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Google Now notifications now in Chrome beta

Google Now notification cards are coming to desktop versions of Google Chrome, but if you're running the Chrome beta you can get them, well, now.

Seth Rosenblatt Former Senior Writer / News
Senior writer Seth Rosenblatt covered Google and security for CNET News, with occasional forays into tech and pop culture. Formerly a CNET Reviews senior editor for software, he has written about nearly every category of software and app available.
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Seth Rosenblatt
Google Now's notifications are almost ready for your desktop via Chrome, but you can get them immediately in Chrome Beta via the bell icon in your menu bar or system tray. Google

The notification cards that Google Now uses to keep you updated on your Android and iOS phones and tablets are a big step closer to your desktop, as Google makes them available to Chrome Beta users on Monday.

The notifications appear when you click on the bell icon in the Windows system tray or the Mac menu bar, or the numbered icon in Chrome OS. Currently limited to English, Google said that it plans to expand to multilingual support in the future. Google has spent more than a year porting Now notifications to Chrome.

The feature brings a level of immediacy to your desktop without having to configure a separate notifications system, something that Google is clearly hoping will keep you in its ecosystem. However, Google has yet to allow notification removal to sync across platforms, so that when you swipe away a notification on your phone, it doesn't still show up on your desktop.