4 ms·

I'm not sure why everyone is so gung ho about Sparrow, the reviews haven't been good and my personal experience using it was that it was a very underwhelming pr

by hnriot 14y ago

I'm not sure why everyone is so gung ho about Sparrow, the reviews haven't been good and my personal experience using it was that it was a very underwhelming product. It doesn't offer the whole set of gmail features, and for anything other than gmail it's even worse. I thought we'd all moved on from thick-client email apps. Admittedly gmail on IOS is awful, but since gmail supports exchange access, it's possible to use the built in email client and get push notifications. Even before Sparrow was acquired, teh reviews were less than stellar. Everyone keeps trying to change email, let's leave it alone, it works fine, its one of the few technologies that has lasted any length of time and still be on top. nntp, gopher, etc all faded away, but pop, smtp, and then imap have flourished and become the de-facto way the world communicates.

ketralnis 14y ago
> I'm not sure why everyone is so gung ho about Sparrow There just aren't enough good email clients. Having another one is good. > I thought we'd all moved on from thick-client email apps Speak for yourself. I hate using webapps for a number of reasons but email is one of the worst cases for them IMO. > its one of the few technologies that has lasted any length of time and still be on top. nntp, gopher, etc all faded away, but pop, smtp, and then imap have flourished and become the de-facto way the world communicates Sparrow uses those protocols so I'm not sure what you're getting at, but it's easy to cherry-pick dead/dying protocols. HTTP and DNS are also ancient protocols that still exist but it's not because of any technical superiority, it's because of having critical mass for adoption.
rhizome 14y ago
There's no accounting for taste.
flatline3 14y ago
> I thought we'd all moved on from thick-client email apps. No, "we" haven't.
- hnriot 14y ago
  We must know different people. I think (aside from the iOS built in email client) I don't know anyone that would even think of using a thick client, except to keep a backup of their gmail. Obviously it sounds like your experience is different, depends on the crowd we hang out with I suppose.
  - flatline3 14y ago
    > We must know different people. Yes. This is likely. > I don't know anyone that would even think of using a thick client, except to keep a backup of their gmail. Obviously it sounds like your experience is different, depends on the crowd we hang out with I suppose. All my friends used webmail when I was 20, too. That was in the 90s.
Arelius 14y ago
> I thought we'd all moved on from thick-client email apps. Besides the main contenders, gmail, yahoo, et al. The thin-client email app ecosystem seems even worse than the thick-client app ecosystem. AFAICT.
yohui 14y ago
Gmail for iOS got an update last month that added push notifications, send-as, and persistent logins, FYI.
- hnriot 14y ago
  True, but it still doesnt compare to using the m.google.com exchange access from the built in iOS client. It's sluggish,nut does have some nice features, like easily switching between accounts. And of course search, it's faster than using the local search. iOS gmail is getting there...

by hnriot 14y ago

ketralnis 14y ago

> I'm not sure why everyone is so gung ho about Sparrow There just aren't enough good email clients. Having another one is good. > I thought we'd all moved on from thick-client email apps Speak for yourself. I hate using webapps for a number of reasons but email is one of the worst cases for them IMO. > its one of the few technologies that has lasted any length of time and still be on top. nntp, gopher, etc all faded away, but pop, smtp, and then imap have flourished and become the de-facto way the world communicates Sparrow uses those protocols so I'm not sure what you're getting at, but it's easy to cherry-pick dead/dying protocols. HTTP and DNS are also ancient protocols that still exist but it's not because of any technical superiority, it's because of having critical mass for adoption.

rhizome 14y ago

There's no accounting for taste.

flatline3 14y ago

> I thought we'd all moved on from thick-client email apps. No, "we" haven't.

hnriot 14y ago
We must know different people. I think (aside from the iOS built in email client) I don't know anyone that would even think of using a thick client, except to keep a backup of their gmail. Obviously it sounds like your experience is different, depends on the crowd we hang out with I suppose.
- flatline3 14y ago
  > We must know different people. Yes. This is likely. > I don't know anyone that would even think of using a thick client, except to keep a backup of their gmail. Obviously it sounds like your experience is different, depends on the crowd we hang out with I suppose. All my friends used webmail when I was 20, too. That was in the 90s.

Arelius 14y ago

> I thought we'd all moved on from thick-client email apps. Besides the main contenders, gmail, yahoo, et al. The thin-client email app ecosystem seems even worse than the thick-client app ecosystem. AFAICT.

yohui 14y ago

Gmail for iOS got an update last month that added push notifications, send-as, and persistent logins, FYI.

hnriot 14y ago
True, but it still doesnt compare to using the m.google.com exchange access from the built in iOS client. It's sluggish,nut does have some nice features, like easily switching between accounts. And of course search, it's faster than using the local search. iOS gmail is getting there...