Quote:
Originally Posted by KryptoNyte
Just out of curiosity, if I'm running a background program/process, such as a sync application or maybe email, or messaging, how do I gain control over Android, so it doesn't shut this down to make room for some other app that it thinks should have precedence?
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Android has various levels of Activities, Services, and Receivers with various priorities in place for recovering resources. If you set up your application properly, you generally don't need to worry about getting shut down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jswinden
It sounds like it treats closed apps similar to how Windows Mobile did.
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Yes, it is very similar. The formalized difference distinction between a Service and an Activity goes a long way toward making this an even better idea.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jswinden
While I have your attention, I read someplace that Android actually runs on top of Linux. Is that true? Wouldn't that just make it a Linux GUI?
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In a small sense, yes. To use the much-loved car analogies, the motor is Linux but the entire rest of the car is Android. (Does that make the passengers applications?
)
Quote:
Originally Posted by jswinden
Don't get me wrong, I love my NC, which is unrooted, but I've never cared at all for Android. It seems rather kluge.
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So far it is the best and most productive mobile environment I've used. There are a lot of things that could be polished, but I'd hardly call it a kluge.
It isn't quite ready for being a Tablet OS yet, but it's certainly functional.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jswinden
Actually, Win98 was much more intuitive, but they both seem to crash a lot. I was very pleasantly surprised by the NC.
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It's all about implementation. That $90 tablet probably will crash, but that's because it was built fast, cheap, and without intention of supporting it. I have only a few Android devices, but none of them crash or operate in a surprising manner.
To say that Windows 98 is intuitive is unfair as that interface is probably what you have used since you first came into contact with computers. Android itself seems very consistent and easy to learn, but not all of the application developers agree on the best interface guidelines (just like Windows...).