A few weeks ago, the Oxford Dictionaries named "selfie" the Word of the Year for 2013[1]. Thanks to improved front-facing cameras on today's smartphones, the selfie boom has well and truly taken off, giving the average person the ability to selectively curate their own image and probably making the world far vainer in the process. But let's make no bones about it: Selfies are an ancient art form, going back centuries. But it's not just that the selfie is old. Selfie culture is old. Self-portraits are one of the oldest forms of painting, and artists have been indulging in Photoshop-like effects for hundreds of years—bringing lazy eyes back to life or "forgetting" to include undesirable features like boils and scars. And while we think of them as recent innovations, we can find common selfie tropes such as the mirror shot, the fake candid, and the b-boy stance scattered throughout the history of self-recorded human images. Today's selfie phenomenon is louder, crasser, and more in-your-face, but the base intentions are the same: fine art[2], vanity, the urge to leave one's mark on the world, and the desire to document ourselves doing cool stuff[3]. So let's take a look at some classic examples though the years, before the digital camera changed the game. Jan van Eyck and the Mirror (1434) Paintings were the first selfies, and this — The Arnolfini Portrait — is likely one of the very first. In the beginning, artists would often insert themselves into a scene with others, instead of making themselves the sole subject of a work. While a cute, "meta" trick back then, this technique is often used by today's smartphone selfie fanatics to head off accusations of narcissism. In this particular tableau, the painter has subtly put himself in the mirror—a practice that would become…

Matt Krantz, USA TODAY 12:38 p.m. EST December 4, 2013 A 3-D printer at work.(Photo: Frederick Florin, AFP/Getty Images)Story HighlightsTech investors are on the lookout for the next big stockPast winners like Apple are starting to show signs of deceleration3D printing and companies doing deals have been winnersTech investors should look for the next big thing.Investors' infatuation with a few well-known technology companies is starting to cost them, as new leadership emerging from the dynamic industry produces some of the best stock performance. While investors cling to the biggest or most hyped tech names, including Apple, Google and Amazon, the industry is reinventing itself, and that's leading to disconnects in stock performance. Apple's shares have inched up 6% this year, while the Nasdaq composite index has gained 33.7%.While it's too early to guess where the future leaders will come from, some investors aren't wasting any time trying to make sure they're positioned for where the industry goes next."Overall, tech investors search for best growth ideas and tend to rotate from slowing-growth companies, such as Apple the past year, for faster-growth companies," says Mike Walkley, analyst at Canaccord Genuity.BIG STOCKS: They're not only ones behind bull run[1]Knowing where future trends lie is critical for tech investors. Companies with the winning products or services in tech can be outsize beneficiaries in technology markets, which are often winner-takes-all, at least in the short run, before competition heats up and changes the game.Finding growth is getting increasingly difficult to do as the industry slows overall. Fourth-quarter earnings growth by tech companies is only expected to be 4.1%, says S&P Capital IQ, the third lowest of the 10 tracked. Yet, some of the companies that are starting to show up on technology growth screens include those with:• Massive earnings growth. Some smaller companies, most of…

A screen shot from the video game 'Forza Motorsport 5.'(Photo: Microsoft)Story HighlightsSony's PlayStation 4 debuted Nov. 15; Microsoft's Xbox One on Nov. 22.Each has sold more than 1 million so far, with Sony ahead in the U.S., analysts say.Choosing between the systems comes down to loyalty and game library."PlayStation 4 or Xbox One?"That question is being asked a lot as Sony and Microsoft have both launched their first new home video game console systems in seven and eight years, respectively.For some video game enthusiasts, the answer is easy. But for others, not so much.WHAT'S AT STAKE?Both companies want bragging rights – and revenue share – in the latest round of the console wars. Spending on dedicated video game consoles and games in the U.S. is expected to increase from $11.3 billion last year to $13.2 billion in 2014 and, DFC Intelligence[1] estimates, more than $14 billion in 2015.So far, Nintendo is off to a slow start with its Wii U system. The Wii U launched a year ago and has sold only 3 million units in the U.S. Still, new games such as Super Mario 3D World[2] should make it a popular holiday choice. And Nintendo has dropped the price on a deluxe set to $299 with New Super Mario Bros U and New Super Luigi U included. http://www.usatoday.com/interactive/3497171/embed Meanwhile, Sony says it sold more than 1 million PS4s on Nov. 15, the system's debut date. Microsoft announced that its global sales hit the 1 million mark around midday when it launched a week later. "So they were probably pretty comparable," says Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter.Installed base: TieWELCOME TO THE MACHINESSony and Microsoft each have created PC-like gaming powerhouses that can deliver ten times the quality of the graphics on previous systems. And the controllers for the PlayStation and…