn't or doesn't need it is, in my opinion, hypocritical.[/QUOTE]

Multi-tasking can be great, if there is a need for whatever the case may be. I think apple is working on it through a software update of the operating system. The ipad has the os 3.2. I suspect it may be on the 4.0 version. I think apple is figuring out the best way to do multi tasking without using up too much battery and doing it so seamlessly. Perhaps, we can do multi-tasking only in the landscape mode. For example, I could work on a paper and I want to look up a term by googling. In landscape mode, another window opens next to the window I am writing a paper. Perhaps, I tap the multi-task button to open up the "wheel" or pop up window and tap on google or enter the name of the 2nd app. Perhaps, apple should limit the number of apps running in the background.

 

[fobfob]

If you need to multitask buy two ipads. They only cost $499.

Or what about your existing iPhone? Pretty much everyone (here) already has one...

I know, I know, it's fanboy logic. But seriously, I would like Apple to come up with a solution. A dashboard would be fantastic.

Either way, I'm getting one...

 

[maflynn]

Another way to put multi-tasking into context.

Its 2010, we expect our devices, be they phones, laptops or desktops to multitask, heck we're expected to multitask at work. I think the idea of having a tablet computer or even the iPhone unable to do more then one thing at a time is ludicrous. You can maybe make the argument against multi-tasking on the iPhone but those arguments fall apart when you move on to the iPad.

Lack of need to run apps in the background, battery is affected etc.

If I'm producing a document, I want the ability to actively switch to the web so I can easily pull up some source material, or swap between pages and numbers and keynote. I don't want to exit one, start up another, exit that and then start up the third. I want to use it as a computer and while its certainly not a laptop replacement apple is providing an office suite and is it too much to ask to allow me to efficiently work with those applications?

 

[fobfob]

If I'm producing a document, I want the ability to actively switch to the web so I can easily pull up some source material, or swap between pages and numbers and keynote. I don't want to exit one, start up another, exit that and then start up the third. I want to use it as a computer and while its certainly not a laptop replacement apple is providing an office suite and is it too much to ask to allow me to efficiently work with those applications?

Good post. I agree with you about the iWork thing. Apple is all about messages and that message implies serious netbook/notebook type functionality. While they did make it clear that they don't want you to stop paying them for notebooks, they imply more than watching Star trek and a few non-Flash websites. Work type usage patterns lead us toward multi-tasking like productivity.

I'm sure Apple's single-app paradigm has helped the app community, especially in gaming. If they had allowed multitasking apps from day 1 I seriously doubt we would have seen some of the richer apps that exist. Either that, or people would stay clear of the iPhone because of crashes (out of memory) or battery life.

Having said that, I believe it is time that iPhone OS grows up. If the A4 is as good as they imply, and the battery life is as good as they claim, then I don't see why at least the iPad couldn't have a widget system or a new kind of lightweight background app. But full multitasking will be the death knell of gaming.

A simplistic form of multitasking like this, would be enough for the iPad. I think people who are hoping for a full OSX tablet are confused. Shiny + feature rich != functional. Full OS tablets have not taken off for a reason. That reason is ergonomics. Sure, you can always create a laptop that converts to a slate or vice versa but again, why not just buy a laptop and/or phone?

 

[EssentialParado]

Like I said - it's not hard if you can "master" a single swipe. Are we really going to argue the difficulty of one finger versus 2 or three? Really?

You're missing the point. It's nothing to do with how difficult or easy it is to learn how to do. Apple are clearly designing the iPhone/iPad interface so that it comes naturally and doesn't need to be learned. Because they know that a large number of their users don't know how to do things like three finger swipes. I've tried to show my mom how to use expose gestures on her MacBook, but she always forgets and just goes back to clicking the dock to switch apps. I think if you also had a family member always asking your help on the computer, for even the simplest tasks, you'd understand.

 

[Sketh]

You're missing the point. It's nothing to do with how difficult or easy it is to learn how to do. Apple are clearly designing the iPhone/iPad interface so that it comes naturally and doesn't need to be learned. Because they know that a large number of their users don't know how to do things like three finger swipes. I've tried to show my mom how to use expose gestures on her MacBook, but she always forgets and just goes back to clicking the dock to switch apps. I think if you also had a family member always asking your help on the computer, for even the simplest tasks, you'd understand.

This is true, but Apple has already implemented a few multifinger gestures on the iPhone that no one really uses.

Example: Use two fingers in a scrollable field on Safari to scroll through the text.

 

[SteveSparks]

I'm really not that bothered about multi-tasking. It would be nice if I could keep my pages document open while looking through textbooks and safari, and vice versa, but again, it really makes no difference to me.

It it worked like I expect based on the iPhone.

You can have more than one application open, and switch between the applications, they just stop running in memory unless they have the UI focus.

That's fine with me, I don't need my bloated word processor to have any CPU time when I'm checking email or doing research

 

[EssentialParado]

It continues to seem the issue isn't that people need multi-tasking, but want the ability to switch between apps faster.

As we've established, many apps save the state automatically and re-open exactly where you left off, and the iPad, according to journalists, is incredibly fast, so those problems are solved.

So that only leaves speeding up the actual switching process. But the only solution I can think of faster than the process of pushing the home button then touching an icon, would be to have a permanent dock (probably customizable) on the edge of the screen.

But we have to ask, would we want a dock permanently there when it would be used so rarely, would always be using a section of the screen, and would be only marginally faster than pushing the home button?

 

[samcraig]

I think if you also had a family member always asking your help on the computer, for even the simplest tasks, you'd understand.

I think you should stop making generalizations or comments when you don't know who you're talking to. As a matter of fact I have several people - not just family members who are always asking for help.

Again - the argument against multitasking is silly. How to implement it is another matter. But to say there's no need would be like saying there's no need for the device at all.