I know the limited info we have about the multitasking on the OS4.0 doesn't give us TOO much to go on, I've been thinking about it a bit. I mean, what IS "true" multi-tasking? Does it mean my left hand can do one thing WHILE my right hand does another?

When using a computer, I have many applications OPEN at the same time, and then for example in a browser I have anywhere from 10-50 TABS open, but I can only really READ one thing at a time, clicking from tab to tab.

I have my MAIL open, but I cannot read it WHILE I am reading something in the browser (unless of course I have it over to the side of the display or on my second screen OPEN) but it really isn't something that I can READ in PARALLEL to what I am reading or screening on the main screen. On something like an iphone or even an ipad for that matter I cannot imagine wanting to have multiple apps open on ONE SCREEN, the screen real estate just isn't there for that (more on that later)

When my MAIL app is OPEN on a laptop, I of course get an alert when new email comes in, that is useful. If I am working on a document in WORD I have that open, and I can cut and paste BETWEEN things like browser, email, terminal, etc. TO the WORD app when I need to so there is persistence of the copy/paste function.

Maybe I have pandora running on my laptop, maybe it is my slingplayer streaming CNN or CNBC or whatnot, and I can view this in a small window or click to it if I want to watch (this is a good case for the second screen which I often use to have the TV window resident on)

So, it would appear that if these items were in some form of stasis or monitored persistent state WHILE I was doing SOMETHING ELSE, then there wouldn't be any real need to have them doing MULTI whatever? Indeed, they are MONITORING some small things like network connectivity, or checking mail, or streaming music, but all this is supposedly available in the OS 4.0. Sure, there are something that a laptop and true multi-tasking CAN do like render a video conversion in PARALLEL to all the other things listed above, or crunch a 50MB excel file update or compress/decompress files with some compression utility, or rip a DVD/CD to some other format, etc. But, I don't ANY of these activities being something I want to or need to do on my phone.

So, with what I think we know of the OS4.0, that multiple applications will be "open" so not requiring a total relaunch and those applications will be able to both MONITOR services like network, baseband, AND PROVIDE services like AUDIO (it would be SWEET if the slingplayer version could at least continue to stream AUDIO similar to what apple has shown with pandora!!!! -CAN YOU HEAR ME SLINGMEDIA!) or inbound connections/pings/data such as CALLS over VOIP, SMS inbound, a CHAT response, EMAIL alert, etc.

It would seem that this is nearly enough of the multi-tasking that we require from such a device. I've played around with the OS4.0 beta, and I have several apps "open", I just click to one of them and BOOM it is there, need something from the browser CLICK BOOM and it is there. Playing a little game of texas hold'em, need to send an email, check on a FLIGHT, press BOOM I'm back over at flightview, refresh (I would have to refresh even if the browser was still open) BOOM there is the info, click BOOM I'm back at the game, etc.

This appears to be very similar to the WebOS MT implementation as well as the fact that on such a small screen one really doesn't want to SEE the additional apps info. Although, I will add that I am FAIRLY CERTAIN that we will soon see "widgets" of some sort that one can have floating around on the screen in the menu bar or sub-menu bar, that provide further information.