Proper notification systems for iOS and OS X were welcome additions when they arrived in iOS 5 and OS X Mountain Lion, respectively, but Notification Center is, frankly, a bit of a mess. I almost never use it (I barely use Today View, either, but that’s another topic). In his most recent “Wish List” article for Six Colors, my former IDG colleague Dan Moren discusses the improvements he’d like Apple to make to the Notification pane.
“I’ve got pages upon pages of old notifications in here. In fact, I scrolled back to the bottom of my Notifications pane and found a 121-day-old notification. Who is that useful for? Why is it still there?
“So why not give the ability to set an expiration date for notifications? Something akin to “keep this notification for an hour, a day, a week.” There are very few notifications—if any—that are still relevant to me a week later. And none, than I can think of, that should still be there after a month or two. “
Dan focuses on the shortcomings of iOS’s Notification Center, but much of his critique applies to OS X’s incarnation as well.
