This is Windows 9's notification center in action

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While Windows Phone users have taken advantage of a notification center with the release of Windows Phone 8.1 earlier this year, Windows users have been stuck with an odd mix of balloon tips and app toast notifications that quickly disappear. With Windows 9, however, desktop users will also gain a notification center, and now a video has been released of it in action.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7hG_0pLq49s

 

In a video published by WinFuture, the notification center can be seen aggregating alerts from both toast notifications sent by Windows Store apps and balloon tips sent in the traditional notification area on the taskbar. By clicking on the notification center icon in the taskbar, all the alerts are displayed with the application's name and a summary of the notification (in Skype, for instance, the text sent by a friend is displayed).

 

The notification center also displays the time an app sent an alert as well as a button to clear all notifications. Additionally, alerts in the notification center can be removed one at a time by clicking an "X" icon when hovering over them with a mouse. Alerts are segregated by app, with the video showing all Skype alerts displaying first, followed by all File Explorer alerts.

 

Windows 9, known internally at Microsoft as part of a wave of updates codenamed "Threshold," is expected to be officially revealed on Sept. 30. Major updates include the return of the Start menu, the addition of virtual desktops and the notification center. Microsoft's Cortana digital assistant, currently found in Windows Phone, is also expected to make the leap to Windows, though it's not fully clear how it will be implemented.

A public preview of Windows 9 is expected to be released on or near its Sept. 30 unveiling.