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NetNewsWire 5.0: Open-Source RSS Reader for Mac

35 points by tobr 7y ago

tobr 7y ago
NetNewsWire has been around in various forms since 2002. It’s great to see it’s back from the dead. Source code is here: https://github.com/brentsimmons/NetNewsWire https://github.com/brentsimmons/NetNewsWire
- pfranz 7y ago
  Historically, it's been an awesome app. I just launched this new version and it pulled up all of my old feeds and refreshed them very quickly (I have no idea the last version I had installed). For those, like me, who remember the app fondly, but can't remember the whole history Wikipedia has a dry version: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetNewsWire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetNewsWire
toyg 7y ago
What’s the HN term for “slashdotted”? Because that’s probably what happened here, site is down.
- ksec 7y ago
  it's HN's hug ( of death ).
barrowclift 7y ago
Based on the praise others have been giving this, I can't help but feel I'm reviewing a completely different app. To me, supporting only Feedbin is a showstopper and woefully insufficient considering its contemporaries all support half a dozen or more RSS aggregators out of the box. I'm not about to completely switch providers just to try out a different RSS reader. I also find it strange any development effort at all went into "On My Mac" as an option. Local-only RSS is functionally useless to me since at any given time I'm reading either on two different Macs, an iPad, or an iPhone. No RSS reader is an island! I get it, it's open source and free, and I suppose if you value that over a product's functionality and usefulness, then NetNewsWire's the RSS reader for you. But for me, this is simply not good enough.
- KSS42 7y ago
  Other feeds will be added: (https://ranchero.com/netnewswire/frequently-asked-questions https://ranchero.com/netnewswire/frequently-asked-questions) I do use local-only RSS. I am still running an ancient version of Netnewswire (maybe 2.0). So, I do appreciate that option.
- Nextgrid 7y ago
  Agreed. What I noticed with most other Mac RSS clients is that they omit a very obvious sync option: iCloud, even despite providing an iOS version. I bought both the Mac and iOS version of Reeder and was very disappointed by the lack of iCloud support. It was quite pricey for an app that I never ended up using properly. For now I’ve settled on News Explorer. I still miss Reeder’s UI but at least News Explorer actually works for me.
- chmaynard 7y ago
  What a sad, pathetic comment. Apparently you have no appreciation for the interesting, important history of this app and how its original author decided to bring it back to life. If NewNewsWire 5.0 doesn't work for you, don't use it and keep your snark to yourself.
  - tobr 7y ago
    The complains give me a different appreciation of this: https://inessential.com/2019/08/20/immunization https://inessential.com/2019/08/20/immunization
Semiapies 7y ago
So what does it offer that Feedbin itself doesn't provide? I especially ask because I never found a compatible mobile app that was even as good as Feedbin's web UI. Being better than Feedbin on a desktop browser strikes me as difficult.

35 points by tobr 7y ago

tobr 7y ago

NetNewsWire has been around in various forms since 2002. It’s great to see it’s back from the dead. Source code is here: https://github.com/brentsimmons/NetNewsWire https://github.com/brentsimmons/NetNewsWire

pfranz 7y ago
Historically, it's been an awesome app. I just launched this new version and it pulled up all of my old feeds and refreshed them very quickly (I have no idea the last version I had installed). For those, like me, who remember the app fondly, but can't remember the whole history Wikipedia has a dry version: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetNewsWire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetNewsWire

toyg 7y ago

What’s the HN term for “slashdotted”? Because that’s probably what happened here, site is down.

ksec 7y ago
it's HN's hug ( of death ).

barrowclift 7y ago

Based on the praise others have been giving this, I can't help but feel I'm reviewing a completely different app. To me, supporting only Feedbin is a showstopper and woefully insufficient considering its contemporaries all support half a dozen or more RSS aggregators out of the box. I'm not about to completely switch providers just to try out a different RSS reader. I also find it strange any development effort at all went into "On My Mac" as an option. Local-only RSS is functionally useless to me since at any given time I'm reading either on two different Macs, an iPad, or an iPhone. No RSS reader is an island! I get it, it's open source and free, and I suppose if you value that over a product's functionality and usefulness, then NetNewsWire's the RSS reader for you. But for me, this is simply not good enough.

KSS42 7y ago
Other feeds will be added: (https://ranchero.com/netnewswire/frequently-asked-questions https://ranchero.com/netnewswire/frequently-asked-questions) I do use local-only RSS. I am still running an ancient version of Netnewswire (maybe 2.0). So, I do appreciate that option.
Nextgrid 7y ago
Agreed. What I noticed with most other Mac RSS clients is that they omit a very obvious sync option: iCloud, even despite providing an iOS version. I bought both the Mac and iOS version of Reeder and was very disappointed by the lack of iCloud support. It was quite pricey for an app that I never ended up using properly. For now I’ve settled on News Explorer. I still miss Reeder’s UI but at least News Explorer actually works for me.
chmaynard 7y ago
What a sad, pathetic comment. Apparently you have no appreciation for the interesting, important history of this app and how its original author decided to bring it back to life. If NewNewsWire 5.0 doesn't work for you, don't use it and keep your snark to yourself.
- tobr 7y ago
  The complains give me a different appreciation of this: https://inessential.com/2019/08/20/immunization https://inessential.com/2019/08/20/immunization

Semiapies 7y ago

So what does it offer that Feedbin itself doesn't provide? I especially ask because I never found a compatible mobile app that was even as good as Feedbin's web UI. Being better than Feedbin on a desktop browser strikes me as difficult.