NetNewsWire 4 for Mac public beta debuts, with sync and iOS versions to come
Desktop RSS readers may be a dime a dozen, but here’s one you can run for free—at least for a while. Black Pixel on Monday released a public beta of NetNewsWire 4 for Mac, a new version of the software for the post-Google Reader era.
NetNewsWire, of course, has a storied history. Developer Brent Simmons first created the app, at the time one of the very first desktop news aggregators; its success helped to drive the popularity of RSS newsreaders and the format in general. The app started as part of Simmons’s own company, Ranchero Software, before he eventually sold the business to NewsGator, where he then worked for years. In 2011, the software ended up at developer Black Pixel.
Not entirely coincidentally, Google Reader, which over time powered the feed syncing behind NetNewsWire and a slew of other newsreading apps, will soon follow eWorld, the Pets.com sock monkey, and Flooz into the Internet graveyard; the service will close its virtual doors forever on July 1.
In terms of features, there’s not much new in NetNewsWire 4. The app will feel instantly familiar to anyone who’s used prior versions of the software, though its developers have given it a fresh coat of paint. You get a grayscale list of feeds at left, previews in the middle column, complete with thumbnails, and the full article (or summary, if that’s all that’s available) in the rightmost pane. There’s no longer a view option with the full post at the bottom; three columns is the only choice now. And the middle list of stories vanishes when you navigate into a webpage, which strikes me as a little jarring. Of course, NetNewsWire 4 is a beta, so all of this may change as development continues.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
http://www.macworld.com/article/2042835/netnewswire-4-for-mac-public-beta-debuts-with-sync-and-ios-versions-to-come.html#tk.rss_all
