Word: geeking
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Like so much in life, it began with sex. Alt.sex, to be precise, a Usenet newsgroup devoted to erotica. This is where the computer virus called Melissa was, in geek terminology, released "in the wild." Named after a topless dancer in Florida, where "her" alleged author once lived, the virus was unremarkable except for her speed. Experts had never seen anything spread so fast. People trusted Melissa; she arrived disguised as an e-mail from a friend or colleague. In a matter of days, she was replicating herself all over cyberspace--from Berlin to Beijing, from the U.S. Marine Corps...
Thibodeaux is what you'd call a computer hobbyist, a techno-geek of the highest order--not like the average consumer. There are a lot more of those: people who like the idea of a home computer network but wouldn't want to spend all their spare time (or even one Saturday) reading technical manuals, shopping for parts, reconfiguring hard drives and rewiring the house. If you wanted to network a few PCs a few months ago, you really had to be a Todd Thibodeaux to pull it off--or spend thousands of dollars hiring professionals...
...technology improved, programmers competed for the geek prestige conferred upon the author of the most up-to-date mimetic software. That crown was seized last month by the anonymous duo behind UltraHLE, the first emulator to turn your PC into a fully operational Nintendo 64. UltraHLE, or High Level Emulator, became a hot property at a time when Nintendo was starting to claw market share back from its larger rival, Sony. Now every college kid with a speedy T1 Internet connection could theoretically download all 26 megabytes of the holiday season's runaway hit, Legend of Zelda. UltraHLE, says Nintendo...
...should opt for a more modestly endowed mate. Trouble is, all the other peahens are fools for those huge tails and may turn up their noses at the short-tailed sons of their practical-minded sister. So, the evolutionary strings are pulling us in two directions: Go for the geek with the Microsoft stock, says Mating Program A. No, wait, says Program B, did you see that adorable rake with the earring and the black leather blazer...
...Laker coach Kurt Rambis also owns a championship resume. And as a Laker starter in the '80s, he was a sort of geek god, selflessly supplying rebounds and passing options for Magic Johnson's Showtime offense. So very...Dennis...