440: ‘Flush a Radar’, With Brent Simmons

Brent, I’m thrilled you’re back, even if your topic list could fill four hours. It’s been ages—last time was 2019—so what have you been up to?

I retired, which mostly means I still work but without bosses or a paycheck. I’d been at Audible and avoided podcasts because the rules weren’t clear.

I just drove past the big Audible sign in Newark and thought of you. What was your role there?

I was an SD3 on the iOS app, a senior engineer in the trenches on a very large team. It was a big shift from small shops like Omni and NewsGator.

You’re famous for deleting code and trimming dependencies, which must’ve been needed after years of framework creep.

We migrated most Objective‑C to Swift, removed dead code, and unwound dependency tangles like duplicate FMDBs. We also drove warnings down to zero and kept pushing for simple, humane code over clever syntax.

You also saw how promotions shape big-company work.

Projects become promotion fuel, which isn’t all bad, but it explains churn and why certain efforts get picked.

Did people dogfood the app all day?

Everyone was encouraged to use it and know it well. Remote work meant fewer headphones-on moments, and for tricky categories you’d build sandboxed test worlds.

NetNewsWire 7 for Mac just landed, Tahoe‑only, and the iOS build looks close. It still feels like NNW but fits Tahoe’s look.

We adopted liquid glass and Swift structured concurrency—Stewart Breckenridge did great work. I’m not a liquid glass fan, but our take fits, and both platforms target the 26 releases; older Mac versions remain available.

The newer NNW is more opinionated: a mail‑style tri‑pane with fast keyboard flow and far fewer preferences to keep anxiety down.

Exactly—hit space to read and jump, and keep settings minimal so people aren’t second‑guessing every choice.

Adoption of iOS 26 is high despite bad third‑party stats; Apple slow‑rolled auto‑updates a bit, but it’s broadly out there.

I wondered about the slower push too.

You also chose Tahoe‑only now to avoid tech debt and keep pace.

We fixed lots in 6.2 for holdouts, then modernized 7 so volunteers aren’t buried later.

Your betas have been as dependable as BBEdit’s.

iOS was bumpy early, but stability is now excellent aside from a few OS-level crashes.

Open formats and services make mixed‑version use easy, so my phone can be on the latest while my Mac lags without friction.

Right—you can sync via Feedbin, iCloud, or others and even mix different readers.

Tahoe’s icons next to every menu item drive me nuts; NNW7 keeps icons only where they clarify, which is the right call. The greyed keyboard shortcuts are another own goal.

I shared a small chunk of code to disable the flood of icons. Icons should earn their spot, not drown everything.

Indies can steer the platform by example—like pull‑to‑refresh or old windowshade—so we don’t have to accept bad guidelines.

Our job is to ship what’s best for users, even when that means pushing back.

That “phantom obligation” essay nails unread‑count anxiety and invites different reader models beyond the mail‑style default.

I’d love more experiments alongside traditional readers—think Feedland or Tapestry and other takes on streams.

Readers are a UI playground; Dave Winer’s river approach proves you can innovate fully on the client side.

That’s how the web and apps should work.

Social feeds stoke obligation and petty engagement, so I’m using them less and getting more done, while RSS keeps me informed without bait.

News still finds you through friends, chat, and a dozen other channels.

Mike Swanson’s “backseat software” explains how endless experiments replace product vision; when metrics win, taste loses.

PMs get graded on modeled dollars from A/B tests, so numbers steer choices instead of craft. That culture is harmful to software.

I’ve long argued every product needs a director; today’s metric‑first mindset is worse than design‑by‑committee and you see it in engagement platforms.

People still spark ideas, but analytics decide their fate.

That bias toward arguments with numbers also explains Apple’s drift under Cook—he’s not a bean counter, but chart‑backed cases win, unlike Jobs’s taste‑led calls.

And he’d likely admit he couldn’t have led the 1997 turnaround the way it actually happened.

If the app era was revolutionary, why stop pushing? Can't Apple keep driving design forward and sweat the craft even when the numbers say play it safe?

Numbers are useful, but when everything must be measured, you drift into caution. That's how a clunker like icons glued to every Mac menu item makes it from pitch to shipping. Jobs would have tossed it on sight. You need gut calls for the stuff that matters but can't be counted, or the wheel's off and the rim is throwing sparks.

You can't bring up Tim Cook without mentioning last Saturday at the White House. The current state of UI makes me sad, but that made me angry and worried. There's no dashboard that says he has to do that.

His stance with Trump now is not what it was in the first term. The Texas Mac Pro photo op already crossed a line back then, and that personal seven‑figure inaugural check never sat right. This time he even showed up for a White House movie premiere on the day Alex Pretty was killed by Border Patrol in Minnesota. Even if you accepted the invite, once the news hit, you head home. Going anyway was just unseemly.

Then his 'we need to de‑escalate' line made it worse.

Whether or not it's separate from running Apple, rumors say he may step down with someone like John Tarnas taking the CEO role while he stays as chair to handle Trump. He navigated the first term pragmatically. Apple stayed consistent on equality and didn't need a pivot under Biden. Trump 2 is a different storm, and I don't think he's handling it. Keep this up and Apple picks up a MAGA tint. Dodging rants or phantom tariffs might help short term, but the brand takes the long bruises.

That risk feels existential. Bullies don't stop when you split the difference.

Look at the ICE Block case. The Justice Department demanded the app be removed, and Apple complied. They should have calmly said it violates no App Store rule and told the government to show the law in court. Instead, they folded on the most charged issue of this era. Give up your lunch money once, and the bully returns. The lesson he learned is that ask Tim Apple and you get your way. Great upbeat ending you teed up there. Thanks for doing the show.

On a lighter note, the iOS version of the app should land any day, probably next week.

By the time you hear this, it may be out on iPhone and Mac OS 26. I still love the app, Brent. Thanks. Till next time, see you in six years.