NetNewsWire, the venerable RSS reader that returned to original creator Brent Simmons in 2018 to be revived as an open-source project that was released for the Mac in August, is now in public beta testing on iOS.
Netnewswire 5
NetNewsWire 5.0: Free RSS Reader for Mac September 9, 2019 By Jonathan Ping 4 Comments My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission.
NetNewsWire 5.0.3 Description. NetNewsWire is the best way to keep up with the sites and authors you read most regularly. Let NetNewsWire pull down the latest articles, and read them in a distraction-free and Mac-like way. Native Interface.
Another interesting feature of NetNewsWire is the option to access the list of articles from any channel from the very same Dock, without having to display the application's window. Notes For Mac OS.
I’ve been using it this week on my iPhone and iPad, and it’s really good. (Simmons is collaborating with Maurice Parker, Kiel Gillard, Nate Weaver, Ryan Dotson [who wrote the help book], and icon designer extraordinaire Brad Ellis for this iOS version.) There’s a familiar feed-reading interface and a new Reader view, and the whole thing feels simple and functional and fast. On the iPad, NetNewsWire uses the same keyboard shortcuts as the Mac version.
NetNewsWire's interface has three different views: traditional (the list of articles at the top and the article underneath), wide (the article appears to the right with the list on the left), and combined (doesn't show the list of articles). An announcement from Black Pixel An announcement from Brent Simmons.
The app has support for both Feedly and Feedbin sync services, and you can also keep your subscriptions just on your device if you want. Simmons has also announced a bit of a roadmap for 2020 for the project, including shipping a 5.0 version of the iOS app early in 2020, releasing a few Mac updates, and possibly offering feed syncing via iCloud.
That’s a great one, because while I have used a lot of RSS reader apps, I’ve never felt that the RSS syncing services fit me. (I don’t really want or need access to a web-based middleman.) I’d rather just keep NetNewsWire on all my devices and let iCloud sync my subscriptions and read states.
This is a beta of an entirely new version, of course, so there will be bugs (though I didn’t encounter any) and there are still plenty of features to be added. Among other items on Simmons’s list: custom fonts, user-created smart feeds, and a triage/queueing system.
There are several other RSS reader apps out there, most notably Reeder, which just won the MacStories Mac App of the Year award. What NetNewsWire has going for it is that it’s free and open source, has an interesting community of developers behind it, and is guided by someone has spent more time thinking about RSS than just about anyone else on the planet.
You can sign up for the NetNewsWire 5 for iOS beta via TestFlight, and NetNewsWire 5.0.3 for Mac is available now.
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NetNewsWire 5.0 was released this week as a completely rebuilt, free and open source Mac app. Back in its earlier days, the 17-year old RSS reader was widely regarded as the best available. Since its creation, the app has changed hands multiple times through two acquisitions, finally landing back home with its creator, Brent Simmons, in August 2018.
NetNewsWire 5.0 retains much of its original character while incorporating modern features like JSON Feed support, Dark Mode, a “Today” smart feed, syncing via Feedbin, starred articles, and more. It is a brand new app that doesn’t use any code from previous versions. Users who are updating from older commercial versions can export OPML from the old app and import it into the NetNewsWire 5.0 app.
Notably lacking from the app is the ability to sync data across devices. Right now this is only possible if users hook up Feedbin. Simmons said he is working with contributors on an iOS version of the app.
Although it may not yet have as many features as some of its contemporaries, NetNewsWire’s return was celebrated by those who are hopeful that RSS can be one of the key technologies for unshackling web users from social media silos. NetNewsWire is back in support of this mission, which is highlighted on the app’s homepage: Creo pro 2 1 1 0 license key.
We support the open web. The big social networking sites are damaging society and eroding democracy — and we believe one of the ways out of this is to get our news via the open web rather than from Twitter and Facebook. Beh all der.
NetNewsWire is part of repairing the web we lost, and it’s part of building the web we want. That future web should not include viral hate speech, abuse, massive corporate surveillance, or successful influence operations by hostile governments and entities opposed to democracy.
NetNewsWire is no longer owned or sponsored by any corporation. In fact, the app’s GitHub repo has a support document that says: “First thing: don’t send money. This app is written for love, not money.” It outlines the project’s values:
NetNewsWire is all about three things:
The open web High-quality open source Mac and iOS apps The community that loves both of the above
In contrast to recent experiments and conversations around sustaining open source infrastructure, NetNewsWire’s approach gives the project the creative freedom to take risks and ship software at their own pace.
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When one commenter asked on Twitter about NetNewsWire’s business model, Ruby on Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson commented in defense of the project’s lack of a plan for making a profit.
“Not everything needs a business model,” Hansson said. “Writing open source software for fun, for the intellectual challenge, for the expression of creativity, are valid reasons. Same too goes for writing and sharing. Filtering everything through WHERE’S THE MONEY is a disease of the soul.
“An open source RSS reader that does not operate a service does not need a business model. An individual publisher paying a pittance to host a blog with RSS does not need a business model.”
If you’re looking for a new RSS reader to aggregate your news in a more calm environment than Twitter or Facebook can provide, NetNewsWire is a strong open source option with an exciting future ahead. Few apps have this kind of longevity, and it will be interesting to see how it evolves as an open source Mac app. As of version 5.0, it’s still fairly minimalist in terms of features but has a lot of momentum and a passionate community behind it, which in this case has proven more valuable towards ensuring its future.