Although still in the early testing phase, the application built by the Google Chrome Team to internally test the new message center is available to download, and install, for everyone wishing to take a peak. Features are a bit limited for the moment, especially for those who do not run Chrome OS, but it’s something worth taking a glimpse at.
Google’s Notifications Galore
Truth be told, there are no hard facts about what Notification Galore can achieve for Google, and its customers. At the moment, we’ve only witnessed a pair of screenshots leakings online and crumbles of bread being thrown around social networks. In matters of functionality, the application itself is developed to handle notifications from Google Voice, Google Talk, Google Plus, probably Gmail and rumors also claim something about SMS. Perhaps, the most interesting peach is that Google may prepare a desktop version of the Android virtual assistant, Google Now, which will broadcast cards in a lively matter. When taking a stroll with Notifications Galore, we’ve been positively surprised by the nice and clean UI, a tradition well-known at Google. Once the application starts, a messenger window appears in the lower-right corner of the screen, just like on Y!M. The application itself minimizes in a tiny chat-shaped icon which is also placed in the bottom-right corner and, which handles notifications immediately. For instance, when something of importance is received, the application will display it in full length for a couple of seconds and then the message will be minimized inside the icon. When this icon is pressed, all messages will appear on-top of each other, like a stack. Notification templates vary from one service to another, Galore displaying Google Mail snippets with the name of the sender and a small bit of the message, while some notifications look like they were built for chatting (especially those from G+). Moreover, when someone shares pictures, Galore will show a preview of the pic in the same interface. All types of notifications can be seen in the settings panel of the application, displayed above. [nggallery id=10]
Test for yourself
Notifications Galore can be tested rather easily, on any computer with a Chrome Browser installed. Follow the steps below and be advised that for some cases, it may fail to establish a connection. Also, looks and such will be altered a bit on regular PCs.
First of all, browse to “chrome://flags/” using Chrome and enable Experimental Extension APIs, found around the middle of the page. Download the application and unzip it. Browse to “chrome://extensions” and enable Developer mode, using the check-box at the upper-side of the page. Now click on the Load Unpacked Extension button and choose the Galore folder, obtained above. Launch the application by opening a new tab and clicking on its icon.
