Sparrow

Researchers create cyborg robo-battle-sparrow of doom

It's a surprisingly dangerous world out there in the trees. Sparrows sing, flit about, and fight like they're auditioning for a role on "Game of Thrones." Male swamp sparrows will even take their battles to the death. Before they get that far, though, there's a whole lot of wing-waving going on to mark their territory and signal their aggression.

Duke University biologist Rindy Anderson wanted to learn more about how these birds communicate with each other, so she and engineering undergraduate student David Piech built a cyborg robo-battle-sparrow of doom.

The Frankensparrow consisted of a miniature computer and robotics gear stuffed into the body of a dead sparrow. This allowed the researchers to control the wings. They took the Frankenstein sparrow to a breeding ground, played swamp sparrow invasion songs, and made it wave its wings at other males, the sparrow equivalent of flipping them the bird.… Read more

First Thunderbird, now Sparrow? We need e-mail clients, please

Today the small e-mail app company Sparrow announced it's getting acquired by Google. I hope this will be good news, but I am not convinced. With Mozilla ceasing development of Thunderbird features, things look bad for users of desktop e-mail software.

I'm a paying user of the Sparrow OS X application. I love it. I find it provides both a simple view to my GMail accounts, and a very fast interface to blast though messages. Google's GMail Web app gives me more features and better searching, and Thunderbird and Postbox are better for bulk operations, but for … Read more

Google snatches up Sparrow team to work on Gmail

Google has acquired e-mail software startup Sparrow in a move that brings its team to work on Google's Gmail product.

Sparrow's chief executive Dom Leca announced the news on the company's site and Twitter account this morning, as well as in an e-mail to existing Sparrow users.

Leca says that the company will continue to make Sparrow available, and keep it up and running with support, however the two versions of the product will not gain any new features.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Citing sources, The Verge suggests the deal came in at &… Read more

How to add push alerts to Sparrow for iPhone

Pin It

If you are familiar with the popular push alert app, Boxcar, you'll already know it's capable of providing push alerts for a healthy list of different services. One of the more interesting features of Boxcar is the capability to customize the app that is opened with each alert.

For example, if you're using a Twitter app that lacks push, you can use Boxcar to alert you of new Mentions, then set it to open the Twitter app instead of Boxcar when the alert is received (assuming the app is supported by Boxcar).

@MrCippy We're … Read more

Use Sparrow for iPhone for a near flawless e-mail experience

Pin It

The day the Sparrow faithful have been waiting for has finally arrived; Sparrow for iPhone is now in the App Store!

Sparrow has been available on OS X for some time now, gaining a cultlike following, with its loyal users clamoring for an iOS app to complement their Mac experience.

Sparrow has launched with full IMAP support for Gmail, Google Apps, iCloud, Yahoo, and AOL as well as custom IMAP settings. Unfortunately, POP and Exchange/ActiveSync aren't supported in this release. You can also connect the app to your Facebook account, allowing your contacts' profile pictures to … Read more

What would Jack Sparrow think of The Pirate Bay?

I've spent much time this week thinking about Jack Sparrow, pirate of the Caribbean.

Channeling his inner Keith Richards, Sparrow is a good pirate. Ugly and drunk, but good.

The Swedish pirates from the Bay are supposed to be good pirates too. You know, the ones who, according to a local court, channel Richards, Mick Jagger, and a whole host of other musical acts in a not quite legal fashion.

But the whole concept of piracy is rather current and vexing. Think of those other fresh-faced pirates, the ones in Somalia. The ones who captured Indians, Filipinos, and Egyptians … Read more

For really fancy buccaneers, a Swarovski pirate watch

My, how times do change. Ten years ago, a respectable pirate wouldn't have been caught dead in a wristwatch adorned with a skull-and-crossbones made out of Swarovski crystals, even if he'd plundered it off the most bad-ass seagoing merchant in the West Indies. Sure, he could explain all he wanted that he'd had to use two rapiers, a cutlass, and a two-by-four to obtain it, and that the fight for the watch took place in a swamp filled with fifteen-foot-long alligators and a small but highly dangerous population of the elusive Puerto Rican Swamp Shark.

Yeah, it … Read more

Double dose of Disney electronics

Portable DVD players seem to come in all shapes and sizes these days--and sometimes in pairs. Yes, the Disney dual-screen Mobile DVD player has arrived at our New York offices, along with one of Disney's new Pix Max digital cameras, which sports a "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme.

The idea behind the dual-screen DVD player ($180) is that two backseat riders can watch the same movie at the same time, with neither person having to deal with the perils of off-axis viewing. Both screens feature a 7-inch LCD display that straps onto the back of a headrest; … Read more

Ecofriendly three-wheelers

Meet the Dolphin, a three-wheeled, two-seater concept car that carries driver and passenger in tandem configuration. The aerodynamic prototype (pictured left) weighs just 475 pounds, and relies on a 200cc Piaggio scooter engine. According to this article in the U.K.'s Telegraph, the Dolphin can reach speeds of more than 60mph and gets an average fuel economy of 90 miles per gallon.

While the Dolphin is still a concept, a tandem-style, three-wheeled, two-seater production vehicle is not that far off. Myers Motors is scheduled to launch its electric-powered Qui Moto (right)--a successor to the Corbin Sparrow and NmG … Read more