Hi Will, one of the main things that I haven't really figured out how to do well for a 3D cube version is where to put the rotation handle. If I try to put it kind of in the middle of the cube that will make it sort of hang out in the middle of the screen overlapping the "meat" of the object itself.

One of the really nice things about the 2D edit frame is how it stays around the outside of your object rather than overlapping on top of it. When these controls are more out of the way like this, it makes it easier for them to be enabled all the time without them getting in the way too much.

That's actually another pretty big benefit to the current edit frame as opposed to a manipulator. Like in the original post on this thread Metriod was asking about setting up keystrokes like E,R,T,Y to enable different manipulator modes. The edit frame doesn't need those extra steps to get activated because it is just always on when you do a selection (unless you set the option to disable it completely). Having a low profile and low interference factor is basically what makes that improvement possible for the edit frame.

- Michael