Do full screen apps necessitate a notification system in Lion?

Another feature discovered in the bowels of Lion is the foundation of push notifications, something Apple originally created for iOS. While apparently not yet fully functional, a developer reports that "the whole range of callbacks for iOS push notifications have been added to NSApplicationDelegate."

- (void)application: (NSApplication *)application didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken: (NSData *)deviceToken NS_AVAILABLE_MAC(10_7);
- (void)application: (NSApplication *)application didFailToRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithError: (NSError *)error NS_AVAILABLE_MAC(10_7);
- (void)application : (NSApplication *)application didReceiveRemoteNotification: (NSDictionary *)userInfo NS_AVAILABLE_MAC(10_7);

Apple's push notification system allows developers to create services that update the user with notices of new information. The feature is most useful in mobile devices, where constantly polling the network for new emails, news, or other content is a waste of battery life. However, it appears that a consistent push notifications mechanism across both Mac OS X and iOS could be useful in delivering software that works the same on both systems.

Push notifications work by holding an IP connection open, waiting for a message. Essentially, it's like waiting for the phone to ring rather than running to the mailbox every few minutes to see if you've received a reply. Apple's Push Notification Server currently relays messages to iOS users, which can be badge number increments, short messages, or sounds.

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