Cortex for Chrome Makes Sharing Faster, Prettier & More Fun Than Ever [EXCLUSIVE]

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Here's the gist of it: Install the extension, find content you want to share, then click and hold. When you do, your mouse will be surrounded by a wheel of options. Flick your mouse in the correct direction, release your finger and voilà, your content is shared to Twitter, to Tumblr, to a specific Facebook friend's wall -- wherever you desire -- accompanied by a charming "whoosh" sound.

The entire process takes about two seconds, and it's as good-looking as it is fast.

The Cortex interface is incredibly unique. We're generally big fans of apps that get out of your way when you don't need them; we love it when features are unobtrusive and recede gracefully.

In that sense alone, Cortex is the perfect antidote to the array of hideous sharing mechanisms that populate the web today -- those obnoxious bars, frames and buttons that clutter up the visual space and make your eyes long for rest. From a design perspective, Cortex is a breath of entirely fresh air.

In terms of user experience, the extension also makes sharing incredibly easy for users. It chooses header text and shortens URLs; it even lets users share just an image or specific selected text. Cortex also lets you track your history of shares. The only thing we wish worked a tad better is image sharing; right now, Cortex sends a link to Twitter and Facebook when we try to share images.

Right now, you can share to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instapaper. More options will be coming soon.

Here's a brief demo video that shows how Cortex works:

Cortex was just launched along with the all-new Chrome Web Store. It comes from the brain of Google intern-turned-entrepreneur Joey Primiani, who said in an e-mail, "Learning from building successful products at Google, I love focusing on things people use on a daily basis. It's a technology that I think is really focused, very simple and useful."

Expect to see tablet and mobile features for Cortex soon. In the meantime, give it a shot and let us know in the comments what you think.