1. http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Static...iphone_app.htm http://www.next.co.uk/iphone/
2. There are solutions that make any printer connected to your Laptop AirPrint enabled.
3. You can't rename Program Icons.
4. I never close any applications, the OS handles this very well.

 

What about a wireless printer that isn't connected to a laptop or pc (which is what the chap was referring to)?

 

There are hardware solutions for that, but for the price I'd buy a modern printer instead.

£34.00 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deskjet-Prin.../dp/B005BSSGFC

 

All those problems can be sorted with a jailbreak.

 

Thanks

1. Would rather not have to go and get an app for every shop that it doesn't work on, but at least it's an alternative

2. The printer isn't connected to anything so can't use that method unless I move the printer to somewhere else in the house. I don't want to have to do this though and buying a new printer is a very poor workaround!

3. Annoying, hope they fix this.

4. Not so sure I agree that it handles it well. If I swipe up on it there's pretty much every application that she's ever had open on it listed and I have to go through and click the cross to close each one. Having them open must have some impact on battery life?


Ok cheers, will have a look into what that involves, don't want to do it though if it means you end up stuck on some old os version (had a psp a few years ago that was like that and regretted doing it). If the jailbreak makes the device into what it should be though then maybe it is worth it (and maybe apple should take note and put the best bits into their next os release?).

 

3. Don't hold your breath there are lots of good reasons to keep it this way.

4. The apps aren't all open as such just in a paused state. Some apps GPS for instance can keep some functions running. But anyhow, you'll probably find little to no difference in battery life by closing every app.

Jailbreaking will turn your functional device into a hobby, constantly tweaking things you can do without and scanning forums for news of the update you've been waiting for. The plus side is you can change our icon names and have the Crazy Frog as your message tone.

 

Your right on point 4, that apps are in a paused state as iPads can't multitask, another thing that iPads can't do very well.

 

Back of the class Jon, iOS multitasks, one of those tasks is memory management, it does an amazing job of it, something Android hobbyists aspire to yet have to emulate manually.

 

Multi tasking is not pausing something Jack, Multi tasking is doing multiple things at the same time, something the ipad (and iphone) doesnt do.
On this point you are on a loss, though the new ipad is a great bit of technology the competition are up there with it.

Tony

 

How did I read your post before my email finished sending? Single tasking Donkey Magic? And is is a bad thing that my game is paused after I saw - on screen - that an email had arrived. Skype's still running, the bits that need to at least.

 

As far as I know you can't run multiple 3rd party apps at the same time on iOS. The OS can multitask, but only on system things like playing music, notifications and stuff. I can't really think of a situation where you might want multiple apps running so don't see that as a problem. The apps are stored in a saved like state when you exit. This probably helps the battery life as less processing is required when you reopen an app.

Android can do true multitasking, but can be a double edged sword with older versions of Android. It means it has the chance to slow the system down and also use more battery. It does give you more flexibility with what you can do, but again I don't need 2 apps running at once. The latest Android is very good at managing these though, but it used to be poor and I did have a 3rd party task manager installed (just thought, that is an example of multiple apps running. Task manager running in background along side other apps).

 

It doesnt multi task, even apple tell you that you muppet Multi, as in does more than one thing at the same time, iOS doesnt.

Tony

 

Guess what Tony, email arrived whist I was talking on the phone, oh and Skype is still running. Either you're trolling or you just love to suck on the lemon.

From Apple.com "Multitasking is supported on iPhone 3GS or later, iPod touch (3rd generation or later), and all iPad models using iOS 4 or later."

Nice Lemon flavour in your mouth this morning?

 

so Jack, you think that is multi tasking? try again.
You understand that every phone out there that is 3G compatible can do what you have just mentioned?
Thats a BASIC function, not multi tasking, you need to try harder, you are just FAILING all over again

 

And you think you know better than Apple. Want a bit of sugar to help with the Lemons?

 

So apple invented 3G then Jack? do you know just how stupid you made yourself look?

 

 

I think we should take a vote on that. You say that iOS doesn't multitask, myself, Apple, Wikipedia and the internet at large say it does. Who's correct? Then you randomly suggest that I believe Apple invented 3G, not sure where that came from, maybe the Lemons you're sucking are addling your brain.

So, who's right?

 

Apple still doesn't support true multitasking, only built-in apps like notification app, voice, email etc can run simultaneously, third party apps cannot. Besides you already said that apps are in paused state when in the background. So who's right, you or Apple?

 

Third party apps can run in the background. An example I just read about was a Podcast app that continues downloading in the background, makes sense. Notice I said "read about" not just quoting sheeplike from the book of Apple Hate.

"True Multitasking" is that like "Full Querty" on a Blackberry.

And Jon, I said not *all* apps are running.

 

Here we go again.

 

Actually, Jonc is correct Jack. The Apple OS exposes certain routines (such as download, gps, mp3 playback etc) which can be triggered to run in the background. The means a coder can make a call to the "download file" routine and this routine will run in the background while the main program is placed in a paused state. The coder however has little or no control over these routines, and they can not make their own code run in this way (there is no multi tasking support for non-apple code). The only code that can be truly multi-tasked is that supplied by Apple themselves.

 

Please Mods, save these fools.

 

Iain, does iOS multitask. That is the question we're answering today.

And here's a little snippet for you from Apple which might help.

Background
The app is in the background and executing code. Most apps enter this state briefly on their way to being suspended. However, an app that requests extra execution time may remain in this state for a period of time. In addition, an app being launched directly into the background enters this state instead of the inactive state. For information about how to execute code while in the background, see “Background Execution and Multitasking.”

 

Not you
YOU pointed out that you could make a call and have email delivered on 3G, yes you can, but apple didnt invent that, you pretty much insinuated they did, so YOU need to get your facts right to start with, and multi tasking, lets see.... having a passive app in the background isnt multi tasking, try running iplayer at the same time as playing angry birds, if you can do that, you can multi task, but you cant so you are incorrect (as per usual I must add )

Tony

 

When you code an iOS app, you have to include certain callback methods which are invoked by the operating system as it enters / exits the background state. These are used to ensure that if an app is moved to the background, it can be paused and resources freed up etc...

For example...

http://developer.apple.com/library/i...terBackground:

This quite plainly demonstrates that when an application is moved to the background, it is placed into a paused state and is no longer executing. It waits for a call to be woken up before any further code can be run. If that app has made a call to one of the operating system routines (such as location services), then these will continue to run whilst the main app is in the paused state, however the user code will not.

Thus Apple's own code will multi-task, but any non-Apple code will not.

 

Iain, I fully understand how iOS multitasking works, apps can and do run in the background for a period of time.

Tony, you're a plonker, the phone call was just an example, you stated that iOS cannot multitask, you're wrong, it obviously can as I can receive mail at the same time as reading a web page. It's obvious. Now you're cronies are trying to twist your claim and failing at that.

 

Jack, can you please point me to some example code demonstrating of how to run user code in the background as your statement contradicts the Apple documentation I just pointed you at.

In fact that documentation states that when a program is placed in the background, it has approximately 5 seconds to close down any user interface components and put itself into a pause state. If it has not done this within that time period, iOS will automatically terminate the program and purge it from memory. This is the oddest definition of multi-tasking I've ever heard of

 

Have a read here for a fantastic description of iOS multitasking - which according to Tony doesn't exist.

http://speirs.org/blog/2012/1/2/misc...titasking.html

This section should be of most interest.

There are exactly five kinds of apps allowed to run indefinitely in the Background state in iOS 5:

Apps that play audio while in the Background state. A good example is Instacast while it's playing a podcast.
Apps that track your location in the Background. For example, you still want voice prompts from your TomTom navigation app, even if another app is Active.
Apps that listen for incoming VOIP calls. If you use Skype on iOS, you can receive incoming Skype calls while the app is in the Background.
Newsstand apps that are downloading new content.
Apps that receive continuous updates from an external accessory in the Background.

 

Which is exactly what I said. The apps are not actually running all of the time. They all make calls to operating system services which run in the background (a limited group of functions including audio, location, etc - similar to the services model in Windows if you are familiar with that). These services then may periodically wake up the app to let it know something has changed.

This is not the same as true multitasking where the code is running all of the time regardless of what the operating system is doing.