Not long ago I wrote a review gushing over Newsfire, a relatively new challenger to NetNewsWire. But that was before NetNewsWire 2 made its debut. NewsFire is still an outstanding application, but to put it bluntly, this version of NetNewsWire puts it back on top.

So what’s so great about it? Try being able to view a web page linked in an RSS feed without launching a browser. Try being able to choose from three different window layouts. NetNewsWire catches back up with NewsFire in that you can create groups (were they in 1.0 too? Let me know if you remember) and smart lists (roughly equivalent to Smart Feeds in NewsFire). Here’s a cool feature: you can view feeds that haven’t been updated in ages in the “Dinosaurs” window (get it? Har-dee-har). It also now comes with the ability to post about a selected newsfeed article using MarsEdit or another blog editor (provided your blog supports external editing; mine doesn’t, unfortunately). But that’s not all! There are a good number of downloading options, a highly customizable appearance, and all kinds of cool goodies. And I’m just scratching the surface.

Oh, and it looks better now. It looks especially good with the new unified toolbar look in Tiger. Some apps can’t quite pull it off well, but NetNewsWire can.

And did I mention that there’s a browser in it now? That’s probably the biggest, most useful new feature in my mind.

There’s a lot more, but I haven’t yet had the chance to play with everything. Be sure to read Ranchero’s NetNewsWire 2 page for more details. About the only thing I’d like to see is a Newsfire-style Podcast download window with play control buttons. It has a great feature set and sure beats Safari’s RSS feature to a bloody pulp in terms of flexibility. You can expect a NetNewsWire 2 review soon.

I guess I have enough room in my heart for two newsreaders. Both NewsFire and NetNewWire are some excellent pieces of Objective-C code. Regardless, it’s a great time to be a Mac user, given all the outstanding applications out there today. Mac OS X software certainly kicks the crap out of Windows equivalents. The fact that I can’t pick Newsfire over NewNewsWire 2 or vice-versa is a testament to that. Kudos, Mac developers.