What's in a meme? Online backup service Mozy attempts to answers that question in an infographic that dissects these bite-size doses of Internet culture.

Originally defined by scientist and author Richard Dawkins in 1976, "meme" is short for the Greek word "mimeme," which means "imitated thing."

One of the earliest examples of memes dates back even further — to the 19th century — with an old-school version of LOLcats. An American photographer named Harry Whittier Frees took photos of his pet cats, added text and turned them into greeting cards, according to the infographic

By 2001, memes were taking over the interwebz, and today, we see them in different forms — from GIFs to videos and rage comics. Read more...

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Whether you want to design a new product, devise a tagline for a client or solve a scheduling problem, creative thinking gives you an undeniable edge. However, we can't just summon creativity on a whim; when we need it most, it's nowhere to be seen

If you’re in need of more outside-the-box, inventive thinking at work, here are five ways to boost your creativity.

1. Ditch the quiet office.

Unlike detail-oriented, analytical thinking, creativity thrives amidst moderate distraction. That’s why it’s so hard to get the creative juices flowing when you shut the door and block out all distractions. Read more...

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Some iPhone and Galaxy users dread the next-generation release of their smartphones, as cases and other accessories automatically become obsolete. It's a first-world problem that one smartphone stand seeks to avoid with its "timeless" design.

Called the SETA, the stand works with all smartphones and most hard cases, according to its Kickstarter page. What's more, it is designed to accomodate past, present and future smartphones, as well as their charging cables. Check out the video, above, for more

Here's how it works, as explained by creator 1.0 Innovations LLC: "SETA incorporates NanoSuction technology that synthetically emulates the adhesive qualities of gecko feet. Your phone magically clings to the NanoSuction SETA pad while another pad on the base secures the stand to most flat, non-porous surfaces." Read more...

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Bow ties are cool, but goodbyes are not

Matt Smith, who stars as the Eleventh Doctor on BBC's popular sci-fi series Doctor Who, is leaving the show.

BBC announced on Saturday that Smith will depart at "the end of this year" after appearing in Doctor Who's fiftieth anniversary special on Nov. 23.

Smith began his tenure as the Eleventh Doctor — that is, the eleventh incarnation of the alien protagonist — in 2010. He was the first actor to be nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award in the role

"It's been an honor to play this part, to follow the legacy of brilliant actors, and helm the TARDIS for a spell with 'the ginger, the nose and the impossible one.' But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go and Trenzalore calls," Smith said in a statement Read more...

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Intel released on Saturday its first round of "Haswell" chips, the fourth-generation Core processors that will be the company's last set of chips produced for desktop motherboards

The line succeeds Ivy Bridge, the company's previous series of third-generation Core processors

PC Pro reports that so far the chips have shown significant improvements over Ivy Bridge when used on the Core i7-4440K processor — particularly in the graphics department:

"The Core i7-4440K showed an overall improvement of almost 10% in our Real World Benchmarks, scoring 1.16 compared to 1.06 for the last-generation Ivy Bridge i7-3770K. However, the real performance boost comes with the integrated graphics, delivering a 58% improvement over its Ivy Bridge equivalent" Read more...

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Now that the new Doctor Who season is here, for those true Whovians, it's time to figure out the fashion sense of your favorite characters. This comprehensive Doctor Who Fashion Guide has all the info, even down to the percentage of time each color is worn by the Doctor.

To do that, the creators of this infographic have spent countless hours watching Doctor Who DVDs, studying the fashion sense of all of the various iterations of the Doctor (encompassing the first through the 11th Doctor), and noting the clothing and color preferences of his companions and other characters populating his extra-chronological kingdom. Read more...

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The summer is almost here, and tech companies are probably looking forward to enjoying the beach as much as we all are. But that doesn't mean this wasn't another exciting week in the world of tech. And, once again, if you were distracted by the nice weather, we're here for you — with our weekly Top 10 Tech roundup

The biggest stories of the week seemed to be small changes, but they have potential to have an enormous impact. Google confirmed the rumors and announced it is revamping Gmail's interface, promising a smarter — and less cluttered — inbox.

For its part, Microsoft heeded the complaints of some of its most diehard fans, who were disappointed by the company's decision to kill the Start button. It was one of the most recognizable features of the operating system, and now Microsoft is bringing it back for Windows 8.1. Read more...

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It can be tough to keep up with all the new apps released every week. But you're in luck — Mashable takes care of that for you, creating a roundup each weekend of our favorite new and updated apps.

This week we found an app that lets you go on a 3D tour of Mount Everest, and another that helps you get the most out of your Android device's battery life.

Google updated its calendar app for getting the most out of your schedule, and addictive iOS game Dots was updated with a few new features.

Still looking for more? Take a look at last week's Apps You Don't Want to Miss for more great apps worth downloading Read more...

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It sounds like something straight out of a science-fiction movie: "Eyeborg."

Neil Harbisson, a 30-year-old artist and musician, was born with a condition called achromatopsia, meaning the cone cells in his eyes don't pick up color — so the world to him is, literally, black and white

Since 2004, though, he's experienced color through sound via a device he calls the "eyeborg" (see the photo below). It's a cybernetic third eye of sorts that he keeps strapped to his head at all times. The device translates the wavelengths of different colors into audible tones, then sends them to Harbisson's inner ears via bone conduction. The eyeborg can detect 360 different hues — not nearly as many as the normal human eye is capable of detecting, but still a lot better than no color at all Read more...

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New York City, summer of 1939: Lou Gehrig announced his retirement from the Yankees, the city hosted its first World's Fair and, as always, it was really, really hot outside

Plenty of video footage exists from that summer 74 years ago — in black-and-white

Romano-Archives, however, uploaded a video of archived footage from that same year, remastered entirely in color. The quality is remarkable — it looks like it was just shot yesterday, but the cars and clothing styles prove otherwise

Take a look for yourself above. Is there any old footage you'd like to see re-produced with color? Read more...

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When National Geographic started looking into alternatives to cable, it found an as-yet-unreleased product that might be a good fit: YouTube paid channels.

The National Geographic Society was in a quandary. It knew it wanted to launch a video channel for kids based on the success of its children's magazine and games, but wasn't entirely sure which platform to use. The company initially considered creating another cable channel, but it wasn't convinced that advertising — the main source of revenue for TV channels — was the best business model when going after that type of audience.

Instead, National Geographic started looking into alternatives to cable, including reaching out to YouTube last August. National Geographic had found great success in the past publishing clips on YouTube, but the video site said there was no way to monetize a video channel other than through ads. But in October, YouTube got back in touch with National Geographic to propose its new YouTube paid channels. Read more...

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Americans might seem glued to their smartphones, but a recent study found that on average, they only spend 58 minutes per day on their mobile gadgets. That's of course the average, meaning there's always Mr. iPhonzy McAndroid spending, like, 28 hours a day texting and playing Dots.

In this comic, Krishna Sadasivam of PC Weenies introduces us to one such Mr. Androidopher iPhonerino and shows what can happen to these smartphone addicts.

(On a serious note, don't text and drive, people. For real.)

Comic illustration by Krishna Sadasivam, PC Weenies. Published with permission; all rights reserved. Read more...

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It's always hard to get back to work after a long Memorial Day weekend, and if you've been neglecting the news, don't worry — we've got you covered like usual.

We at Mashable have rounded up the most important updates in tech and social media to keep you informed. So read below for 15 digital media resources, including a bunch of different apps to help you through your day and some tips to maximize some of your Facebook features.

6 Creative Ways to Use Evernote
Evernote lets you create a backup brain — a catalogue of all your random thoughts, notes and interests. How can you use it to simplify your life? Read more...

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It won't be long until we're likely to get our first look at Apple iOS 7 at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starting June 10. But after that, Apple's going to have to do something spectacular with its alleged iPhone 5S to keep up with smartphone juggernauts such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One.

iPhone speculators have lately been focusing on the possibility of a security-enhancing fingerprint scanner built into the next iPhone, and who better to visualize this than our favorite conceptual artist of all things iPhone, Federico Ciccarese?

In this gallery, see his latest renders of a possible design of the next iPhone, including that rumored fingerprint scanner taking the place of the Home button. Adding credibility to this fantasy is the familiar chamfered edge from the current iPhone 5 Read more...

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Google announced in a blog post Friday night that it will not be allowing any facial recognition apps in Google Glass until "proper protections" are set in place

Questions about whether or not the technology should be included in Glass have been circulating since the device hit the market. Google implies in the post it's not completely out of the question for the future, but says there are still strong privacy protections to be implemented before any decisions can be made

From the blog:

"When we started the Explorer Program nearly a year ago our goal was simple: we wanted to make people active participants in shaping the future of this technology ahead of a broader consumer launch. We've been listening closely to you, and many have expressed both interest and concern around the possibilities of facial recognition in Glass. As Google has said for several years, we won’t add facial recognition features to our products without having strong privacy protections in place. With that in mind, we won’t be approving any facial recognition Glassware at this time." Read more...

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Look what Indonesian artist Ichwan Noor has done to a heap of car parts, a few scraps of aluminum and some carefully crafted pieces of polyester. This tightly compressed sphere resembles a brand-new 1953 Volkswagen Beetle that was somehow balled up into a globular mass of shiny yellow goodness.

Part of the Art Basel show that recently took place in Hong Kong, the artwork is a strong statement by Noor that's resonating worldwide. The obscure artist from Jakarta is hard to contact — we've been trying to find him so he can tell us how he made this unusual sculpture

According to Hong Kong art site Juxtapose, Noor created this monstrous piece by "transforming, fusing and morphing" a vintage 1953 Volkswagen Beetle into this insane art installation Read more...

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Think of the word “blog” and what comes to mind? Mommy bloggers? People posting funny cat videos? Well, no more. Today’s savvy job seekers are putting their skills to the test and blogging their way to success and job opportunities. Here’s why a blog can get you your next job.

1. It’s your resume, only better: Everyone has a resume. But a blog allows you to highlight the skills on your resume, times ten. For example, if you’re a writer, you can flex your writing muscles and post examples of your creative writing. Even if you’re a tax accountant, you can write your thought-provoking opinions on some of the new tax laws or add a testimonial from a happy client. Just be sure what you write is accurate and well-supported. Read more...

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