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Help Task Killer

molibdimum

molibdimum

Newbie
Why do I always have apps running when I open task killer even when I haven't run those particular apps.
It doesn't matter when I open it there are always apps to close.
 
Don't use a task killer, android doesn't need one. Those apps will show as running but in actual fact that are dormant and not actually doing anything. You will actually get better performance without using a task killer
 
molibdimum said:
Really?
Click to expand...

Yes, Android is not like windows, it is more than capable of running itself. The only time you need to kill something is when there is a problem.

I suggest if you are not doing so already to boot the phone every few days.
 
Used to do exactly the same as you back when i had my Desire. My basic understanding of it is this: Using the task killer kills all of the apps even though they're dormant unless set to update on interval. The apps then have to re-start and re-enter their dormant state which consumes more power than if they were to have just been left.

The only time you need a task killer is to kill any badly coded apps that are not letting the phone enter sleep mode.

Android's built in task management is very efficient and you can cause instabilities with Sense and other apps by using a task killer
 
I use the freeze feature in Titanium Backup to stop apps from starting up that I don't want to use at the time.
 
molibdimum said:
Why do I always have apps running when I open task killer even when I haven't run those particular apps.
It doesn't matter when I open it there are always apps to close.
Click to expand...
Are you sure they're actually running and not simply cached? There is a difference. Also there could be an activity within a running app that is being used by another app.

Activities
Android apps use activites to preform tasks. For example, if you use a file manager to send a picture via email, the file manager calls the send activity within an email app, passes the file name to it and the email app sends the picture.. not the file manager. This will result in seeing the email app as "running" even though the user didn't actually launch that email app.

Smaller apps
Using activites helps developers design smaller apps. A file manager app that contains every bit of code needed to do everything a file manager does would likely be so large that no one would want to install it. Developers know that an android phone more than likely has an email app so there is no need for the developer to include email code in his/her file manager to send a picture when he/she can call an activity in an existing email app to do the job. This results in a smaller file manager app since there is no need to include email code or any other code for an activity that can be done via an app that is already present on the phone. This also alleviates redundant code. When you install an app outside of the android market, also known as sideloading, the file manager app calls the package installer (already present in Android) to install the requested app.

Running apps vs. cached apps
The "Manage Applications" list included in many android devices lists running apps as well as cached apps. Cached apps don't use any CPU or battery, they're cached so they will load faster the next time you need them. Killing cached apps results in those apps requiring more time to load the next time they are launched.

System management
By default, every android application runs in its own Linux process. Android starts the process when any of the application
 
Logic seems sound, but whenever I've done without a task killer I've found my battery life drops by 50% or more. I'd love to dispense with one, but the built in one doesn't seem to help, and with none at all I'd need a spare battery with me all the time.
 
ajrr1 said:
Logic seems sound, but whenever I've done without a task killer I've found my battery life drops by 50% or more. I'd love to dispense with one, but the built in one doesn't seem to help, and with none at all I'd need a spare battery with me all the time.
Click to expand...

That really sounds to me as though you've got a rogue app somewhere that's not letting the phone enter sleep mode. A good way to tell if this is true would be to run the phone without the task killer for a good few hours without charging and then go into settings > about phone > battery > battery use and if you click on the graph it should show you awake time and screen on.

If your awake time is (alot) more than screen on time then there's definitely a badly coded app somewhere
 
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