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

This Just In
Meet the Hot New Answer to the iPhone

posted by John Biggs March 19 at 5:57 PM in Technology

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If you're an iPhone fan, you'd be excused for not noticing the rise of a new breed of smartphone. Samsung has been selling their Galaxy line of devices for a while now, but they've just announced the S4, a super-slim, feature-packed smartphone that some people think will give Apple a run for its money.

The S4, available in April on most carriers, is less about the form than the function.
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Stay Safe at Home With These Easy-to-Use Security Systems

posted by John Biggs March 7 at 4:40 PM in Technology

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If you've ever dealt with home security salesmen, you'll know they're kind of pushy. Home security is obviously serious business, but the lengths they go to in order to suggest "upgrades" to their services are a little off-putting and I've never really enjoyed the process.

Luckily, there are now a number of "modular" security systems out there that make it easy to install and run them without much fuss. In fact, they are designed to be removable, so when you move, you can simply take the hardware with you.
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Turning Your Kids Into Techies Can Be as 'Easy' as Making Them Eat Their Veggies

posted by John Biggs March 5 at 3:04 PM in Big Kid

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Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education -- or STEM ed, as it's called -- is a big deal. Over the past few years, we've opened a huge gap between the U.S. and the rest of the developed world and, ironically, hiring in high tech is up while management and financial hiring is down or flat. In short, there's no better time to get our kids interested in technology.

But how do you get young ones interested in computing, electronics, and engineering? It's easy: You sneak it in the same way you sneak vegetables into their mac and cheese!
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We Tried It
Must-Have Technology That Will Make Your Winter Ski Trip Even More Fun

posted by John Biggs February 25 at 3:58 PM in Technology

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Beer après skiAs we approach the tail end of winter -- and some of the coldest weeks we've seen -- the family and I decided to head up to Massachusetts for a bit of skiing. I, luckily, get to stay in the house we rented and watch the 1-year-old cavort and eat stuff off the floor, but the wife and two little ones are on the slopes with a bunch of heavy duty gear.

What are they carrying? Here are my picks for gear to pack on your trip.
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All the Rage
Vine Is the Best Way to Share Videos of Your Kids -- Try It!

posted by John Biggs February 8 at 9:43 AM in Technology

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Vine is the latest video-sharing app to hit the iPhone and it's pretty amazing. Whereas most social video apps force you to think of video as a two-minute endeavor involving titles, a three-act action sequence, and credits, Vine is quick and dirty: you take videos of up to six seconds. The videos loop endlessly when you view them later and you can stop and start the recording of a new video just by tapping the screen. This lets you take quick shots from multiple angles or even make simple animations.

In short, it's my favorite video app right now. Here's why.
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