Techy VFX

Last Saturday I asked a question in the weekly newsletter that goes to more than 18,000 beautiful people (join here  — it's free and worth every penny).

The question: What software or tool do you use to track your spending?

The number and variety of responses was just amazing.

Some of the results, as you'll see, were not surprising.

But there were a number of readers who use budgeting tools that I had never heard of. I'm guessing some will be new to you, too.

Here are the results:

32.8% — Mint
20.9% — Quicken
14.9% — YNAB
10.4% — Excel
4.4%—Paper
2.9%—Nothing
2.9%—Personal Capital
1.5%—PowerPay
1.5%—Mvelopes
1.5%—iFinance
1.5%—MoneyDance
1.5%—Ready For Zero
1.5%—LearnVest
1.5%—Level Money
1.5%—USAA Website

It's not surprising to see Mint, Quicken, and YNAB at the top. These are the three most talked about budgeting tools. I've used all three, and while YNAB is my personal favorite, each of these tools does a great job at helping you track your spending and budget.

The comments from readers that responded to the question are interesting.

Michael: "I've used Quicken deluxe for some 25 years now." Now that's consistency and dedication. I didn't know Quicken had been around that long.

Quicken.comThe Quicken app.

Dan: "I'm a big fan of Quicken. I run a Mac like you but have a Windows emulator (parallels) to run the Windows version of Quicken Rental Property Manager. It does everything I need." I have to agree that the PC version of Quicken is better than the Mac version.

Steve: "You know my answer. YNAB has been THE biggest financial difference in my life. But it's not about tracking your spending. It's about planning your spending ahead of time. A big part of that planning is figuring out how much you can save. Tracking your spending is just a by-product."

Patrick: "I use Mint for cash tracking and Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, and Quizzle for credit tracking."

Chris: "I have been using the same spreadsheet that I found on line in Microsoft templates web page for 13 years."

Ralph: "I use Excel spread sheet. I don't specifically track my spending but I do track my spending rate. On a monthly basis, I review my bank statements and credit card report and note what each purchase was and how much and capture the differences each month. I account for one time purchases like new windows for the house and other money allocations and exclude them from my cost of living expense. Also in Excel, I made a list of all my required expenses like insurance, utility, tags, taxes, etc."

Jen: "I use Mint primarily, but I am exploring Level Money. With Level, I set my income, tag bills, and set a saving percentage. The app then provides a spendable balance. I've used it for three weeks and I think it can be a simple way to stick with a budget. The only issue is that your bank may not be supported, but they are adding new banks."

Blind and visually impaired children will now be able to experience classic picture books likeGoodnight Moon and Harold and the Purple Crayon with the help of 3D printing technology.

Researchers at the University of Colorado have created a new project that can convert standardpicture books into 3D-printed pages, letting children with visual impairments follow the raised illustrations by touch as the stories are read aloud.

Tom Yeh, an assistant professor in the university's Department of Computer Science who directed the project, said the goal of The Tactile Picture Books Project is to use computer science to better people's lives.

"I realized we could do something meaningful by interpreting pictures from these children's books using mathematical diagrams," he said. "This project is much more difficult than I envisioned, but it also is much more rewarding."

The project was created in partnership with the Anchor Center, an organization in Denver dedicated to supporting and educating vision impaired children. The center's executive director, Alice Applebaum, told Mashable that books that can be read by touch — tactile books — are central to the education of vision impaired children.

“We often add texture to books; we have a room here where we add braille and things that children can feel to stories," she said. "It’s just like when we learn how to read with our eyes, but they’re learning with all their other senses.”

Since many children don't start reading braille until age 6, this program has given kids the chance to read with their families at even younger ages and get used to exploring with their hands.

"It is one more opportunity for visually impaired children to experience literacy in an expanded way," Applebaum said. "Will it make them better readers? Not necessarily, but it will make them more aware of what the world looks like."

Researchers at the university convert the images into 3D-printed books through computational algorithms. Yeh said the ultimate goal is to streamline the process so educators and parents of visually impaired children can take a photo of a children's book and send the photo to a 3D printer to create a tactile book.

"We are investigating the scientific, technical and human issues that must be addressed before this vision can be fully realized," he said. "Since each child generally has his or her unique visual impairment issues, the idea is to customize each book for each child."

Abigale Stangl is a researcher for the project and a student in ATLAS, multidisciplinary Institute at the University of Colorado. She says feedback from children the Anchor Center was essential to their work.

"We have seen a need and opportunity to make some of these practices more efficient and support development of custom learning tools and resources,” she told Mashable.

3D printing has greatly evolved in recent years, with the potential to change the production of everything from fashion to guns. Yeh said he hopes the project will make this technology more accessible to the public.

Several interfaces exist for designing 3D models, Yeh mentioned, such as Google SketchUp — but not many programs have been created with parents' needs in mind. The Tactile Picture Book Project is currently testing software programs and leading workshops to teach parents how to create their own books. Researchers hope to someday provide instructions and algorithms on their website so parents can create products with their own 3D printers; as 3D printing continues to grow in popularity and decrease in price, Yeh said, more people will be able to create books at home.

Currently, tactile books are beautiful, but very labor-intensive and expensive, he added. But the future looks bright.

“Affordable 3D printing technology should be available in the very near future," he said. "In two to three years, 3D printers could be less than $1,000.”

Since the original Goodnight Moon book was 3D-printed, the Tactile Picture Books Project has added The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Cat in the Hat to the collection, and it's continuing to grow.

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As Apple continues its hiring spree, one new job posting is not like the others: an iCup technician.

Although this may sound like a fancy title for a new web-connected athletic protective wear orsmart home coffee concept, the listing is for "someone to brew coffee to all Apple employees within their department."

We're mostly tickled by the fact that the title is true to the company's "i"-name branding: iPhone,iPad and so on.

The search for an iCup technician comes as Apple reportedly hired a team of experts and researchers to ramp up Siri's next-generation software and its wearables division.

The job description, which was first spotted by Time, was posted on June 28. It notes the technician will work out of its Santa Clara Valley, California, offices; job requirements include the ability to fix coffee machines and make deliveries — but applicants must also have "some computer skills."

This is Apple we're talking about, after all.

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