In a computing device, event notifications take the form of alerts that can be presented in different ways. The particular form of each event notification depends on the nature of the event, the user task being performed at the time the event occurs, the user's preferences, or any combination thereof. In one aspect, the present invention presents event notifications in the form of banner alerts. Obtrusiveness is minimized by presenting the notification at a location near the edge of the screen (such as a bottom edge), and slightly shrinking the active display area to make room for the event notification. In this manner, event notifications can be presented without obscuring any part of the active display area. In addition, the user can obtain more information about the event by activating the notification (for example by tapping on it). In another aspect, the present invention provides a summary of pending event notifications. Thus, if the user is unable to (or does not wish to) respond to or acknowledge a notification when it is presented, the user can later view the event notification summary at his or her convenience, and can act on the event notifications at that time.