Brent Simmons
Mac and iOS developer; created NetNewsWire and MarsEdit, co-created the JSON Feed format, and blogs at inessential.com.
Brent Simmons did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
Latest GitHub
Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 13 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Uses Acorn
I use Acorn, Photoshop, and Preview for graphics.
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Uses xScope
I regularly use Safari, NetNewsWire, MarsEdit, Colloquy, iChat, Twitter for OS X, Instruments, iCal, xScope, LaunchBar, Keynote, Growl, FileMerge, Versions, iTunes, FastScripts, Transmit, OmniFocus, OmniOutliner, and LiveView Screencaster.
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Uses Consolas
Somehow, just in the past few days, I've finally moved from Monaco to Consolas. I never thought I'd switch from Monaco. (I would have gone with Menlo, but it's a bit too blurry for me.)
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Show 10 more
Uses Dropbox
DropBox has become my documents folder. I use Lighthouse for bug tracking.
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Uses Bitbucket
Uses Mercurial
For SCM I mostly use Mercurial (on the command line usually, though sometimes I use SourceTree).
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Loved ack
I use the wonderful and better-than-grep ack on the command line.
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Uses mutt
I've gotten as far as switching my most-used email account over to mutt, and I'm doing most of my writing and web coding in Vim, but I'm still using Xcode for Cocoa coding.
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Uses Vim
Most of this is just about switching to one text editor - Vim - for everything, including writing email, blog posts, notes, HTML, style sheets, and code.
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Uses Pilot Razor Point
A box of old-style Pilot Razor Point black pens.
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Liked Verilux Happy Light
a Verilux Happy Light, which I run for a few hours every morning, which keeps me even-keeled.
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Loved Apple Extended Keyboard II
My most important piece of hardware, which I love even more than my trackpad, is my Apple Extended Keyboard II. If it ever breaks my career is probably over - not because I'd be unable to adjust, but because I'd be too heart-broken to even try.
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Loved Magic Trackpad
I have a Magic Trackpad, which I love. I've become an Olympic-level swiper.
usesthis.com 17 Feb 2012
Where they publish
Blog inessential.com His blog.
Link verified 5 Sept 2026.
GitHub brentsimmons His code, including NetNewsWire.
Recent
- inessential.com — The templates, CSS, pages, and posts that make up my blog at inessential.com. 13 Oct 2026
- Tidemark — Markdown parser and renderer written in Swift. Mac and Linux. 18 Apr 2026
- NetNewsWireLite4 — Historical version — NetNewsWire Lite 4.0 — last release before sale to Black Pixel (2011) 31 Aug 2018
Show 5 more
- DB5 14 Jul 2018
- Vesper — Vesper is a note-taking app for iOS by Q Branch. 21 Dec 2016
- vesper-api — Vesper’s API server. 19 Dec 2016
- vesper-accounts — The account management website for Vesper. 19 Dec 2016
- QSKit — Q Branch’s collection of Cocoa categories and utilities. 27 Aug 2014
Link verified 5 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
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