Square Cash vs. Venmo vs. PayPal vs Google Wallet: What's the best way to send money online?

Keep your wallet in your back pocket, bucko: With Wednesday’s launch of Square Cash, there's now one more way to send money online to friends, family and business associates. There are now so many, in fact, that choosing the best service for transferring cash between cellphones has become an actual task in itself.

So, how do you decide? With PayPal, Google Wallet, Venmo and now Square Cash, all offering types of free money transfers, some of the choice comes down to simple convenience. We’ll take a look at the pros and cons of each online money transfer option to help you find which one best serves your needs.

Full article here.

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The Top iPhone and iPad Apps on App Store

App Store Official Charts for the week ending Oct. 14, 2013:

Top Paid iPhone Apps:

1. "Angry Birds Star Wars II", Rovio Entertainment Ltd

2. "Minecraft - Pocket Edition", Mojang

3. "Heads Up!", Warner Bros.

4. "Plague Inc.", Ndemic Creations

5. "Facetune", Lightricks Ltd.

6. "Fitness Buddy : 1700+ Exercise Workout Journal", Azumio Inc.

7. "Afterlight", Simon Filip

8. "PicPlayPost", Flambe Studios LLC

9. "Emojify — Emoji Words for SMS, Facebook and Twitter", Avocado Hills, Inc.

10. "Free Music Download Pro — Mp3 Downloader", ASPS Apps

Top Free iPhone Apps:

1. "Deer Hunter 2014", Glu Games Inc.

2. "Duolingo — Learn Languages for Free", Duolingo

3. "Airplane!", Quantum Design Group

4. "YouTube", Google, Inc.

5. "Can You Escape", Kaarel Kirsipuu

6. "Facebook", Facebook, Inc.

7. "Candy Crush Saga", King.com Limited

8. "Snapchat", Snapchat, Inc.

9. "Dots: A Game About Connecting", Betaworks One

10. "Instagram", Burbn, Inc.

Top Paid iPad Apps:

1. "Angry Birds Star Wars II", Rovio Entertainment Ltd

2. "Minecraft - Pocket Edition", Mojang

3. "Peg + Cat Big Gig", PBS KIDS

4. "Pixel Gun 3D — Block World Pocket Survival Shooter with Skins Maker for minecraft (PC edition) & Multiplayer", Alex Krasnov

5. "Pages", Apple

6. "Scribblenauts Remix", Warner Bros.

7. "iMovie", Apple

8. "Photon Flash Player for iPad — Flash Video & Games plus Private Web Browser", Appsverse Inc.

9. "Survivalcraft", Igor Kalicinski

10. "Notability", Ginger Labs

Top Free iPad Apps:

1. "Deer Hunter 2014", Glu Games Inc.

2. "Airplane!", Quantum Design Group

3. "Duolingo — Learn Languages for Free", Duolingo

4. "Beard Salon — Free games", George CL

5. "YouTube", Google, Inc.

6. "Candy Crush Saga", King.com Limited

7. "Gunner Z", BitMonster, Inc.

8. "Pet Vet Doctor — DOGS Rescue", Bake More Cake Maker Inc.

9. "JW Library", Jehovah's Witnesses

10. "Exploration Lite", Andrzej Chomiak

———

(copyright) 2013 Apple Inc.

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Senate and House pass bill to re-open the government, raise the debt ceiling

At the end of the 16th day of the government shutdown, the Senate and House passed a bill that would reopen the government and avert a potentially cataclysmic default on U.S. debt payments by raising the federal government's debt limit.

The Senate voted 81-18 to pass the measure, and the House voted 285-144.

The final package, unveiled by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor earlier in the day, would fund the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt ceiling through Feb. 7.

The bill would also strengthen income verification requirements for those who sign up for insurance under Obamacare, and it would provide time for both parties to appoint lawmakers to a conference committee to reconcile a broad budget resolution. The panel would be led by Budget Committee heads Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, and it would be required to announce the result of its negotiations by Dec. 13.

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Microsoft releasing Windows 8.1, a year in making

Microsoft is releasing its long-awaited Windows 8.1 upgrade as a free download starting Thursday. It addresses some of the gripes people have had with Windows 8, the dramatically different operating system that attempts to bridge the divide between tablets and PCs.

Windows 8.1 still features the dual worlds that Windows 8 created when it came out last October. On one hand, it features a touch-enabled tile interface resembling what's found in tablet computers. On the other, there's the old desktop mode where the keyboard and mouse still reign. The update adds some new finger- and gesture-friendly shortcuts for touch-based apps, while restoring some respect for the desktop mode that a billion PC users have become accustomed to.

Full articled here.

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$649 iPhone 5s Costs Apple $199

The new iPhone 5s costs Apple about the same to build as last year's iPhone 5, according to a report from IHS. The company has torn down both the iPhone 5s and 5c, and assessed where the internals came from and what they cost.

The bill of materials for the 16-GB iPhone 5s comes to about $191. The device costs about $8 to manufacture, bringing the total to $199. The 64-GB model costs Apple only $19 more to make, for a total of $218. The full retail price of the 16-GB 5s is $649, while the 64-GB 5s goes for $849.

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