| Software Review: TaskSpy |
| Written by Thomas Boys | |
| Tuesday, 28 June 2005 | |
|
An often
overlooked freeware app, but one that will help to keep your apps running
smoothly. Thomas takes a look at the excellent TaskSpy.
There are
several things that will affect the performance of any program on any system.
First, there’s the actual OS itself, then the processor and the amount of RAM
available. This last one is especially important in Symbian because it is a
multitasking OS and each program you have running will eat into the RAM and
affect the speed at which the system runs. It’s all very well holding down the
menu button to see what programs you’ve got open, but it doesn’t give you a lot
of information…. This is
where TaskSpy comes in. The program allows you to see what programs you have
running and how much RAM each is using. This allows you to choose what to close
down and lets you see if there are any small background apps ticking away which
could be affecting, for example, your movie playback.
It also
gives you a detailed list of processes running – again handy if the phone
crashes and you are unsure whether a particular program has fully closed. The
other main window shows a graph of processor activity and available RAM,
updated on a second by second basis.
TaskSpy
will never win any entertainment awards or help you to get your life organised.
It can’t even send messages. However, as apps go, I would never let my Sendo go
anywhere without it. If you decide to download TaskSpy, remember that the team
behind it works on PayPal donations, and do the right thing.
Overall
score: 90% |
Two
functions I find I use regularly are the “Close all apps” command and the
ability to “Compress Memory” (useful for freeing up a small amount of extra
memory), both of which are located in the Tools section of the “Options” menu.
