It was an afternoon for software exploration. A Chrome extension by the name of Cortex had caught my attention recently. It’s motto is “Share Fast”. I like to share – let me check it out.
The Cortexapp just takes a couple of seconds to download and install itself. Using the application is very easy. Just click and hold your mouse button for a second and up pops a wheel of some of your social services.
Slide your cursor to the pop-up box that appears next. At this point, you’ll be able to type some text to give an explanation of what you’re sharing – usually, it’s just the title of the article. Press enter and Cortex shortens the URL of the resource and posts it. It’s as simple as that.
Now, of course, connections to your social services do need to be set up. When you first install the application on your computer, you’ll be prompted to go to the various services and grant them posting rights to your account. It’s necessary for all the services that you’ll be using. Going around the dial, you can see Gmail, Instapaper, Tumblr, Posterous, Facebook, Twitter or All of the Above.
The application performs as promised and is quick and easy. Currently, I use Shareaholic for this sort of thing. In this iteration of Cortex, I see a gap in services. Yes, I do like to share to Twitter, but for my own records, I’ll tuck it away into Diigo. Or, I’ll use a reference to WordPress for a possible blog post. As I scan up and down Shareaholic, I see a great deal of services that I know that others use.
I wonder if that’s the direction that Cortex will head. A bigger selection of services would be nice. If all that you’re doing those is a quick share to Twitter, Facebook, or any of the other supported services, give it a try. It really works as quickly as promised.
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The content of this blog is generated by whatever strikes my fancy at any given point. It might be computers, weather, political, or something else in nature. I experiment and comment a lot on things so don't take anything here too seriously; I might change my mind a day later but what you read is my thought and opinion at the time I wrote it! My formal education includes a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Toronto. Ontario Ministry of Education and Training qualifications are in Data Processing, Computer Science, Accounting, and Mathematics. My personal website is at: http://www.dougpeterson.ca Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dougpete I'm bookmarking things at: http://www.delicious.com/dougpete
What might be nice about this over Shareaholic is that it doesn’t have to take up a space in the extensions area of Chrome. As an ultrabook user, I can assure you that that real estate has become very valuable, and I’m having to decide which extension icons I have to hide.
Never thought of that. I’m forever mucking about with extensions and placement. Thanks, Peter.
Thanks for the excellent write-up! Glad you enjoy