[alblue]

The word “boffin” is a colloquial British term for a smart person (conjuring up an image of someone in a white lab coat and glasses) and is used in an affectionate way. The British version of TheReg (.co.uk) often refers to boffins in this way. It’s probable that this piece was written by the British team and then reposted to the US site.

[seemslegit]

It's not affectionate, it's condescending - much like 'geek' when used unironically and not by geeks to refer to themselves.