You unlocked "Hyperion Drone". You will get this notification every time you rank up to another Legend rank.

Yep, he will get it for free.

Yes, the bonus supplies and crystals that were given out before have been turned into "Special Missions" which you can only claim from the HTML version of the game. 
You only need to log in the client/browser and go to the special missions tab, there you could claim the exact same prize you used to receive before. 
 

The homepage acts as a front for all players that visit the game. For this reason, it's reserved for the most important of events & announcements directly from the developers. 
Furthermore, players do get regular notifications of less-substantial news feed (newspaper topics, events, contests, etc..) upon their release. Another reason for this is had those type of topics/news been exhibited on the front page, it would tend to overshadow the news the developers really want to inform the players with. 
 
Instead, I'd like to recommend an easy fix to attain a more personalized experience (on the Forum, at least). What you could do is collapse certain sub-forums that don't interest you and only keep those that you frequently check out. For example, if you're a player that's mainly interested in the 'Newspaper Section', you could do something like this. 
You can do this by clicking the little arrow at the end of any sub-forum title bar.

You will get the modifications stated in the kit's description. If you purchase a "Mk7" kit, you will get Mk7 equipment. 

You don't necessarily need to copy their nicknames and paste them on the ratings site. Instead, hover over their nickname and you should see "Profile" next to their forum group, clicking this link will take you directly to their profile on the ratings site.
 

The info you're looking for can be found here.