1. phone9's Avatar
    Definitely sounds like something I would buy. Is it available at App World?

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    It's submitted, but will a month to get approved.
    Then, everything is always behind by weeks or months over there for updates.
    11-09-09 07:50 PM
  2. tmp3150's Avatar
    You did a great job, thanks!!!!!


    I know this was not directed at me, but I hope it's as clear as possible now. I'm not fully clear on it myself to be honest -- I tried many times running an app that chews up resources, then running Memory Cleaner, then MemoryFlash, and every time but one, the Memory Cleaner seemed already to have done the gc. Of course it also wiped a bunch of stuff that I personally didn't want wiped just to get a gc done.

    But one time, I ran the resource-chewing app, then Memory Cleaner, and then hit MemoryFlash, and had to wait a couple of seconds on the hourglass. So there was one case where the Memory Cleaner apparently did not do gc.

    All I can think about this is that the Memory Cleaner also can only request not command gc. So maybe what happened is the memcleaner called System.gc() and the gc said, no way jose. Then 2 seconds later I hit MemoryFlash and it called System.gc() again, and the gc said, ok I'll do it.

    Someone please get me a slide rule so I can figure this out...
    11-09-09 09:23 PM
  3. tmp3150's Avatar
    What a ******* ********.

    WAY over your head, I guess. Good luck.
    11-09-09 09:24 PM
  4. phone9's Avatar
    Thyth certainly seems a standup guy. I'm also quite certain that by now he's had literally hundreds of visitors to that site and we'd have heard by now if our info was being misused. Out of curiosity, were you sure to include the parenthetical part of your build info as well? Thyth's page has never failed for me on 5 different devices (3 models total) and 2 of them were old Pearl 8100s.

    But back on topic, I wasn't asking you to justify your app. I know your average user doesn't want to dig around the escreens all the time and I think you obviously know your way around BB memory management. I'm sure it's worth a buck to some folks. I was only asking you to compare it to the options in that section. I thought you might know the difference between the types of GC available in the escreens, and could perhaps give an idea of which of them your app does. No worries if you don't know or don't care what I'm talking about.

    Also, sorry to hear about the pirate. It's jerks like that who keep nikkisoft from being able to offer a free trial, and who keep people from pricing their apps as reasonably as this one is. You wanna go steal a copy of Windows? Still illegal but I'd at least not lose sleep over it. But stealing from small 3rd-party devs who pour hours into making all our devices better, when all they're asking is a measly few bucks here and there? That's just weak.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    I'll look into this further and see which type of gc the System.gc() call does, but don't see a parameter for the call or any other call so I don't think a 3rd-party app can request which level of gc is done. Hopefully it uses its intimate knowledge of the internals to choose which level is best at the time.

    If someone has a metering tool and the escreens working and MemoryFlash, it should be easy to tell.
    11-10-09 06:43 PM
  5. adamlau's Avatar
    I have played with MF on another device. The icon could be more informative as to the workings of the app and it could do without all the help text in Options > MemoryFlash. Text could be reworded, perhaps simplified further as well. This appears to be the lightest of all the mem apps out, I'm thinking it could be even lighter still (maybe 5K-6K) if the two preset options were hardcoded and the only option would be Enable.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-10-09 07:39 PM
  6. phone9's Avatar
    I have played with MF on another device. The icon could be more informative as to the workings of the app and it could do without all the help text in Options > MemoryFlash. Text could be reworded, perhaps simplified further as well. This appears to be the lightest of all the mem apps out, I'm thinking it could be even lighter still (maybe 5K-6K) if the two preset options were hardcoded and the only option would be Enable.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    I could optimize some more for size, and the texts do add some size.

    Originally I was going to have a memory meter pop up when you hit the icon so you can get a glimpse of the state and what difference the gc makes. Then I thought, not only is it more work but it'd just be something to play with. What difference is it going to make what that meter reads? I just hit the icon when I want to make sure the decks are fully cleared for action, and am more interested in that taking 0.00 seconds than seeing what it did.

    However, if there's user interest and the app sells enough to justify some more time put in (right now it isn't), I could add an optional pop-up meter that immediately disappears when you move the input device, so it wouldn't really take any time and would satisfy the question, "What did that just do?"
    11-10-09 08:08 PM
  7. phone9's Avatar
    Added another coupon, for 100 copies at $2 off the going price, which is currently $2.99, so that leaves $0.99.

    Coupon MEMFLASH201

    Usable in Crackberry mobile store.


    It's also bundled automatically with Video Flashlight now, you get the 2nd app with it, and can either use the xtra app or delete or hide it.
    11-14-09 09:30 PM
  8. BNHabs's Avatar
    Added another coupon, for 100 copies at $2 off the going price, which is currently $2.99, so that leaves $0.99.

    Coupon MEMFLASH201

    Usable in Crackberry mobile store.


    It's also bundled automatically with Video Flashlight now, you get the 2nd app with it, and can either use the xtra app or delete or hide it.
    Can you explain this application in easier context for me? Is this a memory cleaner that cleans your memory at convenient set times? I am interested in buying this.
    11-14-09 10:06 PM
  9. BNHabs's Avatar
    Using this application.. So far so good.. Wondering if it actually works.
    Last edited by BlackberryB; 11-15-09 at 10:04 AM.
    11-15-09 09:59 AM
  10. Brandon32's Avatar
    I am not sure if this application is helping my device. My application memory seems to be going down to as low as 3 or 4 MB when I have no applications running in the background (except the standard ones).
    11-15-09 12:50 PM
  11. phone9's Avatar
    For things like deleting unnecessary data from cache, we've already got the Memory Cleaner that comes with the device. You can certainly use that in place of MemoryFlash, but it takes longer to run and doesn't run automatically at the times when MemoryFlash can be set to run, i.e. when the backlight times out. Also, sometimes when I run the Memory Cleaner and then MemoryFlash immediately after, there's still some cleanup left to be done -- I have to wait on the hourglass.

    You can see if anything was done by the app if the hourglass pops up when you tap the icon. If there's no hourglass, then there wasn't anything significant to be done at that point. If there was something significant to be done, the hourglass pops up for as long as it takes to reclaim the resources -- typically 1/2 to 2 seconds, but sometimes several seconds.

    The purpose of this app is to postpone the automatic garbage collection that the system does by requesting the system to do it now -- and the system seems always to honor the request when there's anything significant to be done. This way, it's less likely you'll be slowed down or have to wait on the hourglass during the activity you're about to start, or at least the next garbage collection has been put off for as long as possible by doing it in advance.

    Also, by scheduling garbage collection to happen at convenient times, it's less likely to happen at inconvenient times. I don't see how any app that lets you schedule resource recovery periodically at time intervals or at a set free-memory level help you -at all-. The whole point is to avoid having the recovery happen when you're in the middle of something. If you really do get very low or run out, the recovery happens automatically when necessary, you're not gaining a thing that I can see by doing it earlier, unless you can be sure that you're doing it at a convenient time -- like when the backlight turns off or on, or when you just hung up a call, times when a second or two spend on garbage collection may go completely unnoticed.

    The system also automatically does garbage collection at times it decides the phone is idle enough, but MemoryFlash can help by giving you more control of when resource recovery is done -- at specific times that are convenient for you, or on demand. The system can't know when you're about to start playing a game, at least it doesn't seem to now. But you know that's a good time to get the g.c. out of the way in advance.

    But as for cleaning out some caches and security stuff, that's what we have the built-in Memory Cleaner for. I think that it also runs automatically if you run out of memory, so again I don't think there's anything to be gained by having an app schedule such a deep operation at intervals. The caches are there for good reason -- they make the phone faster. Why slow yourself down scheduling cache cleanings that may occur when you're in the middle of a browser session? That's slowing you down doubly -- you wait for the cleaning, and then your cache is empty so you may have to wait for that content to be downloaded again.
    Last edited by LSphone; 11-18-09 at 04:39 PM. Reason: for brevity - was too long
    11-15-09 06:59 PM
  12. BlackSheep2007's Avatar
    I'm definitely getting this app. This thread has answered all the questions I ever had about the different memories and what these memory apps actually do. Thanks very much for all this info. Cleared up a lot of myths you hear.
    11-15-09 07:30 PM
  13. phone9's Avatar
    By pressing Alt-lglg (those are L's, not i's) at the home screen, you can display the event log, which shows MemoryFlash's requests to the system for garbage collection like this:

    System - VM: -GCMemoryFlash ...

    Then it shows that the system honored the request by actually doing garbage collection, like this:

    System - -GC ...

    There will be some times when the system will not honor the request, but those are times when there was nothing significant to be gained and the garbage collector therefore passed on the request.

    Usually it honors the request, but if you repeatedly hit the icon, of course it won't do anything. I wouldn't take the garbage out again if someone told me to do it 1 minute after I just did it and the cans are essentially empty.

    But, you can hit the icon, then run something that animates and doesn't do automatic g.c. on exit (if you have I Charge Cool or one of my idle screens, you can set it either way), and then hit the MF icon, it will show the hourglass even though you just ran it less than a minute ago -- because there was something to do.

    But the event log should confirm the app's for real to those who doubt it.
    11-16-09 01:58 AM
  14. steventay's Avatar
    how is this product better than using a quickpull app to reboot
    11-16-09 09:31 PM
  15. phone9's Avatar
    how is this product better than using a quickpull app to reboot
    It's a lot faster than a reboot
    Last edited by LSphone; 11-18-09 at 04:33 PM. Reason: cut out unnecessary stuff that was just restatements
    11-17-09 10:07 AM
  16. Thyth's Avatar
    I think that route would be a bit intimidating for most users, would they really do that if they have to go into Options/whatever/whatever every time?

    I also can't get that to work on my 8330, entered my information 3 times at the keygen site and it says my 4.5.0.138 update is an invalid OS. Tried the original 4.5.0.77 too, no-go.
    Yes, users do tend to find the engineering screens intimidating. Despite that, the generator has been used nearly 30,000 times.

    My generator does significant filtering on the input and only accepts data in the precise format that will actually produce a working code. If it's not perfect, it throws an error message, rather than wasting the users' time with a code that won't do anything.

    The generator (both on the device and on my site) demand the full application version displayed in the "Help me!" screen, which is in the format #.#.#.# (#). Any other format will not work.

    I would have expected a little bit more precision from someone who is trying to program for this platform.
    11-18-09 02:16 AM
  17. phone9's Avatar
    Yes, users do tend to find the engineering screens intimidating. Despite that, the generator has been used nearly 30,000 times.

    My generator does significant filtering on the input and only accepts data in the precise format that will actually produce a working code. If it's not perfect, it throws an error message, rather than wasting the users' time with a code that won't do anything.

    The generator (both on the device and on my site) demand the full application version displayed in the "Help me!" screen, which is in the format #.#.#.# (#). Any other format will not work.

    I would have expected a little bit more precision from someone who is trying to program for this platform.
    It wasn't made clear that the parenthetical had to be included. But anyway, thanks for the generator, it's great, I got it to work and those screens are great.

    To answer the original question, it seems that what MemoryFlash does is most similar to the "Full GC" option in the escreens. This is going by how long the hourglass is up and how much gets freed.
    Last edited by LSphone; 11-18-09 at 05:13 PM.
    11-18-09 04:31 PM
  18. funkym's Avatar
    How is it different from the Top 1 Paid App in BB App World called MemoryBooster (also on CB Store)?

    MB seems to be more sophisticated with a better efficiency tracking so you can actually see what it is doing.

    In the end, like you guys said before: all such apps cannot do more than calling gc(), but that still seems to help a lot...

    Got to give the flash a try, is the coupon still working?
    11-18-09 09:45 PM
  19. phone9's Avatar
    How is it different from the Top 1 Paid App in BB App World called MemoryBooster?
    I didn't want to get into a flame war with a specific other product. Anyone who knows what's going on can read every word and implication of every phrase in every product's description and decide for themselves what's real and what's best.

    MB seems to be more sophisticated with a better efficiency tracking so you can actually see what it is doing.
    I can track until I'm blue in the face and it won't change a thing. The approach I believe in is to kick the g.c. at times I know are convenient, and what's to monitor? If there was something to be done at those convenient times, it was done. If not, then not. I could graph everything in the system and it would not change one bit when I hit that MemoryFlash or MemoryBooster button, or how I've got the auto-triggers configured.

    edit: Another factor is that I already have a metering product on the market that also kicks the g.c., and don't want to compete with myself in this case because I'm trying to move that app up the charts gradually. Anyone who has that can watch a g.c. happen right in front of their eyes. There's a bundle where people can buy both for the price of one -- no one has taken that up, but I tried, y'know?
    Last edited by LSphone; 11-18-09 at 11:51 PM.
    11-18-09 11:28 PM
  20. phone9's Avatar
    It doesn't matter anyway, this is all wasted words because almost no-one buys this app. It went live on App World today and didn't sell a single copy, so if people want to buy what else is out there, fine, I use it and that's enough for me.

    Today I was almost laughing because no one was buying MF, but they were buying many copies of video flashlight by itself even though there was a note in the description that it comes with MF for the same price. I rewrote the description earlier (having had so much practice here ), and will see what that does.
    Last edited by LSphone; 11-19-09 at 01:15 AM. Reason: felt like it
    11-18-09 11:35 PM
  21. 2000 Man's Avatar
    It doesn't matter anyway, this is all wasted words because almost no-one buys this app. It went live on App World today and didn't sell a single copy, so if people want to buy what else is out there, fine, I use it and that's enough for me.
    Yup. People like funkym who barely know how to use their phone will always fall for marketing scams directed towards idiots. Don't worry about them.
    11-18-09 11:40 PM
  22. Klotar's Avatar
    It doesn't matter anyway, this is all wasted words because almost no-one buys this app. It went live on App World today and didn't sell a single copy, so if people want to buy what else is out there, fine, I use it and that's enough for me.
    I bought it shortly after you announced it (not from AppWorld though).
    11-19-09 01:03 PM
  23. sushistew's Avatar
    i bought MF, lmao at that guy
    11-19-09 03:56 PM
  24. phone9's Avatar
    Still hasn't sold a single copy on App World and if there was any doubt whether the absence of meters might be the problem, no-one has bought the bundle that includes meters either. So it's just one of those things, one app that you thought was going to sell few copies turns out to be a hit, and vice versa. It's OK, I'm moving more in a direction of fun stuff than utilities now anyway.

    Thank you to those who purchased, and this discussion has been interesting. I learned about the escreens, that was worth it.
    11-19-09 06:07 PM
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