"I know their work and I know the people," said Simmons. "Even though their focus as a company has been on iOS, they have the experience and ability to work on Mac software too."

Despite NetNewsWire's immense popularity and , the app hasn't been without problems over the years, with frequent complaints revolving around problems with the syncing of news feeds.

For his own part, Simmons sees only good things coming from Black Pixel's taking of the reins. The benefits for users are simple, he says: "higher-quality software, better than I could do on my own, updated more often than I could update."

And don't worry, he's not about to leave the Mac scene himself. "I'm still a Cocoa developer," he said in an e-mail. "Totally." But stepping away from NetNewsWire gives him the opportunity to pursue plenty of new avenues as well. "I'll have some free nights and weekends in the future. I'd like to learn new things, do new things. Write more, play music, learn Python, who knows what else. Just follow my nose a bit. Have some fun learning."

If you're interested in the nitty gritty of software development, both Simmons and Pasco have given on the deal.