John Biggs

I live in Brooklyn, NY, and write about technology, security, gadgets, gear, wristwatches, and the Internet. After spending four years as an IT programmer, I switched gears and became a full-time journalist. My work has appeared in the New York Times, Laptop, PC Upgrade, Surge, Gizmodo, Men's Health, InSync, Linux Journal, Popular Science, Sync, and I've written a book called Black Hat: Misfits, Criminals, and Scammers in the Internet Age. You cand find more about me at BigWideLogic.com.

Headshot by SharonaPhoto.com.

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John's Latest Posts

Inspiring
Disabled Children Without Hands Get Their Own Little Miracle Thanks to a Chance Friendship Online

posted by John Biggs Sunday at 11:27 AM in Technology

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Technology is supposed to improve our lives. Here's a perfect example of that.

The Robohand project is an open source -- that is, free -- system for creating prosthetic hands for adults and children who have suffered an amputation or were born with no fingers at all.
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How Do You Talk to Your Kids About All the Bad News in the World?

posted by John Biggs April 23 at 6:46 PM in Big Kid

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My wife's clock radio starts blaring at 6:30 every morning just as the kids are slowly stirring from their slumber. The news of the day is usually tame -- weather, politics, business -- but some mornings, it's all tragedy. Hours of it. Tragedy so plainly wrought that I wonder if I shouldn't throw the clock radio out the window.

So how do we talk to kids about this stuff? How do we hide the news when it comes at us from all angles? How do we keep a plugged-in generation in the dark? Should we?
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What Is 'Crowdfunding' and How Can Moms Use It?

posted by John Biggs April 18 at 8:33 AM in Technology

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Crowdfunding may seem too good to be true: you have a great idea, you create a web page, and a month later, you have enough money (hopefully) to bring your idea to fruition. For countless artists, writers, and filmmakers, sites like Kickstarter have let them do just that. Here are some tips and tricks for making a great crowdfunding request to get your amazing idea off the ground.

First, a little on crowdfunding. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are the two major crowdfunding platforms. Users can visit their pages and "pledge" amounts to get certain rewards, including products. Each reward should be an item -- a T-shirt, a movie, a video game -- and each product should be something people want. Most crowdfunding efforts compartmentalize rewards into different tiers and leave one "entry level" tier that includes a personal note or postcard from the creator.
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'Facebook Home' Makes Your Regular Old Phone a 'Facebook Phone' & We Have All the Details

posted by John Biggs April 6 at 8:34 AM in Technology

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Facebook recently announced something called Facebook Home, a program for Android phones that puts your social feed front and center on your device. What does that mean? Well, you can send Facebook messages, read Facebook feeds, and look at Facebook photos. In short, it turns your phone into a Facebook phone.

As Jan on The Brady Bunch might have said in exasperation if the show were on today: "Facebook, Facebook, Facebook!"

Here's what Home will mean to you.
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Awww!
Awesome New App Solves Parental 'Overshares' on Facebook Forever

posted by John Biggs March 31 at 11:03 AM in Technology

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Sharing photos on Facebook or Twitter is fun for, say, a weird rock you found in your salad or a strange bird that appeared in your back yard. However, it's not so great for sharing baby's first steps or first poopy. That's what Eugene Murphy created Tweekaboo.

This app is fantastic because it lets you pull a lot of your baby pictures off of Facebook and Twitter. Those social networks are essentially black holes for content and my parents, for example, rarely use them. However, Tweekaboo encourages the entire family to connect to see the kiddos via an iOS app.
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