Google+ gets notification improvements across devices, new Android app

Google gets notification improvements across devices, new Android app

Today, Google announced it’s making some improvements to its social network, both on the web as well as on the Android and iOS apps. The company’s own Vic Gundotra has — appropriately — taken to Google+ to share that notifications have been improved all around, making them “much easier to use across mobile and desktop.” Additionally, these notifications now tout a new bell icon which lets users know when stuff is waiting to be glanced, plus there’s a tray that manages read and unread items — in other words, they’ve become a lot less obtrusive and cumbersome.

The Android application, meanwhile, has been updated with the option to delete pics from within the “Photos” view, while other under-the-hood improvements were added to the menu in order to make it “more consistent with other Google apps.” The rejuvenated notification system is expected to be rolling out over the next few days, however the Android app is available now at the Google Play link below.

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Source: Google Play, Google+

Mac OS X Mavericks to integrate iOS notifications

OS X Mavericks capable of receiving iOS notifications

If you have a Mac and use an iOS device, Apple just announced an enjoyable feature to go along with the new version of OS X, also known as Mavericks: the ability to push iOS notifications directly to your Mac, regardless of whether or not Safari is open. The alerts show up as a banner in the top right corner of your display, much the same as any other Mac-related banner; additionally, any missed notifications will pop up in your lock screen any time you wake up your device.

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Screenshots from eBay-bought Windows Phone hint at notification center, interface tweaks

Alleged screenshots from eBaybought Windows Phone tease notification center, interface tweaks

You know how it goes, you buy a phone on eBay, and it comes with a developer / pre-release version of a major mobile OS. Well, if these images are to be believed, that’s at least what happened to one bargain-hunting Windows Phone fan. The screenshots — said to be taken from a Nokia 920 — show Windows Phone 8, but with a few new tweaks and features. Most notable, will likely be the notifications, but other tidbits include App list ordering based on frequency of use, week view in the calendar and the option to kill apps from the multitask screen. The phone reports a build number of: 12084.WPMAIN(wpbldlab).20130509-1407 leading some to infer that this version could have been compiled sometime in May. A tease of something to come? As always, hard to tell, but expect the price of second-hand 920s to bump up a little, for the next few weeks at least.

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Via: The Verge

Source: Reddit

Latest Chrome beta for Windows and Chrome OS brings richer notifications, coming soon to Mac and Linux

Latest Chrome beta for Windows and Chrome OS brings richer browser notifications, coming soon to Mac and Linux

It’s not quite ready for the stable release of the browser, but Chrome beta users can now get a taste of a new notification system that should be rolling out to everyone sooner or later. Currently limited to the Windows and Chrome OS versions of the browser (Mac and Linux support is promised “soon”), the new notifications offer richer options than before, including formatted text and images, as well as the ability to incorporate actions directly inside the pop-up — Google offers the example of responding to an email right away. A new notification center will now also let you view a list of all notifications you might have missed, and you can thankfully disable notifications from as many sources as you like.

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Source: Google Chrome Blog, Chromium Blog

Push notifications come to Chrome and Chrome OS with battery life as a focus

Push notifications come to Chrome and Chrome OS to save battery life

The push notifications on our mobile devices aren’t just for convenience’s sake — they let apps stay idle and conserve precious battery life. That would explain why Google Cloud Messaging is now integrated with all versions of Chrome and Chrome OS, then. While both platforms are usually online as a matter of course, GCM lets developers refresh a web app or extension only when there are noteworthy changes, such as new chats. All end users have to do is sign in. Developers will have to build the feature into their apps before anyone sees the benefits, but we wouldn’t be surprised if our Chromebooks last for just a little bit longer in the near future.

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Via: CNET

Source: Chromium Blog

Apex Launcher 2.0 hits Google Play, puts notifications on app icons (Updated)

DNP Apex Launcher 20 hits the Google Play Store with new Apex Notifier integration

Apex can honestly claim to be one of the more popular launchers on Android, with over a million installs and 44,000 ratings over at Google Play. The stock-like skin has just been updated to version 2.0, with the biggest addition being support for Apex Notifier. This feature enables better control over iOS-style notifications on individual app icons, but you’ll have to fork over $3.99 for Apex Launcher Pro to make it work. In the proper spirit of Android, however, you’ll also get to pick which apps get notifications and which don’t, from a list that includes Phone, SMS Messages, Gmail and many others. If you’re getting bored with the stock launcher or just want to hide the cartoonish visage of TouchWiz, hit up the source link to download Apex for yourself.

Update: We amended the post to clarify that version 2.0 brings better control over icon-based notifications, which the Pro version of Apex actually already supported.

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Via: Android Police

Source: Apex Launcher (Google Play)

Pinterest revives classic features, revamps notifications and search

Pinterest overauls notifications and search, revives a load of classic features

When Pinterest unveiled its big redesign last month, it took the sort of gamble on feature trade-offs that we’ve seen before: some big leaps forward at the expense of a few leaps back. Much to the relief of many, the company is already doing what it can to restore what was lost while still forging ahead. Veteran users can once again see pins they’ve just posted, mention friends and find would-be contacts on Facebook on Twitter. As for the less nostalgic among us? The progress isn’t as dramatic, but it’s there: Pinterest has reworked notifications to show their history, and searches now include as-you-type keyword suggestions. More updates are on the way, including notifications for new pins, so we wouldn’t worry that Pinterest is spending most of its time mending broken fences.

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Source: Pinterest Blog

Facebook Is Rolling Out Threaded Comments to Pages and Hyper-Popular Profiles

What was once just an infinitely looping twinkle in a Facebook developer’s eye has officially become a reality: comments in reply to comments in reply to posts. More »

Facebook for iOS Is Testing an Obnoxious New Feature That Harasses You Until You Update

Facebook is notorious for testing all sorts of wild and crazy ideas before implementing them site wide—assuming they ever even make it that far. So for the sake of everyone’s sanity, we hope that this newest venture will soon make its way to The Graveyard of Horrible Facebook Features Past and join the others. Because an iOS notification begging you to post an update (any update!) is perhaps one of the most annoying things Facebook has tried to subject us to yet. More »

Your Phone’s Low Battery Warnings Should Look Like These Hilarious Notifications

Because batteries enjoy dying so much when we really need that last little bit of juice, low battery warnings really should be more animated than the plain “20% of battery remaining”. I don’t know how many times I’ve ignored that message. But if the alert made fun of me and said something like, “Oh I’ll just charge it tonight” You idiot, then my God I would listen to it so much more. More »