Kirikae not compatible with iOS4 - will there be an iOS4-version?

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iPhone/iPod Touch model: All 3.5" iDevices, not sure about iPad
Firmware Version: 4.0 and above
Brief description of the problem:

Kirikae doesn't work (yet?) for iOS4, at least it doesn't on 4.0 and 4.0.1 
iPhone 3G and 3GS. No matter what control you assign in Settings - Activator, 
using that control will crash Springboard into safe mode unless you uninstall 
Kirikae again. Installation works just fine but triggering the assigned control 
or launching Kirikae's settings app leads to the above behavior. 
Are there any plans for an iOS4-compatible version? Me and many of my friends 
who have an iPhone would much rather use Kirikae than iOS4's built-in 
"multitasking" which really.... sucks.

What steps will reproduce the problem?
1. Install Kirikae svn.216-1 through Cydia or Terminal
2. assign any control or launch Kirikae app
3. both will immediately crash SpringBoard into safe mode until Kirikae gets 
uninstalled

Please provide any additional information below.
Are there any plans for an iOS4-compatible version? Me and many of my friends 
who have an iPhone would much rather use Kirikae than iOS4's built-in 
"multitasking" which really.... sucks.

Thanks a lot,
Alex

Original issue reported on code.google.com by Computer...@gmail.com on 16 Aug 2010 at 5:52

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As I have been telling those that have emailed me, unfortunately I am currently 
too busy at the moment with other projects/life to work on it. If and when I 
get time, I may work on it, but right now I cannot promise anything.

When you say "iOS4's built-in multitasking", I assume that you mean the 
task-switcher (called "Switcher" by Apple). I'm curious, what about it don't 
you like? And what part(s) of Kirikae are you missing?

Original comment by gai...@gmail.com on 17 Aug 2010 at 1:46

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Hi and thanks for your quick response.

What I miss most is Kirikae's ability to show favorites and the Spotlight page, 
because that's what I used most before upgrading to iOS4. Apple's task switcher 
is okay once you use it (and once you install RemoveRecents),  but I think it 
lacks a way to jump straight from an app to the Springboard and still 
background it. On 3.1.3, I could just open any app, open Kirikae and tap 
Springboard. That would result in the App being automatically backgrounded. On 
iOS4, it quits unless I set Backgrounder to always background it, which is not 
always necessary. Kirikae just gave me more options for an app and a simple, 
hassle-free way to bypass the settings I made in Backgrounder.

Also, I find that using Backgrounder to multitask is actually way less 
memory-hungry than iOS4's fast app switching and works with all apps out of the 
box. I'd never have thought that I'd be running into memory concerns on my 3GS.

Maybe I could try forgetting about Kirikae, but therefor I would need a way to 
store some kind of shortcut to certain apps and the Springboard in the task 
switcher, not just all recently used apps. That, in turn, would lead straight 
back to the chaos I tried to remove with RemoveRecents. Kirikae seems a way 
better option here.

Thanks,
Alex

Original comment by Computer...@gmail.com on 17 Aug 2010 at 4:22

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There's a lot of advantages of Kirikae over the iOS4 task switching. Ignoring 
the other features (favorites, spotlight, etc) as I don't use them and they are 
not part of multitasking, here are my reasons.

Kirikae shows me exactly what is running, no questions. The iOS4 task switching 
shows me everything (eventually) in MRU order. Which of those are still 
running? No way to tell from the default implementation.

Kirikae makes it easy to keep anything running. All I have to do is pop up 
Kirikae and I know the app I was in will keep running. With the native method, 
if the app doesn't explicitly support some minor background operation, then it 
just closes on me. How do I tell what will and won't background on its own? I 
can't. Also, using Backgrounder to leave stuff running is more steps because I 
have to background what I have going and then switch to something else, whereas 
it's all one step in Kirikae. Also, better hope I remember whether something 
already was backgrounded or not, because if I'm wrong then I've quit the app. 
Again, no way to determine its current state without Kirkiae.

Kirikae makes quitting an app easy. Just hit the X while the list is up. I can 
do that from the springboard or any other app at any time. Using backgrounder 
without Kirikae, I have to switch to the app, then un-background it and quit. 
But how do I really know what is still running in the background without 
Kirikae's list?

The list in Kirikae is just plain nicer. Not only do I have a concise list of 
all that is running without question of waht was recent but not running, but 
this list fits more on the screen and is more easily scrolled. The iOS4 
multitasking method of 4 icons at the bottom that cycle through as sets is much 
more clunky to use.

This is only the surface as I've not fully tried iOS4 multitasking on my own 
iPhone. These differences were what I found while helping a friend try to get 
Skype to take calls while in the background on her phone running 4.01. We had 
to use backgrounder to make it work since the native multitasking doesn't seem 
to work with it and Kirikae doesn't work. I have personally stayed on 3.1.3 on 
my 3Gs solely due to a lack of working Kirikae on 4.x. In my opinion the 
upgrade would get me nothing but reduced functionality. Every app I want runs 
fine on 3.x. I can multitask better than the iOS4 native method. I don't need 
folders or springboard wallpaper, and if I did I can get those with other 
jailbreak apps.

The native multitasking is about as robust as PalmOS of old times. You could 
only really run one app at a time, but most apps saved their state and resumed 
seamlessly to get around as best they could. Certain apps could run a 
background there, like music players, but they were far and few between. That 
was over a decade ago. I think we can do better than that. In fact, I know we 
can because I have it already, it just doesn't come with Apple's blessing.

Please consider these points when considering putting effort in to bringing 
Kirikae to iOS4. Just because the system provides the same core function, at 
least in name, as Kirikae, that doesn't mean Kirikae doesn't still have an 
important place.

Original comment by mre...@gmail.com on 22 Aug 2010 at 12:50

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I agree with the mrezny and the OP. Kirikae can still fill an important void 
left by the native task switcher.

For me, Kirikae has always been about task management. Although backgrounding 
and multitasking are core to Kirikae's functionality, I don't believe that the 
particular multitasking implementation matters. It could be either native or 
backgrounding, and it wouldn't change the core purpose of Kirikae: to provide a 
mechanism by which running tasks can be easily managed and navigated.

Apple's Switcher is too rudimentary. Aaron Ash's multifl0w is flashy, but it's 
not as robust as Kirikae. I haven't tried chpwn's ProSwitcher yet (the iOS4 
update is still in the works), but I would rather not have to try it. Kirikae 
has always given me exactly what I've wanted and needed from a mobile task 
switcher: simplicity tempered in elegance.

Original comment by robert.n...@gmail.com on 23 Aug 2010 at 6:12

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I agree completely with the comments of mrezny. 

My main advantages of Kirikae for me are:
- Kirikae makes it easy to keep anything running. Starting it backgrounds 
(really backgrounds) the current application and I can switch to an other 
programs. With the Apple switcher I never know what happens.
- Quitting an application is easy. The apple switcher needs to many clicks and 
time to terminate an application.

I know that both points are also possible using other tools (as I'm doing right 
now), but you always needs more clicks. Kirikae was really one of my favorite 
tools and I used it a lot. I hope you consider porting it to OS4... 
I really miss Kirikae... :)

Original comment by vdho...@gmail.com on 28 Aug 2010 at 5:18

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It has recently come to my attention that ProSwitcher is being updated to work 
on iOS4. The 1.2-alpha release is said to already work, and is available 
through Cydia if you add it's repo (only version 1.1 for iOS3 is in default 
repos). I have not tried it yet as I have yet to make the leap from 3.1.3 to 
4.0, but maybe it will be a useful holdover for those that feel a need for iOS4 
and want something better than Apple's Switcher.

I could not help but notice that ProSwitcher is based on code from Kirikae and 
utilizes Backgrounder. I have not had a chance to go code digging, but it may 
be that the changes made to ProSwitcher for iOS4 support would be applicable to 
the Kirikae code for the same purpose. Someone ambitious may be able to get 
Kirikae working on iOS4 without quite the debugging pain that would otherwise 
be required.

I have thought about just using ProSwitcher, but it seems designed more for 
looks than fast use. I prefer the simple list of apps in Kirikae, which often 
fits on one screen and rarely requires scrolling, over the alternate approach 
of a page per app, which requires flipping through a number of pages.

Original comment by mre...@gmail.com on 8 Sep 2010 at 12:58

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I'd like to see Kirikae revived for iOS4. The native switcher is awful - clunky 
and uninformative. I had Kirikae set to be activbated by shake -- so to see 
what was ACTUALLY running, I'd shake my phone, & Kirikae would pop up. Then I 
could stop, or switch to, the app I wanted. Currently I am using QuickDo but if 
Kirikae was available, I'd prefer that....

Original comment by jlwhit...@gmail.com on 9 Sep 2010 at 6:49

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I hope this does become iOS 4 usable. I have a iPhone 4 and it sucks without 
using Kirikae. When I had my 3GS and used it on 3.1.3, my phone was faster, no 
chucky feeling, no lag when running the apps or switching back and forth, no 
issues.  It was the most simplest and useful app for multitasking.  I remember 
not really caring about multitasking until I got that app, and how useful it 
became. It became an everyday app, that apple should have looked into when they 
made 4.0 and stole half of the ideas from the JB community.  I really do hope 
you update this bro, its seriously worth it and would buy it too.

Original comment by mnm0071...@gmail.com on 25 Sep 2010 at 2:05

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I can certainly understand the time factor.  First, I would like to thank you 
for all of the amazing iOS extensions you have written and maintained over the 
years.  I just sent you a donation, which is long overdue.  I also would GLADLY 
pay you for an iOS 4 update to Kirikae.

I would like to echo some of the thoughts written down by previous commenters, 
and add some of my own.  Kirikae would still be incredibly useful to have on 
iOS 4.  For me, I would use it completely in place of the native "task 
switcher" / recent programs list.  I love the at-a-glance, 
here-is-what-is-actually-RUNNING task view, easy task kill, and personal 
favorites features of Kirikae.  It definitely takes way less time to kill a 
task with Kirikae than with the native iOS task switcher (Kirikae: hold home 
button, hit the X; native iOS: double-tap home button, scroll through screens, 
tap-and-hold icon, target the minus-sign).

My main use case for Kirikae is when I'm driving.  I have a dock for my iPhone 
in my car that the phone slides into and which connects the phone up to the 
stereo system in my car via the dock connector (and which also charges the 
phone during the drive).  The phone sits next to the stereo headunit in the 
center console and is angled to face me, the driver.  I use the phone for 
multiple things during a trip, which include listening to streaming music 
(Pandora, Grooveshark, and Rhapsody), maps (Google Maps or TomTom, depending on 
my mood), receiving phone calls (with a bluetooth handsfree, naturally), and 
keeping Google Latitude updated (Safari running in the background).

The layout that Kirikae gives me both for launching favorite applications as 
well as switching between tasks and killing them is WAY easier and WAY SAFER 
for a driver to manipulate while on the road than the native iOS 4.x method.  I 
will switch between whatever music application I'm actively using and my 
maps/navigation app many times during a trip, and I can tell you for a fact 
that A) having the option to hold down home instead of double-tapping home 
takes way less concentration while driving, and B) the fact that each running 
app or app on the favorites list has an entire screen row dedicated to it means 
that it has a MUCH LARGER target area for my finger to find and hit than either 
Springboard gives me for application launching (not to mention all of the 
swiping back and forth between screens, vs. Kirikae vertical scrolling with 
inertia & rubber-band effect) or the native iOS Switcher gives me for switching 
between tasks.  Also, the text/title of the app is much larger and much easier 
to read at a distance in Kirikae vs. Springboard/Switcher (and I'm sure it also 
helps that it is black-on-white).  I need to keep my eyes on the road, not hunt 
down the target area for square icons and attempt to discern small text.

If you don't have time to update Kirikae to work on iOS 4, I hope that someone 
else who is familiar with Mobile Substrate coding will take up the challenge.  
Thank you for having the foresight to make it open source. :)

Regards,

-- Nathan

Original comment by nath...@gmail.com on 12 Oct 2010 at 11:56