Google Notifier is a light-weight utility that notifies you of new mail and events. When you run the application for the first time, two icons will be placed on your menubar. One of them is for Gmail and the other for Google Calendars. You can disable either one of them from the preferences window. You will be notified of any upcoming events via the calendar icon on the menubar. Most users, however, will download this application to be notified of new e-mails.
The application constantly checks your e-mail account for new mails. It does so every 5 minutes, so you will only get notifications in 5-minute intervals. That is the application's only disadvantage. The regular user will probably not need to be notified of a new e-mail the second it arrives in their inbox, but freelancers and other professionals will. The update time can't be changed from the settings. I have used this app a couple of years ago, and the problem still persists today, so I don't think Google wants to do anything about it.
Despite that little problem, most users will enjoy this notifier. I like a few things about it. First, it is lightweight. If your Mac is running slowly, you can try closing Mail.app and using Gmail Notifier instead to free up some RAM. Secondly, it lets you open your Inbox and Compose message screen without having to open Gmail first, which can save some time.
In short, Google Notifier is a nice tool to have, especially if you are a Calendars user or don't need to be notified of new e-mail right away.
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