StopNow Version 1.5.0

StopNow app now looks at the ignore list file. The ignore list can be edited using the StopNow Settings task. You can find this task with a modified StopNow icon that has a wrench on it.

The ignore list can be saved as a backup and also can be imported into the app.
Here is a sample ignore list.
--start
android
com.android.email
com.android.globalsearch
com.android.inputmethod.latin
com.android.launcher
com.android.providers.applications
com.android.providers.calendar
com.android.providers.contacts
com.android.providers.downloads
com.android.providers.drm
com.android.providers.media
com.android.providers.settings
com.android.providers.telephony
com.android.providers.userdictionary
com.android.providers.subscribedfeeds
com.android.wallpaper.livepicker
com.google.android.gm
com.google.android.providers.gmail
com.google.android.providers.settings
com.google.android.providers.subscribedfeeds
com.google.android.providers.talk
com.google.android.server.checkin
--end

StopNow Settings Task

StopNow Settings task is now part of the StopNow app. This task shows you the list of apps installed in your device. There are four tabs as listed here.

• StopCore -- lists all the core app that will be stopped by StopNow
• IgnoreCore -- lists all the core app that will not be directly stopped
• StopApp -- lists all the installed apps that will be stopped by StopNow
• IgnoreApp -- lists all the installed apps that will not be stopped

Use the menu command to sort the list. The sort option is persistent and global for all tabs.

Use menu command to revert to default ignore list. You may want to take a backup of your ignore list so that you have the option to restore it later.

If you had installed StopSettings as a separate app earlier, please uninstall it. I have removed (unpublished) it from the market.

I would like to keep this app simple. Please send email suggesting enhancements.

StopNow Version 1.03

There is a change in how the task packages are stopped. In this version 1.03, the tasks that belong to the following list of packages are not stopped.

android
com.android.email
com.android.globalsearch
com.android.inputmethod.latin
com.android.launcher
com.android.providers.applications
com.android.providers.calendar
com.android.providers.contacts
com.android.providers.downloads
com.android.providers.drm
com.android.providers.media
com.android.providers.settings
com.android.providers.telephony
com.android.providers.userdictionary
com.google.android.gm
com.google.android.providers.gmail
com.google.android.providers.settings
com.google.android.providers.subscribedfeeds
com.google.android.providers.talk
com.google.android.server.checkin
com.dds.stopnow

Task Killer Risks

Use of task killers are risky. They can interrupt normal operation of a phone. In this case this StopNow app is also of no exception.

Although StopNow app only calls the restartPackage() function provided by the android API, the OS eventually kills some processes. Then many of the core processes simply restarts.

However one user pointed out that it stopped gmail sync. Hence the app is modified in version 1.02. Now it does not stop the gmail sync. Now it stops far fewer android and com.google tasks to avoid potential interruption.

StopNow Introduction

StopNow app is created for android phone to help stop most of the currently running tasks. When you install from the market place and try to open it from there it might appear to be crashing. In fact it does not crash. Simply there are no user interface.

After you install the app, go to the home screen and start a music player. Then go to the home screen again and touch the StopNow icon. It will stop the music player. It shows you which tasks are being stopped and which are still running.

If you like this app place it on your home screen. Next time you are in a hurry to stop any tasks running in the background just touch the stop icon.

This is a task killer. Although I would rather call it a task stopper. Basically it calls the Android restartPackage() function to stop the running tasks. By this process most third party tasks will stop running in the background. Also there is no attempt to kill any processes.

This application has no user interface and no settings. It is developed for simplicity and fast operation. You can find plenty of free or paid task managers or task killers in the market place with a lot of rich settings.

Some core tasks simply restarts. If you run the StopNow subsequently twice or thrice you will get the idea about what tasks are restarting right away.