NewsGator Acquires FeedDemon, TopStyle…and Me!

Published on by Nick Bradbury

Yes, it’s true: NewsGator has acquired FeedDemon and TopStyle, and brought me on board in the process.

Wow! How did this happen?

As regular visitors to my support forums know, the biggest request – by far – that FeedDemon customers have had is the ability to synchronize their subscriptions between multiple computers. They use FeedDemon on one PC at home, on another at the office, on a laptop while traveling, etc., and they want their feeds to be synched between them.

If someone reads an item on one computer, it shouldn’t show up as unread on another computer. And when they subscribe to a feed, it should automatically appear on any computer they use. Basically, provide the convenience of a web-based aggregator with the power and speed of a Windows desktop application.

I toyed with various hack-ish ways to do this, and even considered creating my own web-based sync service, but in the end came to the conclusion that to really do this right, I needed to join forces with someone who already had the server-side piece in place.

Why NewsGator? I thought they were just an Outlook plug-in?

I used to think that, too. But shortly after I decided I needed to join forces with someone, I read this post in NewsGator founder Greg Reinacker’s blog, in which he laid out NewsGator’s plans. This post really opened my eyes to where they were headed – let’s just say, I was impressed.

Funny enough, soon afterwards I got an email from Greg asking whether I’d consider joining forces with NewsGator. Truth is, if I hadn’t already read Greg’s blog post and been so impressed with the direction NewsGator was headed, chances are I would’ve turned him down – but because I read that post, I flew out to meet with the folks at NewsGator (score one for transparency through blogging!).

Long story short: we agreed that I should come on board and bring FeedDemon and TopStyle with me.

So what does this mean for FeedDemon customers?

I think you’re going to like this :)

NewsGator uses a subscription model, and FeedDemon will become part of their subscription plans. All existing FeedDemon customers will get a two-year business standard subscription for free – and this includes upgrades to FeedDemon. In other words, if you’ve already bought FeedDemon, you’ll get brand new versions of FeedDemon and a subscription to NewsGator Online free for the next two years.

Are there going to be changes in FeedDemon as a result of this?

Certainly. The most obvious will be that FeedDemon will integrate very closely with NewsGator’s online synchronization platform, enabling using FeedDemon on multiple computers while maintaining state between all of them. You could even use FeedDemon on your home computer, NewsGator Outlook Edition while at work, and NewsGator Mobile Edition while traveling, and still have everything synched between devices.

Beyond that, having a server-side piece offers a lot of interesting possibilities. Coupling a rich desktop client with a first-rate server-side aggregator provides the best of both worlds: you get the power of a Windows application and all the flexibility of a web-based approach. There have been a number of features I’ve been wanting to add to FeedDemon that required a server-side piece which I can now provide.

While these changes won’t happen overnight, we’ve already been working hard on a new release of FeedDemon – version 1.51 – which will include much better integration than currently exists. You should expect to see the first beta of FeedDemon 1.51 a couple of weeks from now.

And what about TopStyle customers?

While the acquisition obviously came to pass because of FeedDemon, NewsGator has made it clear that they’re committed to TopStyle as well. This was an important part of the deal for me. I use TopStyle every single day, and I personally couldn’t work without it. I’m already developing TopStyle 3.12, a free upgrade for existing TopStyle customers which will be released as a NewsGator product.

Oh, and you’ll get the same deal as FeedDemon customers: a free two-year subscription. For the record, TopStyle has a lot of users – even more than FeedDemon – so this is a very generous offer from the folks at NewsGator, and it illustrates their commitment to the product.

So, what about you, Nick? Are you moving? And will you still be doing support?

Although I’ll be working for NewsGator (my official title is “Architect of Client Products”), I’ll be staying here in Tennessee, with frequent trips to NewsGator’s offices in Denver.

I’ll continue to be active in the support forums – I need to, in order to understand what my customers need – but I’ll be handing over the support reigns to the folks at NewsGator. In fact, NewsGator has already taken over some of the support for FeedDemon – they’re the “reinforcements” I mentioned in this post last month. The mysterious “Ron” I talked about is actually NewsGator’s Ronnie Gilbertson, who will no doubt be relieved that he’s no longer a secret!

And to illustrate their commitment to FeedDemon and TopStyle, NewsGator has already hired Jack Brewster to help support both products. Jack starts next month, and he’s been a very frequent contributor to my support forums over the years (sometimes I think he knows TopStyle and FeedDemon better than I do). Welcome aboard, Jack – glad you could join us!

Patience is a virtue :)

So, there are obviously some major changes underway here, and we’ve got a lot to do to integrate my site, support system, etc., with NewsGator’s.

As long as this post is, I know it leaves a ton of questions unanswered, and I’ll try to address them here over the next few weeks. In the meantime, I do ask for your patience while we get everything sorted out. The entire process will likely take several weeks, and it’s possible there will be a few hiccups along the way.

The end result, though, will be something special. I’m excited to have this opportunity to take my software to a whole new level, and I look forward to entering this new chapter in my life.

139 thoughts on “NewsGator Acquires FeedDemon, TopStyle…and Me!”

  1. While waiting for more buzz

    While waiting for more buzz from Syndicâte, let’s take a look at the NewsGator/Bradbury deal once more. Nick Bradbury blogs it nicely. … shortly after I decided I needed to join forces with someone, I read this post in NewsGator founder Greg Re…

  5. Congrats Nick!
    Though like others, I am worried about Topstyle too. I hope once you are back from conference, you would address the concern about Topstyle.
    JD

  6. NewsGator and FeedDemon

    Looks like NewsGator has acquired FeedDemon my favorite desktop RSS reader. Check out Nick’s site for more info….

  7. Best Wishes Nick. Hope it all works out well for you and us FD/TS users. As expressed by others, I sincerely hope that when our two year free NG subscription expires we aren’t required to pay an annual subscription to use FeedDemon. I would, sadly, have to look for another reader if a subscription is required.

  8. Why I’m forced to use any subscription services?.. I don’t want any even for 1$ per month.
    And, as I understand, I even forced to use Outlook? I never used it. There’re much better e-mail clients.

  9. Dear Nick,
    Congratulations. Ever since my first contact with you (welll… homesite) I became an addict to the stuff you produced. Topstyle Feeddemon, evertything from under your skull was exactly the stuff I needed. I am sure it will work out fine for you and that you will come up with new ideas.
    Good luck and take care

  10. “Brad”Soft

    Mijn eerste homepages (inderdaad een linkje naar een voetbal klub, een artiest en playboy) heb ik gemaakt met Homesite. Volgens mij nog met versie 1.Jaren later verkocht Nick Bradbury (de bedenker) het spulletje aan Macromedia die het verweefde in Drea…

  11. NewsGator vereinnahmt FeedDemon und TopStyle

    Kristian Köhntopp schrieb vor gut einem Jahr in seinem Weblog:
    Wie auch immer: NewsGator wird da sein, wenn es darum geht, auf diesen Content zuzugreifen.
    Er hat Recht behalten, NewsGator hat jetzt den RSS-Reader Feed-Demon geschluckt und Top-St…

  13. I hope this all pans out for the best.
    (I’d hate to see another Allaire then Macromedia process hitting Topstyle and FeedDemon.)
    I haven’t a clue about Newsgator. But if this is guy’s with VC funding splashing it around, it makes me nervous. Thats exactly what created the .COM situation.
    I hope Nick has a way to keep control of TopStyle, especially if things start going wrong. If somebody without a clue gets management control great potential will be lost.

  14. NewsGator Acquires FeedDemon

    I’ve always liked FeedDemon a lot. It’s like none other. While this may be a wise business decision… I echo the feeling of many existing customers. What if they don’t want to use Newsgator’s subscription that you only want the standalone desktop appl…

  16. Congratulations Nick!
    You were (and still are) an inspiration for those that one day dreamed of running their own Micro-ISV.
    Good luck for the future.

  17. Any chance of getting HomeSite back from Macromedia before Adobe kill it even further? Dreamweaver is OK I admit but heck HS/CF Studio is still the ants pants.

  18. FeedDemon sold to NewsGator

    NewsGator acquired FeedDemon, TopStyle and NickBradbury – what does that mean for us FeedDemon customers? Says Nick: NewsGator uses a subscription model, and FeedDemon will become part of their subscription plans. All existing FeedDemon customers will …

  19. FeedDemon sold to NewsGator

    NewsGator acquired FeedDemon, TopStyle and NickBradbury – what does that mean for us FeedDemon customers? Says Nick: NewsGator uses a subscription model, and FeedDemon will become part of their subscription plans. All existing FeedDemon customers will …

  21. NewsGator and FeedDemon

    Everyone seems to be on a search for the best RSS Reader. For every RSS Reader out there, there are 1000 opintions. I personally like Newsgator. Others can’t stand it.
    I’ve been looking at desktop based RSS Readers and have for a lon…

  22. Obviously Nick must to what he thinks is best for him and his family but I fear a bleak future for TopStyle. I saw what I viewed as the end of HomeSite several years ago, I hope that I don’t see a similar end for TopStyle. There have been some very long gaps between service releases and as someone has already said “Will there ever be a version 4 now?”.
    Good Luck Nick, for as long almost as long as I’ve been running 32-bit Windows I’ve had at least one of your programs installed on my PC. Come to think of it so have tens of thousands of others, that’s some achievement!

  23. Nick Bradbury sells out!

    This sucks! Newsgator has aquired FeedDemon, TopStyle and Nick Bradbury. First off any company that uses “gator” needs their head examined, especially because some of the worst adware and spyware came from a company formerly called Gator. I have no …

  24. That’s really great news Nick! Lots of hard work and the noble pursuit of solid high-quality software has paid off. Just hope that FeedDemon and TopStyle continue on a better path than what happened to Homesite. Have a fun and relaxing time.

  26. NewsGator が FeedDemon とTopStyle を買収

    これもまたネタとしては多少古くなってしまったんですが、Outlook のRSS Aggregation Add-in を出しているNewsGator が、.NET Framework ベースのクライアントのRSS…

  27. Nick – What else can I say but congratulations!! I am a little bummed that Feed Demon will be subscription but at least you did some fancy negotiating and kept your clients in mind when you made this decision. Speaking of which, what do we need to do to get our “free 2 year subscripotion”? I can’t stress the importance of your phenomenal technical support. By far the best and most responsive tech support I have EVER worked with. News Gator is definitely a better company with you.

  28. Congrats! Couldn’t have got better.. not unless you can convince Newgator to give out free subscriptions :)

  29. Bradbury wins again

    After the Homesite win, Nick Bradsbury has got he deserves once more. Newsgator has acquired FeedDemon and Topstyle. Not just that, with that move, Newsgator has also brought Nick onboard onto their team. Thats what you get for creating what…

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    Wired News: Fans Flock to Firefox Flicks Article about the movies that are helping bring new people in to…

  32. NewsGator Acquires FeedDemon, TopStyle…and Me!

    My first reaction was fear and uncertainty. I’ve come to rely on FeedDemon and while NewsGator is nice, I’ve never really liked it being integrated into Outlook especially since I use don’t use it at home anymore. Well after reading…

  33. NewsGator Technologies Acquires FeedDemon

    The full headline reads “NewsGator Technologies Acquires FeedDemon; Acquisition of FeedDemon and TopStyle Strengthens NewsGator’s RSS Platform; Nick Bradbury Joins NewsGator Team” — can’t believe I missed this news (press release). I probably wouldn’t…

  34. NewsGator Technologies Acquires FeedDemon

    The full headline reads “NewsGator Technologies Acquires FeedDemon; Acquisition of FeedDemon and TopStyle Strengthens NewsGator’s RSS Platform; Nick Bradbury Joins NewsGator Team” — can’t believe I missed this news (press release). I probably wouldn’t…

  37. NewsGator’s reach continues to grow

    Last night, Om Malik scored a big one when he informed about NewsGator’s intent to purchase RSS feed newsreader NetNewsWire, which runs on the Mac OS. This comes less than six months after the firm purchased Nick Bradbury’s FeedDemon (which…

  38. Newsgator Toolkit

    In May when Newsgator acquired Feeddemon, I switched to Newsgator from Bloglines to avail the synching features that had been promised. Once I switched over, however, the one thing I immediately noticed was the lack of any kind of…

  39. FeedDemon 2.0 – definitely worth the wait!

    A look at the pre-alpha-not-ready-for-prime-time-don’t-even-think-about-calling-it-beta-upon-pain-of-wet-noodle-beatings version of FeedDemon 2.0

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