Google Notifier: GMail and Calendar Notifications on Your Desktop

Google Notifier IconDebates and arguments have always been brewing with regards to desktop versus web apps. While one camp will argue about convenience and having your data available everywhere, the other will side with speed, privacy and reliability that desktop apps can provide.

While I seriously doubt the holy war will end anytime soon, here’s an app that will provide some middleground. It’s called Google Notifier for OS X.

What it does is bring the GMail and Google Calendar web apps ‘closer’ to the desktop. After installation, you will get toolbar icons, which will update and notify you when you have new email or calendar appointments. Great for productivity, as you do not have to constantly check your inbox or calendar, although I’m not sure how effective it is for the unlucky ones among us with the overflowing inboxes.

Google Notifier puts most of the common tasks at your fingertips. Want to compose a new email? No problem. Want to create an event? Easy. Want to access your inbox? Piece of cake. These options are available with just one click on the respective toolbar icons. It will also show you your new emails and calendar events too.

Google Notifier Screenshot

If you don’t like the default options, you can change them to your heart’s content. Individually disable either Mail or Calendar notifications to reduce the load on your system, or change the way Google Notifier alerts you, visually or through sound.

Google Notifier Preferences

Google Notifier only supports one account, given the way the program is laid out. If you have multiple Google accounts, perhaps now’s the time to consolidate them all into one? Regardless, Google Notifier for OS X is still a very convenient way to use your web applications.

Comments

7 Responses to “Google Notifier: GMail and Calendar Notifications on Your Desktop”

  1. Andy on March 30th, 2008 6:53 am

    When I click on that link to go to the notfier page it shows me a 404 error – file not found. I wonder why this link is also still in google search results. Can this be a country IP problem? It seams that Google didn’t know that problem because it is now for a year or so.

  2. Austen Saltz on March 30th, 2008 6:56 am

    It works for me. The link may have been fixed, though.

  3. Andy on March 30th, 2008 7:08 am

    it doesnt work for me here and I can remember that there is a new link to the notifier.

    Funny on that page: google.com/mac.html it is promoted with the link in the post – but it is not working from my location.
    But the download link on that page is working.

    When you search for “google notfifier 404″ you get some other folks with the problem.

  4. Bruno Casarini on March 30th, 2008 12:43 pm

    I’d use it if it didn’t require the installation of that stupid Google Update.

  5. Ellie on March 31st, 2008 7:17 am

    @ Bruno

    I agree with you – when I set upon installing Google Notifier I was appalled to discover that Google automatically installed on my drive the software “Google Update.” So not cool.

    As soon as Google Notifier was up and running on my system, I promptly deleted “Google Update” with AppZapper.

  6. Lucky on March 31st, 2008 11:41 am

    2 problems with Google Notifier

    - not using Growl for notification
    - Google Updater

    this is what Google is bringing to the Mac?

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