Unlike previous versions of OS X where notification center only showed you various system warnings, status updates, and alerts from programs you are running, in Yosemite Apple has added widgets. These can be seen by opening Notification Center and clicking the “Today” tab at the top.

These widgets make Notification Center somewhat of a replacement for Apple’s Dashboard service, bringing tools like calculators, world clocks, and stock tickers. If you find this feature useful, then there are several settings locations you can use to configure them for your needs.

As with prior versions of OS X, to manage Notifications in Yosemite you can go to the Notifications system preferences where you can set which programs can display badges, sounds, and alerts, and in what order they will appear. However, the configuration for the new widgets are a little more scattered.

These widgets revolve around Apple’s new approach for extensions, where developers can code add-ons that can enhance programs built for accepting extensions. One example of this is Mail’s new Markup feature, where the “Markup” extension gives Mail the ability to add annotations to attachments without having to directly use Preview.

In a similar manner, the widgets in Notification Center are just extensions that can be toggled and organized in the Extensions system preferences. In here, select the “Today” set of extensions, and then you can check or uncheck these according to your needs. You can also drag one above the rest to have it appear in a desired order in Notification Center (though this is also possible directly in Notification Center) by dragging widgets up and down by their titles).

The Extension system preference pane only has options for enabling and disabling Notification Center widgets. To configure each (such as the time zones shown in the World Clock), you will need to open Notification Center, hover your mouse over a desired widget, and then click the “i” button that appears to get info on that widget. In here you can set which stocks are shown, the time zones used, social media accounts to monitor, and other details on a per-widget basis.