| NetNewsWire | |
|---|---|
 macOS icon for NetNewsWire | |
| Developers | Current: Brent Simmons Former:Black Pixel,NewsGator Technologies |
| Initial release | July 12, 2002; 23 years ago (2002-07-12) |
| Stable release | 6.1.3[1]  / 29 June 2023 |
| Repository | |
| Operating system | iOS,macOS |
| Type | News aggregator |
| License | MIT License |
| Website | netnewswire |
NetNewsWire is afree and open-source RSS reader for macOS and iOS, originally developed by Brent and Sheila Simmons through Ranchero Software. It was first introduced on in 2002 asNetNewsWire Lite, a free version with fewer features compared to the commercial release. Ownership transitioned over time, with NewsGator acquiring it in 2005 and Black Pixel in 2011, before Brent Simmons regained the intellectual property in 2018 and released his open source Mac RSS reader, "Evergreen" as NetNewsWire 5.0d1. NetNewsWire has been well received by the community, receiving awards such as Macworld's Editor's Choice.
NetNewsWire was developed by Brent and Sheila Simmons for their company Ranchero Software. It was introduced on July 12, 2002, withNetNewsWire Lite, a free version missing some advanced features of the (then commercial) version,[2] introduced some weeks later. Version 1.0 was released on February 11, 2003, and version 2.0 was released in May 2005. At that time it included custom feed views, custom downloading and opening ofpodcasts, synchronization of feeds and feed status between computers,Bloglines support, and a built-in tabbed browser.
In October 2005,NewsGator bought NetNewsWire, bringing theirNewsGator Online RSS synchronization service to the Mac.[3] Brent Simmons was hired by NewsGator to continue developing the software.[4]
NetNewsWire 3.0 was released on June 5, 2007.[5] The version addedSpotlight indexing of news items, integration withiCal,iPhoto,Address Book, andVoodooPad,Growl support, a new user interface, performance enhancements, and more.
The application was originallyshareware, but became free with the release of NetNewsWire 3.1 on January 10, 2008. NetNewsWire Lite was discontinued at the same time. NetNewsWire 3.2 moved to anadvertisement-supported model with the option to purchase the application to remove ads.
An iOS version of NetNewsWire with support for theiPhone,iPod Touch and later for theiPad was released on the first day of theApp Store. It included syncing of unread articles with the desktop version.
NetNewsWire Lite 4.0 was introduced on March 3, 2011, on theMac App Store. While it misses several of the advanced features included in NetNewsWire 3.2, it includes a completely rewritten codebase which was used in the iOS version of the app and for NetNewsWire 4.0 which was released as shareware.[6]
On June 3, 2011, the acquisition of NetNewsWire by Black Pixel was announced.[7] For two years development had been apparently stalled, with a gap in updates from 2011 through the release of the version 4 Open Beta.[8]
On June 24, 2013, NetNewsWire 4.0 was announced and released as an open beta by Black Pixel. This announcement also brought news that the product would be a commercial product with no free component (though the beta would be free to use through the final release).[9]
The final release of NetNewsWire 4.0 occurred on September 3, 2015.[10]
In 2017 support ofJSON Feed was added into the code base.[11]
On August 31, 2018, Black Pixel announced that they had returned the NetNewsWireintellectual property to Brent Simmons.[12]
On September 1, 2018, Brent Simmons released NetNewsWire 5.0d1. It was a renamed version of his open source Mac RSS reader, "Evergreen".[13] Almost a year later, NetNewsWire 5.0 was released on August 26, 2019[14] as an open source[15] application.
On December 22, 2019, Brent Simmons started a public beta for the NetNewsWire iOS app which was distributed throughTestFlight.[16] The iOS version of NetNewsWire 5.0 was released March 9, 2020.[17]
On March 27, 2021, Brent Simmons released NetNewsWire 6.0 for macOS along with a public beta for iOS which, again, was distributed throughTestFlight.[18][19]
On June 22, 2021, Brent Simmons released NetNewsWire 6.0 for iOS.[20]
NetNewsWire has been well regarded by many users and reviewers. According toFeedBurner, NetNewsWire was the most popular desktop newsreader on all platforms in 2005.[21] The software received aMacworld Editor's Choice Award in 2003[22] and 2005[23] and maintained a 4.8 out of five stars rating among reviewers atVersionTracker (nowCNET).[24]Ars Technica called NetNewsWire's built-in browser "hands-down the best of any Mac newsreader,"[25] andWalter Mossberg, technology columnist forThe Wall Street Journal, said that NetNewsWire is his favorite for the Mac.[26]
NetNewsWire 5.0 was also received well. MacStories praised the RSS reader's search engine and general stability, but lamented that some advanced features and customization options had not made it into the release, calling 5.0 "a solid foundation for the future".[27]Gizmodo wrote that NetNewsWire 5.0 was off to a promising start, but agreed that it lacked some of the features that might be expected by a power user.[28]