One of my favorite things about Google services has always been the ‘Labs’ additions. These are usually experimental additions to a particular service to add more functionality or ease of use for customers. Some times they get added in as standard features, other times they fall by the wayside. A new set of Labs have been added to the
Google Play Music interface on your PC. Simply open up your music account atÂ
https://play.google.com/music/Â and then click on the little cog in the upper right hand corner.From there you will see the new addition of Music Labs.
Click on it to check out the three new additions and enable them at your leisure. The new additions are –
- Desktop Notifications – Find out what’s playing without having to switch back to your Google Music tab. A notification will appear at the start of each song with the song title, artist name, album title, and album cover. This lab only works in the Chrome browser.
- HTML5 Audio –Â Listen to your music without the need for Flash. Works in all browsers that support MP3 playback with HTML5 audio: Chrome, Safari 3.1+, and IE 9+.
- 5-Star Ratings –Â Rate songs on a 5-star scale rather than thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
I like the star rating vs. the thumbs up and down aspect. I like some songs more than others, so having a better way to rate them is a big help. The Desktop Notifications is a great addition. While there are a number of Chrome Extensions out there that achieve the same thing, it is nice to see Google implementing their own finally. If you haven’t checked them out yet, feel free to pop into your music account and see whats up. I wonder if there will be any Labs rolling through for the mobile app anytime soon.
Via Engadget
