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Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

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Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#41

Post by codeka »

gonzo wrote: post #37

Hate to be that guy, but: http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/21/3174803/sparrow-for-window...

Not to sound harsh, but what's described here sounds totally believable. Someone who loved Sparrow on Mac wanted to bring it to Windows. He got the blessings of the developer to do it, was even lucky enough to have a few meetings with them.

But none of that implies any sort of formal relationship or gives any reason why the Sparrow team (or Google) should have any sort of responsibility toward him.

It sucks he got burned, but I honestly don't think he has anyone to blame but himself. If you're going to do so much work, either make sure you own the work (and can sell it yourself if the company no longer wants it) or have some legal agreement in place that you get paid for it. Don't leave yourself in a situation where the other person changes their mind and you've got no recourse to recoup your loses.

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#42

Post by bad_user » 

    It kind of seems like the ‘new GMail’ that ought 
    to be native for all devices(the trend is clearly for
    that), was galloped by it’s bigger competitor.
    ...
    In fact [GMail] may get even worse since 
    it’s inception was a mighty web app for email.
No dude, GMail is first and foremost an email service. What GMail provides is so much bigger than anything a "native" email client can ever accomplish.

I see this mentality coming from developers all the time, but you're really not seeing the forest from the trees.

I also watched the YouTube videos showing the interface in action. This client might actually be great, however I couldn't see anything there to blow me away, just some icons with no labels and I hate icons with no labels (the first thing I did in GMail's new interface was to search for the option that restores labeled buttons).

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#43

Post by kamechan »

redcircle wrote: post #21

Something doesn't make sense. From the ambiguity of your description, it sounds as though you own the code, and that you had no formal business relationship with Sparrow, and that you accepted no money from Sparrow (it is really strange that Sparrow would even encourage you into such a position, and that you would put yourself there --- you left them in the situation where they could turn your work down, and develop…

Apparently, according to the verge, a windows client was not weeks away. http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/21/3174803/sparrow-for-window...

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#44

Post by mrslx »

My hunch is Sparrow's offered a compelling enough user experience to be a rival to gmail's UI, by being the primary point of use for Business and Personal customers, they were not being exposed to Google's revenue points (AdSense and cookie/re-targeting technologies).

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#45

Post by Kerrick »

chmike wrote: post #11

Who owns this code ? Where you paid to develop this code ? If the OP was paid, his code belongs to google. In anycase a copyright will most likely apply to the user interface if it is a copycat of the Mac sparrow app. If the OP manage to change it and eventually simplify it to make it significntly different, than the copyright won't hold and you own it as the author. The OP may then create his own brand. He should cr…

> If the OP was paid, his code belongs to google.

That's wrong. Whether or not the OP was paid, his code belongs to him, unless one of these two things are true: first, if there was a contract that transferred copyright; second, if the OP was supervised in an employee-like role (work-for-hire).

That's how it is in the U.S. at least, and I believe France is a part of the Berne Convention, so it should be the same or similar there.

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#46

Post by pbiggar »

m0nastic wrote: post #40
iamdave wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Corollary: I absolutely hate it when media outlets use the term "a source". Yes, I do understand that sometimes 'source' is used because the other party requested or requires anonymity for the continuity of their current endeavors or whatever other reason. But with the current state of news delivery operating at Warp 10 with the added bonus of somehow being able to run a hyperdrive engine at the same time and less re…

I think it's especially silly in the case of a "source" from a really small startup. This isn't like a "source" at Proctor and Gamble, it's what, like one of five people?

Or their friends, or people they spoke to at a party or conference. And so on.

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#47

Post by m0nastic »

pbiggar wrote: post #46
m0nastic wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's especially silly in the case of a "source" from a really small startup. This isn't like a "source" at Proctor and Gamble, it's what, like one of five people?

Or their friends, or people they spoke to at a party or conference. And so on.

I suppose.

So a person contacts the article author and says "I spoke with them at a party or conference, and they denied knowing anything about a Windows client."

That's a credible source? Of course not.

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#48

Post by pbiggar »

m0nastic wrote: post #47
pbiggar wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or their friends, or people they spoke to at a party or conference. And so on.

I suppose. So a person contacts the article author and says "I spoke with them at a party or conference, and they denied knowing anything about a Windows client." That's a credible source? Of course not.

Credibility isn't binary. What's credible for one news organization says nothing about what another organization/journalist/court-of-law-in-the-UK believes is credible.

There are many more ways to establish credibility - does your story add up, do you know things you wouldn't without having inside info, can the journalist verify that info with a known insider, have you been a credible source in the past, are you personally known to the journalist, are you a known person in the community, do you have a proven connection to the primary source, etc.

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#50

Post by mrkg1 »

This post stinks of arrogance and unprofessionalism. You "loved" Sparrow so much, but once they're bought it's "bloated French code". If you are so tired of "making great apps for yourself" then talking shit about the first company that gave you a shot, because things didn't go your way, because you wanted to cash in on a hot topic for some blog traffic, is a great way to get more chances. But hey at least you're popular on HN right now. Get over yourself.
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