Microbes Live Wallpaper: attacking a white blob virus??

  1. mcmeat

    mcmeat New Member

    Hey all,

    I was just making some calls this morning on my Nexus S 4G (Sprint), and suddenly it started being a little wonky. First it hung up on the woman I was talking too - but I chalked that up to my cheek, as that happens sometimes. Then I couldn't use the screen - I'd touch on the green "make a call" icon and nothing would happen. Then I hung up on another person and thought "wait a second, this isn't me."

    Then the screen started going all weird, opening search windows I used yesterday and closing them again, and then opening them again, and then highlighting words within an ad of the search window as if to copy and paste the word... and then the window would close again -- and the whole time my phone is vibrating between each time the window is closed. Super weird.

    And THEN - I go to the home screen, expecting to see the microbes lazily buzzing around as usual.... and there is a nickel-sized white blob on the home screen, with like 50+ little microbes buzzing around it, like they're eating the blob of white!

    It was so weird - I brought my phone to my roommate to show it to him to prove I'm not going crazy. And his reaction was "Go to Sprint!"

    But instead I come to you:
    Anybody have that happen before? What is going ON in there? Did I just see a visual representation of my phone being attacked by a virus?

    I opened my Advanced Task Killer and killed everything... and soon thereafter the white blob disappeared. Right after it left, a bunch of the little colored microbes lost their color and were lifelessly floating to the bottom of the screen, as if they lost their lives in the battle -- it was all very dramatic.

    Long story short: um, did I kill my phone today? And if not, how do I make sure I don't?



  2. nyydynasty

    nyydynasty Well-Known Member

    i would reboot and then see if the problems reoccur. I wouldn't worry about it unless it happens again


    that "blob of white" was probably from your cheek. You were probably "feeding" it every time you touched the phone with your cheek. I used to have that same wallpaper so I know what you're talking about.
    mcmeat likes this.
  3. lunatic59

    lunatic59 Moderati ergo sum Moderator

  4. mcmeat

    mcmeat New Member

    That's interesting, and I read your post about it, and that all makes sense. Could you expand on what problems it may be causing that are "more than I know"? I ask because I have a bunch of apps on my phone, more than I probably "should," and I must say, it's very gratifying to click the "kill stuff" button and see the Available Memory hop up from 78M to 159M... especially since I know I'm not using (nor was I recently... nor will I soon be...) Google Maps, Google Wallet [which I abhor], Flashlight, Dropbox, Docs,... etc etc etc.

    What problems do Task Killers cause that outweigh the satisfaction they give me, false though it may be?

    (I know I'm a little ridiculous. But admitting it is half the battle.)
  5. lunatic59

    lunatic59 Moderati ergo sum Moderator

    If you read the entire thread it should give you the big picture, but off the top of my head, by killing tasks unnecessarily you are decreasing battery life, slowing your phone and teaching Android that the apps you want least are the most used and will continue to reload them constantly.
  6. nyydynasty

    nyydynasty Well-Known Member

    android will always try to load some apps into memory so it can access them faster, when needed. That doesnt mean they're actually running. All that means is that the OS allocated memory for that app. It will release that memory if it needs it for something else.

    Using a task killer will force the OS to release the memory ... only for a few moments. Then the OS will most likely allocate it right back because its what it wants. You're wasting battery and wasting time that the OS can be doing something else. Dont try to do the OS's job for it. Its smarter than you when it comes to memory management. Let it do its thing.

    Only use a task killer to stop an app that has gone rogue. Some apps, like facebook for instance, can run constantly in the background and will eat battery even though you thought you closed it out. You can use the task killer in that type of situation, because its necessary.
  7. Yeahha

    Yeahha Usually off topic VIP Member

    In regards to the original question. If it happens again it sounds like your screen is thinking something it touching it. I would get a cloth (preferably one made to clean screens or glass) and clean it well to see if that helps resolve the issue. Also has the phone been exposed to any water recently?

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