Task Killers 101?

[Sal]

There's so much talk on the site about task killers. Having just gotten my Droid 2 days ago, I'm a little confused.

I know it is controversial here, but do I need one? Is there a downside to having one? (I'm not the "rooting" type, just a happy everyday user who wants to keep things as uncomplicated but functional as possible.)

Does a Task Killer uninstall the app so that you have to go back to Market to re-install it (and maybe pay for it again) or does it just stop the app from running?

I downloaded Droidlive and found in "Managing Apps" that it was still running even after I clicked it to stop the music and left the app. Is there an easy way to stop an app from running without a Task Killer for a very non-techy type like me?

If I need one, what is the most simple yet effective Task Killer for an overwhelmed newbie? (I'd prefer a free app since I'm experimenting.)

Hope that's not too questions. Sorry if I missed this info elsewhere in my thread search.

 

[dylanthecat]

Task killers don't uninstall apps, they just shut them off. I have not used a task killer since November of last year and have no issues. The OS takes care of things. I feel it is a waste of time hunting apps and shutting them off. Tends to drive you nuts.

 

[hollowbox]

I used aTask killer religously for about a month.....for the last week I have not. My phone has not slowed down and in fact some things seem faster. I kept the task killer to shut down specific things from time to time, but I'm now convinced they are n ot needed....the phone will take care of itself.

 

[LifeIsABeach]

Is there a downside to having one? (I'm not the "rooting" type, just a happy everyday user who wants to keep things as uncomplicated but functional as possible).

There is no downsize to having one. The downside is when people see apps running in the background they did not start (calendar seems to be the one most mentioned) and use a task killer to stop it. Most likely the OS started it for a reason and would then need to use even more of your phone's resources to restart it. My general rule of thumb is to never kill an app unless I specifically started it myself. Task killers are good for killing rogue apps that may be hanging, slowing down, or draining your phone (browsers seem to be a culprit often).

 

[Sam]

you really don't need one. like they said, the only reason to have one is if you have an app that doesn't play well with others and won't die. i have never used one and i have a lot of stuff on my phone..

 

[huskur]

you really don't need one. like they said, the only reason to have one is if you have an app that doesn't play well with others and won't die. i have never used one and i have a lot of stuff on my phone..

what he said above.....besides there is one built into the phone......menu>settings>applications>manage applications also in the same menu list as "manage applications you will see "running services". you can do it all with the OS

 

[Sal]

you really don't need one. like they said, the only reason to have one is if you have an app that doesn't play well with others and won't die. i have never used one and i have a lot of stuff on my phone..

Thanks everyone! Whew. One less thing to worry about!

 

[jsh1120]

Sal,

Try this analogy and see if it helps. Imagine that you're sitting in a room with a bunch of your friends (your apps.) From time to time you speak to one of them and they respond. Otherwise, they sit quietly.

Perhaps one of your friends is interested in the news so he might go get the paper once in awhile, but otherwise he just sits in his chair. Another friend might look out the window from time to time to see if it's raining. Otherwise, he, too, just sits there. And one of your friends is in charge of the music so he waits patiently for you to tell him to put on a cd.

You don't have to tell any of your friends to leave the room when you aren't talking to them unless the room gets so crowded that there's no place to sit. Then you have to politely tell one of your friends to step outside for a little while. You might choose the fattest friend or you might choose the guy you haven't spoken to very often. Whomever you choose to send outside the room will wait patiently outside the door and come back in when you need him.

If you get tired of the guy running to door to get the newspaper or the guy checking the mail, you can (usually) tell them to stop doing it so often.

You don't have to shoot any of your friends (uninstall them) or banish them from the room (kill the apps) when you aren't talking to them unless they're drunk and keep shouting at you while you're trying to talk to someone else. And fortunately, those people are pretty rare.

That's a non-technical description of your operating system. Let it do its job.

 

[Sal]

Sal,

Try this analogy and see if it helps. Imagine that you're sitting in a room with a bunch of your friends (your apps.) From time to time you speak to one of them and they respond. Otherwise, they sit quietly.

Perhaps one of your friends is interested in the news so he might go get the paper once in awhile, but otherwise he just sits in his chair. Another friend might look out the window from time to time to see if it's raining. Otherwise, he, too, just sits there. And one of your friends is in charge of the music so he waits patiently for you to tell him to put on a cd.

You don't have to tell any of your friends to leave the room when you aren't talking to them unless the room gets so crowded that there's no place to sit. Then you have to politely tell one of your friends to step outside for a little while. You might choose the fattest friend or you might choose the guy you haven't spoken to very often. Whomever you choose to send outside the room will wait patiently outside the door and come back in when you need him.

If you get tired of the guy running to door to get the newspaper or the guy checking the mail, you can (usually) tell them to stop doing it so often.

You don't have to shoot any of your friends (uninstall them) or banish them from the room (kill the apps) when you aren't talking to them unless they're drunk and keep shouting at you while you're trying to talk to someone else. And fortunately, those people are pretty rare.

That's a non-technical description of your operating system. Let it do its job.

Interesting. But suppose you do want to completely kill one of them? (lol -- none of MY pals). You just never need or use it. Would you: go to "manage apps," select the app, and the click "uninstall"? Is that fastest/ most thorough way to delete it? Or, if you do on ocassion decide to, is there anything harmful in clicking that other option in there which stops it from running?

 

[dylanthecat]

Your analogy does not work cause there are several people in the room right now who just really need to be shot.
I need an app that will go to the refridge and "push" a beer to me.

 

[jsh1120]

Interesting. But suppose you do want to completely kill one of them? (lol -- none of MY pals). You just never need or use it. Would you: go to "manage apps," select the app, and the click "uninstall"? Is that fastest/ most thorough way to delete it? Or, if you do on ocassion decide to, is there anything harmful in clicking that other option in there which stops it from running?

Yup. You can certainly uninstall apps you don't need or want (with the exception of some o/s spawned apps like "email," for example). And you can certainly "force close" an application to kick it out of the room (so to speak.) But don't be surprised if you find it sneaks back in when you aren't looking.

Part of the problem in these discussions is the inappropriate use of the term "running." A program that is resident in memory is not necessarily "running" in a multitasking operating system. A "running" program is using cpu cycles. It has to be "in memory" (i.e. in the room) to do that but just because it's "in the room" doesn't mean it's "running." Most apps just sit in the corner of the room (memory) most of the time.

 

[Sal]

Got it! Thanks. Also realized you can delete an app in "market" too, under the downloads folder.

 

[korp]

There's so much talk on the site about task killers. Having just gotten my Droid 2 days ago, I'm a little confused.

I know it is controversial here, but do I need one? Is there a downside to having one? (I'm not the "rooting" type, just a happy everyday user who wants to keep things as uncomplicated but functional as possible.)

Does a Task Killer uninstall the app so that you have to go back to Market to re-install it (and maybe pay for it again) or does it just stop the app from running?

I downloaded Droidlive and found in "Managing Apps" that it was still running even after I clicked it to stop the music and left the app. Is there an easy way to stop an app from running without a Task Killer for a very non-techy type like me?

If I need one, what is the most simple yet effective Task Killer for an overwhelmed newbie? (I'd prefer a free app since I'm experimenting.)

Hope that's not too questions. Sorry if I missed this info elsewhere in my thread search.

No you do not NEED one. The typical problem with having one (doesn't have anything to do with rooting) is that people become OCD about killing everything off .... what if you kill an app and open it two minutes later? You will be taking more time .... the os will close the apps as time goes but it keeps them running so they can quickly be accessed again if needed.

It just stops the app from running.

Again you don't NEED one ... some people like having it but it is unnecessary. There are some free ones .... Advanced Task Killer comes to mind.

 

[takeshi]

I downloaded Droidlive and found in "Managing Apps" that it was still running even after I clicked it to stop the music and left the app. Is there an easy way to stop an app from running without a Task Killer for a very non-techy type like me?

Don't worry about it unless you're certain that Droidlive is causing problems sitting in the background. Odds are that it isn't, however. It's the old "don't fix it if it ain't broken" saying. That's where people get into trouble with task killers.

 

[KZIWarrior]

Mostly been covered already but to recap:
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/dr...-not-worry-about-apps-running-background.html
Also note that many task killers (particularly ATK) have been known to cause problems with other apps and services.