The browser battle rolls on, and we’ve just caught a glimpse of the latest weapon in Google Chrome’s arsenal: desktop alerts to ping you with updates to pages when you’re perusing other apps. Intrigued? Read on for what we know so far.
TechCrunch has spotted a revealing document over on the Chromium development site that mentions a new feature called “Desktop Notifications”. Google’s not said anything official, but the text hints at an API anyone can use to push pop-up alerts to the desktop, even when Google Chrome is minimised.
That means with Google Chrome you could get @replies on Twitter delivered straight to the taskbar, without the need for a client, or know exactly when your favourite blog’s been updated. That, or Google could serve up ads even when you’re not surfing.
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Now, admittedly Firefox already hooks up with Growl for desktop alerts via plug-ins like Yip, and even without the add-ons for big sites like Facebook. But Firefox 3.5 was something of a step backwards when it comes to speed – if you’ve been eyeing Google Chrome as the browser to switch allegiance to, this could end up being the shove needed. We’ll let you know when details develop.
Out TBC | £TBC | Google Chrome (Via TechCrunch)
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