Huh. I think this is the first time I've considered the possibility that there are people who actually like those notification icons. I always figured they were

Huh. I think this is the first time I've considered the possibility that there are people who actually like those notification icons. I always figured they were just the product of egotistical developers who each think their own application deserves my attention more than the others. Personally, I hate when applications like rhythmbox crowd the notification area. There is no event involving rhythmbox that I will ever want to be notified of. "I'm still playing that song. Still playing. Still playing. OK, now it's over." Gee, thanks. I figure if an application has nothing new to tell me, it should stay over in the taskbar with all the other ones. But indeed, a notification icon can do things that a taskbar entry can't. Notably, the context menu in the taskbar is defined by the taskbar, not the application, so things that take one step with a notification icon take two or more via the taskbar. So now I think the problem isn't the notification area, it's the taskbar. Maybe if the taskbar worked better, developers wouldn't pollute the notification area so much.