According to Simon Willison, developer Brent Simmons retired a year ago to focus on NetNewsWire—a long-running RSS feed reader first released in 2002 and made open source in 2018. Free from commercial pressure and venture capital demands, Simmons is channeling his energy into making one piece of software exceptionally good. Willison calls it inspiring: evidence that the best software often comes from developers focused on excellence rather than monetization or growth.

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