Chrome notification center is working

Yesterday, a strange thing happened. In the course of having a Google Talk chat, the Chrome notification center on my Chromebook Pixel popped up with the message. I’d never seen the notification center before, and it was a one-off pop-up not seen after that singular message.

This morning, it’s happening with some regularity, though only while GMail is open. I have received pop-ups about emails (which quickly disappear… I guess because I’m technically in GMail), and Google Talk notifications. I have Google Talk enabled in GMail, and my status is ‘available’. When a message is selected, it takes me back to the GMail window to respond, meaning I can’t respond within the notification center yet.

We’ve reported on this previously, and my experience is nothing like those reports, which are clearly referencing a complete build. My experience the past two days is very limited, and there are no pictures or icons associated with the notifications. No pop-ups for Google+ were seen, and the GMail notification disappeared before I could even check it.

This all indicates messenger isn’t ready for primetime yet, but it’s getting there. Just in having a Google Talk chat, it’s much more convenient to have the pop-up notification alert me, rather than navigate between windows to check messages. It is not, however, convenient to be re-directed back to GMail to respond. It also toggles the ‘autohide launcher’ function to being up at times, which I have set to autohide.

Google Notification center is coming soon, at least to Chrome OS. The browser won’t be left out, we’re sure, but this is great news for Chrome OS users. Right now, it’s a crude example of what the finished product will be, but still really exciting stuff.

Update: It is now working with GMail, and shows the GMail icon with the notification. It does not stay active, disappearing when the pop-up goes dormant.

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