Nerdic Language

Since Web 2.0 Expo is in full swing it seem fitting to address all-things-nerdy. 

Did you know that ‘geek speak’ has become the fastest growing language in Europe as new words are invented to describe technological advances.

Experts claim about 100 new words are added to the language of technology, dubbed ‘Nerdic’, every year – three times the number of new words making it into the Oxford English Dictionary.

And this year it is projected that the number of new Nerdic words will rise to 200, according to research carried out by e-tailer pixmania.comto mark the 15th anniversary of the Internet.

Words created to describe technological breakthroughs can transcend other languages, the research found. For example, the word ‘internet’ is understood and used throughout the world, even in non-English speaking countries.   In France, the translation of Internet is ‘toile d’araignee mondiale’ – but most people still refer to the Internet.

Now calls (by whom, I do not know) have even been made to have Nerdic recognised as an official language.

Pixmania.com’s Top 10 Nerdic words & phrases for 2008

1. Wimax– Supersized Wi-Fi will give whole cities Internet coverage, Milton Keynes already has it.

2. RickRoll– To intentionally misdirect Internet users to a video of Never Gonna Give You Up by 80s one-hit-wonder Rick Astley.

3. UGC(user generated content) – The buzz word in the Internet right now. Photobucket, Facebook and YouTube all rely on the reader generating content on the sites.

4. Mashup– Take two or more really interesting elements from different websites or applications and make them into one – think GoogleMaps with an overlay of where you can buy clown outfits from.

5. RFID– Radio-frequency identification (RFID) will allow you to track your packages around the world or let you know how your bananas have travelled to you.

6. Android– Think iPhone but with a slightly different interface on phones from Samsung to HTC and with the ability for anyone to make applications for it.

7. HDMI– The new Scart lead allows you to connect High-Def devices together, like your TV to your new Blu-ray player.

8. Fuel-cell – Green water powered battery for everything from cars to laptops that will boost your gadget’s life considerably over standard batteries.

9. HSDPA– The next step up from 3G on mobile phones. Makes accessing the Internet on your mobile just as fast if not faster than your broadband connection at home.

10. DVB-H – Newly announced Mobile TV standard for Europe that allows you to watch TV on your mobile on the go.

Via The Telegraph

That’s MISS Bimbo to You

I cant wait to have kids… but this scares me…

Miss Bimbo is a game where girls give virtual characters plastic surgery and feed them diet pills.  They compete against other players in beauty contests to earn money so they can dress their characters in lingerie and take them to nightclubs.  The aim of the game is to become “the coolest, richest and most famous bimbo in the whole world”. Players keep the girls at their target weight using diet pills.

They are given missions, including securing plastic surgery to give their “bimbo” bigger breasts and finding a billionaire boyfriend to bankroll her, while keeping a constant check on her hunger, thirst, happiness and other statistics.

The game, which was launched a month ago, already has nearly 200,000 British players, most of whom are girls aged between nine and 16. When they run out of virtual cash, contestants can send text messages costing £1.50 each to top up their accounts.

What ever happened to games like Operation and Hungry Hippos?