notifications

Getting started with Mountain Lion's Notification Center

Mountain Lion has pounced into the Mac App Store. If you haven't already upgraded to the latest version of OS X, you'll want to make sure your Mac is ready for the upgrade.

Once you have gone through the preparation and installation of Mountain Lion, you're not going to want to wait to dig right in and get all of the new features set up.

One of the (many) features OS X has incorporated from iOS in Mountain Lion is the Notification Center. If you use an iOS device, you're already familiar with how … Read more

Checkmark offers slick location-based reminders

Apple's Reminders app, introduced in iOS 5, works perfectly well at notifying you according to your time- or location-based criteria. But a new app called Checkmark (99 cents for a limited time) gives you location-based reminders using your GPS and important locations you enter, and with a great-looking interface that's easy to navigate.

You start by adding locations important to you such as Home, Work, the Gym, and a friend's house you often visit. You can locate yourself via GPS, but you also can search for an address on a map and add a location pin that way. The next step is creating reminders based on your locations.… Read more

How to set up tweet notifications in latest Twitter for iOS, Android

Twitter just updated its Android and iOS apps with a long list of new features. We had a good idea of what to expect in the update, thanks to a leak, but now we get to see how it all works.

One of the more interesting features included in the update is the ability to get notified of tweets and retweets from specific Twitter accounts. This is sure to come in handy if you have a favorite celebrity you don't want to miss a tweet from, or are watching a company's feed for an announcement or contest.

To … Read more

How to turn off notifications for an app in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Last month we got our first look at Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and all of its buttery goodness. With plenty of new features coming to the latest release of Android, there are some smaller tweaks that haven't seen a whole lot of discussion.

One of those tweaks is the capability to disable notifications for a particular app. This will come in handy if you have an app that's overloading you with notifications, with no setting in the app to disable them. But now you can do it at the OS level in Android 4.1.

You may … Read more

L8 SmartLight: Gadget notifications get the silent treatment

You've got mail. You've got a new Facebook friend request. Someone wants to chat. You've been mentioned in a tweet. Your mom left a voicemail. Your gadgets are constantly trying to get your attention, but bell, ringer, and buzzer alerts get old fast.

Get some peace and quiet (or at least quiet) with the L8 SmartLight. The Kickstarter project consists of a small box full of 64 RGB LEDs in a grid on one side and a single super RGB LED on the other. Talk to your smartphone, connect to your social networks, and feed Internet alerts to the box through Bluetooth or USB.

The battery-powered L8 -- which measures 2.4 inches by 2.4 inches by less than an inch -- can be set to notify you of just about any event you want. Got a new e-mail? Get a flashing light. Status update from your sweetheart? Trigger a pulsing LED heart. Boss left a voicemail on your day off? Set it for an LED frowny face. A control app is coming soon for iOS. Android, and desktop computers.… Read more

Gmail iOS app gets push notification, finally

After a rough start, Google's Gmail app is finally trying to improve itself.

The latest update out yesterday adds long-awaited support for push notifications. That means iPhone and iPad users can receive a notice each time a new message hits their Gmail inbox.

Like other apps with Notification Center support, a new message can trigger an alert or a banner and also appear even if the screen is locked.

A couple of other enhancements grace the latest version, according to a Google blog post.

Users can configure Gmail to use an alternate send-as address instead of their Gmail address. … Read more

Tumblr gives its iPhone app a brand-new look

Tumblr (free), the popular blogging platform, just released a revamped version of its app for iOS. In the major update to Tumblr 3.0, the layout has been completely redesigned (bringing it more in line with the Android version, covered in April by Jaymar Cabebe), giving you many of the tools found on the Web site and intuitive swipe controls for posting.

Several tweaks to the interface make the app both easy on the eyes and easier to use. The revamped Dashboard supports high-res images; you can now post and listen to audio links that stream directly from Spotify; and … Read more

Disable e-mail notifications on Google+

There's no question that some notifications are very useful. However, on some occasions you will find that your inbox is being swamped with too much information about your social networks. For instance, if you have Google+ installed on your mobile device, not only will you receive a push notification there, but you'll also receive an e-mail telling you about the notification. And after a while, this process starts to sound too similar to the Xzibit meme that circled the Interwebs for quite some time. (Except this would read more like: "yo dawg we heard you like notifications, … Read more

Freeware Friday: Non-Retina edition

This was a big week for Apple and fans of the MacBook and OS X lineup. But if you have Windows, you might realize that many of the upcoming features for Mountain Lion have already been readily available in some way or form. For this week's Freeware Friday, check out the following apps to access voice control, sync chats with your phone, set reminders, and more.

Dictation alternative: Speech-powered computing might seem like a radical new implementation for many Mac users with the upcoming Mountain Lion, but both Windows and Mac users have had access to voice-control options well … Read more