As we reported earlier this week, Google Now has finally arrived on desktop. Google announced this week that Now is being pushed to the Chrome stable channel for Windows and Mac. It will be rolling out over the next few weeks.
Cards will only be visible on your desktop if you use Google Now on your mobile device and if you are actually signed into Chrome. The cards you see are a subset of Google Now’s mobile cards; weather, sports, traffic and event reminders. Some of the cards are based on the location of your device but others will work independent of your location.
Google Now notifications are finally available to desktop and laptop Chrome users, in addition to Android and iOS users. To activate the feature, all you are required to do is, sign in to Chrome with the same Google Account that you are using for Google Now on a mobile device. Unfortunately at the moment, if you use Google Now on multiple devices, then you will need to manage your location settings for each device separately.
If you want to be signed into Chrome but you want to avoid using Google Now, you are able to deactivate it, by following these steps: 1) If you use Windows OS: Click the bell icon in the lower right corner of your computer screen or if you use MAC OS then click the upper right of your computer screen to open the Notifications Center. 2) In the Notifications Center, click the gear icon on the bottom right corner (on Windows) or the upper right corner (on Mac). 3) Uncheck the box next to “Google Now.” That’s it!
Google has been working for more than a year to bring Google Now to Chrome for desktop. The rumours that first floated around were due to the hints in Chromium’s code way back in December 2012, which was soon followed by the initial arrival in Chrome Canary in April the following year.
[Image via guplum]
