Microsoft has announced that people who use both Hotmail and Internet Explorer 9 are now able to see a desktop notification of how many messages have arrived since they last checked their Inbox. Unlike Chrome's desktop notifications, these won't be pop-up bubbles. In fact, the pinned Hotmail icon will simply change to display a number next to it -- that shows how many messages have arrived since you last did something in Hotmail. The count adjusts itself when you visit your Inbox or read a message. To receive desktop notifications, you'll need to pin Hotmail to your Windows 7 taskbar. You can do that by going to Hotmail in IE9 and then dragging the tab it resides in onto your taskbar. If you pin Hotmail to the taskbar, you're also able to use IE9's jump list features (by right-clicking on the pinned icon) in order to quickly compose an email or go straight to your Calendar or Contacts.
Microsoft expects to finish the rollout of this feature today.
