The next version of Mac OS X, codenamed Mountain Lion, was revealed last week. The update, which is still under development and is expected to arrive this Summer, brings a number of prominent features from Apple's iOS mobile platform to the desktop. One of the most significant iOS features that will land on the Mac in Mountain Lion is an integrated platform-wide notification system.
Applications will be able to display notification bubbles to the end user with relevant information. An aggregated view of recent notifications is available through a panel that slides out from the right-hand side of the screen. This is a welcome feature that's long overdue on the desktop, but it raises some questions about the fate of Growl, a third-party notification system for Mac OS X that is widely supported by popular applications.
The developers behind Growl recently did a major overhaul of the tool and launched it in the Mac App Store, where it quickly became one of the most popular paid apps. They have added a number of features beyond the core notification bubble capability, including a notification history window that serves the same purpose as the Notification Center panel.
Will the significant overlap in functionality make Growl redundant when Mountain Lion emerges? The Growl developers don't think so. In a blog entry posted over the weekend, they responded to Apple's unveiling of the Notification Center and explained why they think that Growl still has a role to play.
The most significant point they raise is that the Mountain Lion notification functionality will only be available to applications that are sold through the Mac App Store. That means many popular applications that are distributed through other channels will potentially not have access to the feature. Growl, which is currently sold through the Mac App Store, will theoretically be able to integrate with the Notification Center and provide a bridge through which outside applications can access the platform's native notification system.
The Growl developers also pointed out in their blog entry that some of Growl's more sophisticated features and customization options won't be supported by Apple's built-in notification system. Growl will still be useful to users who want more flexibility over how notifications are displayed. It's not clear, however, whether that advantage will hold up over time if application developers increasingly choose to support the platform's notification system and not Growl.
Despite the prospect of having to compete with Apple, the Growl developers still seem optimistic. They are continuing to work on new versions of the software—Growl 1.4 is currently in beta and a 2.0 version is under development.
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