Task bar

TBaGZ · Oct 14, 2011

Quick question... The girl at the store told me that as long as programs are not open in the task bar then they are not using data. Is this true or do I need to physically log out of them?

Skull One · Oct 14, 2011

Hmmm two guess to what you are asking since you left some information out.

1) "If the program is not in the task bar, does that mean the program is not occupying memory or taking CPU time"?

Answer: That is incorrect in very specific cases. But in general it is correct.

2) "If the program is not in the task bar, does that mean the program is no longer connected to the internet and is no long using data from 3G/WiFi"?

Answer: That is incorrect in certain cases.

The best example I can give for both questions is the Mail App. You can kill it in the task tray but that doesn't close the program down since it is constantly listening for Push notifications or Pulling data from older POP3 servers.

There are a lot of settings you should go thru and understand their implications when it comes to both memory/CPU and WiFi/3G usage.

TBaGZ · Oct 15, 2011

Was thinking more along the lines of #2. Just wondering about apps like Facebook and Twitter. If they are not running in the task bar then they should not be using any 3G data, correct?

thunder999 · Oct 15, 2011

In general if it can give notifications that means it can use data e.g. facebook receives messages even when off so it has to check for them.

TBaGZ · Oct 15, 2011

Right, but a notification is just a minor amount. No?

Yarrenbool · Oct 15, 2011

Check out a free app in AppStore "Process Killer". It will show what's running in the background and how much memory is being used. It's a "+" app so should work on both iPhone and iPad.

I don't know why it has 'killer' in its name as it seems to just provide information and does not allow killing a process, at least on my iPad. I'll be putting it on my 4S when it's delivered on Monday to see if there are differences with its functions on the iPad.

Pseudo-Fed · Oct 15, 2011

Yarrenbool said:
Check out a free app in AppStore "Process Killer". It will show what's running in the background and how much memory is being used. It's a "+" app so should work on both iPhone and iPad.

I don't know why it has 'killer' in its name as it seems to just provide information and does not allow killing a process, at least on my iPad. I'll be putting it on my 4S when it's delivered on Monday to see if there are differences with its functions on the iPad.

Ha ha. Not free as of just now but may try it.