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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

#61

Post by bjonathan »

techsupporter wrote: post #57
statictype wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Postbox was my next solution. Is it better than Thunderbird? I've been somewhat happy with Thunderbird actually, in terms of performance and stability. It's just that the whole codebase seems unwieldy (try developing extensions for it) and may not be around a lot longer.

I bought Postbox and really like it. They've based it on Thunderbird 2 which is the version I like--3 made some UI changes I don't prefer. By continuing to update 2's code, I get an up-to-date e-mail client that acts how I want. Plus, with a couple of settings tweaks, it can look just like Sparrow, it's available for Mac AND Windows, it supports Gmail's tags (I don't use Gmail so I can't check that), and even does th…

side question : how can I make my postbox looks like sparrow ? is there plugins to install ? thank you :)

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#63

Post by mike-cardwell »

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…

I think it's safe to say at this point, that this entire story is bollocks. The guy has posted a few comments here, but never to actually provide any information of substance.

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#64

Post by mekwall »

franzus wrote: post #62

Wow, that Windows version was certainly ugly. Why have Windows applications always to suck design wise?

I think you are confusing user interface design with user experience (UX). A text-book UI should be intuitive and easy to use, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be aesthetically pleasing to everyone. I work with UX, and one of the biggest challeges i face is to find a good balance between functionality and aesthetics; what will give the general user base the best possible experience.

But you have to realize that it is impossible to satisfy everyone, especially when looking at OSX-users and Windows-users, who have such different tastes and demands. Then its probably better to have two different UIs that can bring a great (but not necessarily the same) user experience to two very different crowds.

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#65

Post by mekwall »

If this would ever have been released, it would have failed and die a painful death. As stated by the author, he "stole" (which means he faked) many UI elements from OSX because he "dislikes Metro". This is just wrong and bad practice when developing native applications. A UI designer should never design a UI for an OS which he/she dislikes to begin with, it will just end badly.

What makes Sparrow on OSX and iOS so good is that it stays true to its OS; that it feels native and blends into the OS with such grace that it's a thrill to work with. In contrast, web apps doesn't suffer much from this since users are used to them looking different, as long as they exist inside their browser environment. But for Sparrow to be successful on Windows, these rules would apply...

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#66

Post by franzus »

mekwall wrote: post #64
franzus wrote: post #62

Wow, that Windows version was certainly ugly. Why have Windows applications always to suck design wise?

I think you are confusing user interface design with user experience (UX). A text-book UI should be intuitive and easy to use, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be aesthetically pleasing to everyone. I work with UX, and one of the biggest challeges i face is to find a good balance between functionality and aesthetics; what will give the general user base the best possible experience. But you have to realize t…

> I think you are confusing user interface design with user experience (UX)

That's just an excuse for people to make ugly UIs. Aesthetics is an integral part of usability. A UX designer who has no clue about aesthetics is worthless.

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#68

Post by WayneDB »

Windows has more functional and consistent interface standards than any other platform. It's predictable and utilitarian...in other words, the exact opposite of OS X and "the web".

In Windows, keyboard acceleration is a first class citizen too and it works better than on any other platform.

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#69

Post by mekwall »

franzus wrote: post #66
mekwall wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you are confusing user interface design with user experience (UX). A text-book UI should be intuitive and easy to use, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be aesthetically pleasing to everyone. I work with UX, and one of the biggest challeges i face is to find a good balance between functionality and aesthetics; what will give the general user base the best possible experience. But you have to realize t…

> I think you are confusing user interface design with user experience (UX) That's just an excuse for people to make ugly UIs. Aesthetics is an integral part of usability. A UX designer who has no clue about aesthetics is worthless.

What's aesthetically pleasing to a OSX-user might be something totally different to a Windows-user. A UX designer who doesn't know that, is worthless as well ;)

Re: Sparrow for Windows was just a few weeks away

#70

Post by prodigal_erik »

franzus wrote: post #66
mekwall wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you are confusing user interface design with user experience (UX). A text-book UI should be intuitive and easy to use, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be aesthetically pleasing to everyone. I work with UX, and one of the biggest challeges i face is to find a good balance between functionality and aesthetics; what will give the general user base the best possible experience. But you have to realize t…

> I think you are confusing user interface design with user experience (UX) That's just an excuse for people to make ugly UIs. Aesthetics is an integral part of usability. A UX designer who has no clue about aesthetics is worthless.

The more heavily I rely on a good tool, the less attention I need pay it. E.g., Emacs is quite ugly but that only makes it harder to learn, not harder to use.
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