Two New Solutions To Enhanced Multitasking On The iPad (But The Best One Requires Jailbreaking)

15-Year-Old’s App Brings Windowed Multitasking To The iPad

InformationWeek’s Boonsri Dickinson reports that while iPad apps normally take up the machine’s full screen, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Dickenson notes that Pedro Franceschi, a 15-year-old Brazilian developer, has hacked the iPad to make it run more like a traditional PC, creating an app called Quasar to allow apps on jailbroken iPads to run as if they are using a desktop operating system like Windows or Mac OS X, enabling users to keep multiple apps open at the same time.

The Quasar app is available for $9.99 on the Cydia jailbroken app store.

Dickenson quotes Franceschi affirming that “Certainly multi-tasking is the future of any modern operating system, including iOS. I think Apple will implement in a future version of iOS something similar to Quasar to allow [better ] multi-tasking.”

Dare we hope?

In the meantime, on his own Website, Pedro Franceschi notes that with his Quasar hack, you can run your applications in separate windows, as we do on a desktop operating system, resize, move, close, and put in a full-screen window. Quasar is integrated with the iOS’s default app switcher.

You can check out a video demo here:
http://pedrofranceschi.com/

Quasar is available on the Cydia Store for $ 9.99):
http://cydia.saurik.com/store/

Also here:
http://bit.ly/Iun3wE

For more discussion about Quasar, visit:
http://bit.ly/IMiTL5

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Panes iPad Widget Utility For Enhanced Multitasking

If jailbreaking your iPad is a bit too radical for your taste, you can still try Panes, an app designed to more modestly enhance your multitasking experience on the iPad by creating a user interface in which you can easily switch between tasks (e.g. tweeting, browsing). The App comes pre-loaded with several core mini-apps (also called widgets) that you can switch between.

Unfortunately, due to App Store restrictions, you can still only perform one task at a time. You can’t run these widgets simultaneously.

Currently, the following widgets are available:
– Twitter
– RSS
– Facebook
– Weather
– Web
– Youtube
– Tasks
– Notepad
– Converter
– Calculator
– Stopwatch
– Calendar
– Google Reader
– Read It Later
– Stocks
– Clock
– SImple Note
.. More planned to be added in future updates

New in Version 1.0.5
– Fixed bug affecting settings loss.
– Fixed minor issue with weather units (C/F).
– Updated the Rss/Google-Reader widgets to properly fit in embedded images
-NOTE: If your settings disappear after updating, force close the app (double tap home button, tap+hold app icon, tap the “-“) and reopen it.

Panes sells for $2.99

System requirements:
• Compatible with iPad
• Requires iOS 5.0 or later

For more information, visit:
http://ingloriousapps.com/

App Store:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/panes/id503901412