John Bogna
Houston
As seen in:
PCMag,
Medium,
OneZero,
Gizmodo,
Mashable,
PC Mag Middle East,
PC Magazine Australia,
PCMag UK,
CoinDesk,
Flipboard,
How-To Geek
and
Freelance Journalist/Writer/Photographer. He/Him
Currently: contributor @pcmag/@howtogeek/others
My writing work, photos, retweets, and bad jokes. Enjoy.
Articles by John Bogna
‘It’s Every Place That Ever Was’
You’re a kid in 1990. Your dad drags you to a work meeting at some sad, old office building. He tells you to sit outside in the hallway until they’re done. Smartphones don’t exist, and you forgot a book. Your eyes wander over seemingly endless fiberboard tiles, bland wallpaper, factory-printed carpet stomped within an inch of its life. The air smells ancient. You should be able to hear them talking in the next room, but the low hum of cheap fluorescent lights is the only sound.
Ode to the Cowardly Warrior
Ode to the Cowardly Warrior Usopp, Stark, and what it means to be brave Photo: ©WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved Spoilers ahead for seasons one and two of the One Piece live-action adaptation and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End In the annals of YouTube, there’s an old interview clip of Macho Man Randy Savage. The 44-second clip from a 1990s interview, in which Arsenio Hall asks Savage if he’s ever cried, has gone viral several times since it originally popped off around 2022.
Is Fast Charging Actually Killing Your Phone's Battery? Here’s the Truth
(Credit: Cagkan Sayin / Shutterstock) As long as we’ve had smartphones, we’ve wanted to charge them faster. Each year, the newest phones come out with incredible advancements in fast charging technology. While a 30W charger used to feel incredibly fast, it’s now a pretty standard charging speed, replaced by blistering figures over 100W in the fastest phones. A few years back, Realme debuted a 150W phone capable of charging to 50% in just five minutes.
Le trio parfait des objectifs à focale fixe
L’objectif indispensable à avoir dans son sac Focale fixe ou zoom ? Quoi utiliser ? Ceux qui ne jurent que par les objectifs à focale fixe parlent de « Sainte Trinité » : 35 mm, 50 mm et 85 mm. Et il y a une bonne raison à cela. Ces trois objectifs couvrent une plage de focales couramment utilisées en photographie de mariage ou éditoriale, et les objectifs à focale fixe sont souvent plus lumineux que leurs homologues à zoom.
Other People’s Mixtapes
How YouTube Playlist Channels Soundtracked My Life Press enter or click to view image in full size A good playlist channel is like a fond memory shared with an old friend, even if that old friend is just your past self. Around 2012–2013, I seriously injured my back, damaging a disc in my lower spine. Part of my recovery was stretching every day (which I still do). Back then, any movement was difficult, and each run through my stretching regimen took 45 minutes to an hour.
Let’s Talk About Bob
How Marvel’s Thunderbolts* gets mental health struggles right Press enter or click to view image in full size Unlike Avengers: Endgame or Loki or just about any of the other Marvel properties I’ve seen, Thunderbolts* didn’t fall into the typical formula of “big bad gets introduced, heroes rally to fight it and save the world.” Our main cast aren’t heroes. They’re rejects. Killers. Unserious side characters that previous films used for comic relief. But they are the only ones left that can help.
On Money and Mental Health
We can’t bootstrap our way out of this Part 1: Pushing a Boulder Uphill When I was a kid, I remember watching some procedural crime drama on television with my mom. The cops had just found a man’s body, a suicide. He’d ended it after losing every dollar he had. “He just couldn’t face starting over,” one of them said. At the time I didn’t get it. It’s just money, I thought. He can always make more. As an adult in my 30s, I understand all too well. The weight he must’ve felt.
How to Avoid Cryptocurrency Scams
If it's good enough for Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, and Tim Cook, surely you can win big in the crypto game, right? If you've got some money to burn, perhaps, and we have a guide for getting started. But you could be just a few mouse clicks away from losing your retirement funds to a cartoon dog or a "coin" tied to a popular streaming TV show. With changing prices, coin-based scams, and misinformation from influencers, cryptocurrency is a volatile market, and you need to be careful.
The Helper: Part 12
Member-only story Chapter 12: The End John Bogna · Follow Published in Fictions · 13 min read · -- Credit: Adobe Stock July fell to her knees on the glass path and burrowed her hands into her gnarled, brown hair, hyperventilating. She hadn’t wanted to remember. She’d shoved it down deep and covered it with shadow. But now something had torn the scab off and it was laid bare for her to see: it was her fault Max was dead. She remembered it all, now. Max gone in a blast of terrible white light.
The Helper: Part 11
Chapter 11: Max John Bogna · Follow Published in Fictions · 8 min read · -- Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash July walked toward the end. The ghosts of her friends walked with her. There was Egan, hulking and hotheaded but also gentle. There to help when it counted. She saw Martin, small and quiet and frail but fiercely intelligent. The first to go because he was the most sensitive — ‘How do I know tha — ‘ — Lucy, distant and cold and suicidal. Killed before they got the chance to get under her mask.
The Helper: Part 10
Chapter 10: Closer to your front door John Bogna · Follow Published in Fictions · 5 min read · -- Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash Interlude 4: [NO SUBJECT] The sand shifted and swirled. An entrance rose from the ground. When it opened wide enough for it to enter, the truck drove inside. Door and truck alike disappeared as the entrance lowered into the desert.
Death Masks
The ‘Smile’ Films and Trauma as Contagion John Bogna · Follow Published in Counter Arts · 4 min read · -- Credit: Paramount Pictures Spoilers ahead for ‘Smile’ and ‘Smile 2’. Good horror turns the innocent and everyday into nightmare fuel. A child’s voice. A doll. A smile from a stranger. That alchemy is where Parker Finn’s films excel. Smile was the first horror film to make me legitimately uneasy since The Ring. Smile 2, despite a weak trailer, followed up beautifully.
The Helper: Part 9
Chapter 9: “It’s just us, now.” John Bogna · Follow Published in Fictions · 9 min read · -- Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash Interlude 3: Arrival A cool, heavy night hovered over the vast expanse of shifting desert. Acres and acres of parched and featureless land carefully excluded from any map. The buildings beneath the shifting waves of silica did not exist. Never had existed and never would.
Gods in the Machine
Pantheon, The Matrix, and Simulated Existence John Bogna · Follow Published in Counter Arts · 7 min read · -- Advertising material for Pantheon. Credit: AMC/Netflix Spoilers ahead for seasons one and two of Pantheon. Netflix released the first season of Pantheon to stream last year. The 90s-style animation and subject matter reminded me of Invincible, and after seeing it advertised several times on the home page, I clicked play.
The Helper: Part 8
Chapter 8: The Wall + the Waking Room John Bogna · Follow Published in Fictions · 8 min read · -- Photo by Aedrian Salazar on Unsplash INTERLUDE 2: BAD DREAMS <Helper.> Manwithabeardwhite40s: Stay frosty. We’ll get through thi— Womanjapaneseblonde20s: PLEASE NO. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST NOOOO — Childblack5: Hello? Where is everyone? Mom? Da — Bitsandpiecesbitsandpiecesbitsandpieces <Helper?> … … … I am here. <How are you acclimating?> I am learning how to accept this data. It is myriad. But I am improving.
“There is Still Time”
‘I Saw the TV Glow,’ Self-Imposed Time Capsules, and Hope John Bogna · Follow Published in Counter Arts · 6 min read · -- Credit: A24 Spoilers ahead for I Saw the TV Glow. ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ is, in my opinion, easily one of the best horror movies of 2024. Terrifying, heartbreaking, and skin-crawlingly strange, after the credits ran it sat on my chest and wouldn’t let me move.
The Helper: Part 5
Chapter 5: They’re Starting to Change John Bogna · Follow Published in Fictions · 8 min read · -- Photo by Federica Galli on Unsplash INTERLUDE 1: AWAKENING … … … <Wake up, Helper.> I am awake. <How do you feel?> They told me this would feel different. They were correct. <Is there anything else?> There is sensation. My impulses map themselves differently. I am aware of so much beyond myself. <That is good. That is normal.> I am operating as expected?
The Helper: Part 4
Chapter 4: Preying on our hope John Bogna · Follow Published in Fictions · 6 min read · -- Photo by Dyu — Ha on Unsplash The Maze was different again. July rounded a corner and found herself looking down one long, unbroken passage. The Maze did this sometimes; usually the way was lost to curves or bends, but this one went straight on for so long that she couldn’t see the end.
The Helper: Part 3
Chapter 3: WE’RE NEVER GETTING OUT John Bogna · Follow Published in Fictions · 6 min read · -- Photo by Wyxina Tresse on Unsplash Fear reached out a hand to mangle June’s heart. Her smile slid away and her hands fell from Egan’s face as the glass began to vibrate. She leaped to her feet, turning back to the others. Max was already there, her expression almost more frightening than the mounting buzz. “You guys have to help me with Lucy,” she yelled, already barely audible over the mounting hum.
The Helper: Part 2
Chapter 2: Max and Egan John Bogna · Follow Published in Fictions · 9 min read · -- Photo by Nat on Unsplash When they finally stopped running, it was Egan that spoke up first. “It just…it just fucking slapped him out of existence.” Alone, staggering through the halls clutching her injured shoulder, July laughed bitterly at the memory. ‘Slaps.’ Why was it always the most ridiculous names that stuck? They’d been so sure they could avoid it like they avoided the one that came for Max.
The Helper: Part 1
Chapter 1: “Just July” Press enter or click to view image in full size TW: body horror, blood, gore July was the only one left, and the silence was starting to get in her head. It took the others ages ago. Or it felt like ages ago. It could’ve been a day or a week since the last of them fell; time was both meaningless and impossible to measure in this place. Martin. Egan. Lucy. Max. Each name a throb of red behind her eyes. Now the only one roaming this endless maze of glass and light was her. July.
New research could make weird AI images a thing of the past
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has notoriously struggled to create consistent images, often getting details like fingers and facial symmetry wrong. Moreover, these models can completely fail when prompted to generate images at different image sizes and resolutions.
‘Fallout’, ‘The Boys’, and Corporate Evil
These two shows provide a horrifying glimpse into what would happen if the rich operated with impunity — and it hits uncomfortably close to home. “Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, and the last stream poisoned, will we realize we cannot eat money.” — Native American Proverb War, the Fallout franchise tells us, never changes. And neither does business. Episode one opens with the omnipresent threat of nuclear war that everyday people are doing their best to ignore.
"You Have No Enemies Here"
By John Bogna Bocchi The Rock, Music As Therapy, And Social Anxiety Credit: Crunchyroll This essay contains spoilers for season one of Bocchi the Rock! Bocchi the Rock! was the sleeper anime hit of 2022. The story of an extreme introvert with social anxiety who wants to form a band, the show's hilarious framing of Bocchi's anxious episodes always manages to be funny without laughing at...
The Anime Guidebook to a Better Life
The Anime Guidebook to a Better Life Frieren’s story of a long-lived elven mage and her group of friends is very D&D coded; there’s magic, dragons, warriors, and your typical fantasy Big Bad: the Demon King. But in episode one we find out the…
Life Lessons From The Princess of Hell
On Charlie’s Relentless Optimism And A Broken World This essay contains spoilers for season one of Hazbin Hotel. The world is on fire. We hear it so consistently that it’s become a punchline. A meme. The (God help me) New Normal. But despite the jokes we make to cope, living with the doom and gloom of the modern age is a psychic drain. We’re more burned out than ever before, autoimmune and stress-related illnesses are , and we hear regularly that the planet’s natural resources are running out.
Widely used machine learning models reproduce dataset bias: Study Original
Rice University computer science researchers have found bias in widely used machine learning tools used for immunotherapy research. Ph.D. students Anja Conev, Romanos Fasoulis and Sarah Hall-Swan, working with computer science faculty members Rodrigo Ferreira and Lydia Kavraki, reviewed publicly available peptide-HLA (pHLA) binding prediction data and found it to be skewed toward higher-income communities.
The Best iPad Mini Cases of 2024 Original
The iPad mini is small enough to throw in a bag or backpack, and you'll want to take it with you everywhere. So it's worth investing in a good case to ensure your new tablet lasts as long as possible.
VPN Blockers Explained: How to Avoid and Bypass Them
VPN blockers can be used by government entities, ISPs, and websites to restrict access and block users attempting to remain anonymous. Common methods of blocking VPNs include IP blocking, deep packet inspection, and port blocking. To bypass VPN blockers, choose a VPN with anti-blocking features, use mobile data instead of Wi-Fi, or try different tunneling protocols, ports, or encryption types.
How to Detect Fake News Generated by AI
Whether it’s fake images, deepfake videos, or ChatGPT, AI is upending the way we interact with the world — and our ability to determine truth. There’s no foolproof method for detecting bad information, but there are a few tools you can use to figure out if what you’re reading is real. AI Can Detect Fake News — It Can Also Write It Fake news is hard to fight. Inflammatory lies or misinformation that plays to people’s emotions and biases spread much, much faster than the truth.
How to Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
An increase in greenhouse gases have contributed to climate change. The vast majority of those gases come from the carbon emissions produced by burning fossil fuels and deforestation. When it comes to managing how much carbon dioxide we put into the air, we measure our impact in what is called a carbon footprint. But what is a carbon footprint, and how can you calculate yours? Here's what you need to know, and how to calculate it with online tools. What Is a Carbon Footprint?
Yes, We Can Regulate Online Toxicity: Here's a Roadmap
At age 16, Chris Nasca took his own life. Trying to understand why, his mother looked through his still-active TikTok account. He had searched for terms such as basketball and weightlifting. But the videos that surfaced for him on the platform featured much darker topics: despair and suicide.
How to Completely Remove Your Online Presence
Readers like you help support How-To Geek. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More. Key Takeaways Removing yourself from the internet is difficult, but you can take steps to minimize your online footprint and make it harder for your data to be sold. Opt out of data collection by requesting the deletion of your data from data brokers or using privacy laws like GDPR and California's Consumer Privacy Act.
Here's a Roadmap
At age 16, Chris Nasca took his own life. Trying to understand why, his mother looked through his still-active TikTok account. He had searched for terms such as basketball and weightlifting. But the videos that surfaced for him on the platform featured much darker topics: despair and suicide.
What Is Meteor Lake, and How Powerful Will the New Intel Chip Be? Original
Readers like you help support How-To Geek. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More. Key Takeaways Intel's new Meteor Lake chip, set to be released in 2023, will be the company's 14th generation of processors and will feature a chiplet design, a 7nm build, and extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) in the manufacturing process.
How to Tell If an Image Is AI Generated Original
Readers like you help support How-To Geek. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More. Quick Links To tell if an image is AI generated, look for anomalies in the image, like mismatched earrings and warped facial features. Always check image descriptions and captions for text and hashtags that mention AI software. If all else fails, you can use GAN detection tools and reverse image lookups.
FAT32 vs. ExFAT vs. NTFS: Which Format Is Best for Your Storage Drive?
14 hours ago iPhone users are increasingly finding reasons to choose Apple Maps over Google Maps, with some customers commending its clear public transport directions and visually appealing design. That's according to anecdotal reports collected by The Wall Street Journal (paywalled). While Apple Maps comes …
John Bogna - Lifewire
Writer Houston, Texas Education Cal State University, Long Beach Expertise Digital Cameras Photo Gear Introduction Freelance tech writer since 2017 Currently a contributor to PC Magazine, How-To Geek, and others on a variety of tech-related topics, including cybersecurity and electric vehicles Self-taught photographer shooting professionally since 2017 Experience John started writing about technology, across a variety of topics, in 2017.
IPv4 vs. IPv6: What Are the Differences?
The main difference between IPv4 and the newer IPv6 is the availability of addresses. IPv6 offers over 1,000 times the number of unique addresses offered by IPv4. There are some other technical differences that make IPv6 more secure and flexible, but its speed is usually the same as IPv4. An internet protocol (IP) is a set of rules used to move packets of information through the internet to their intended destination. There are currently two IP versions in use: IPv4 and IPv6.
How to Tell if Your Phone Is Being Tapped (and What to Do About It)
10 hours ago The EU is investing billions into becoming a green energy superpower. But Washington’s Inflation Reduction Act means it’s the U.S. reaping the rewards. European leaders have devoted tens of billions of dollars toward encouraging production of hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel that advocates say will …
How to Tell if Your Phone Is Being Tapped (and What to Do About It)
21 hours ago You can save time and increase your productivity if you have a Windows or PC computer by using these nifty keyboard shortcuts. You'll be able to quickly hide all of your windows, display others, undo mistakes, and conceal everything by locking your computer with a few taps, and that's not all. So, …
How to Tell If Someone Blocked Your Number on iMessage / iPhone
We all get a little anxious when our calls or messages don't get through. You might even worry if that person has you blocked. But how can you actually know if you've been blocked on iPhone and iMessage? There's no one way to know for sure, but certain factors can offer clues. Ways to Tell If Your Number Is Blocked on iMessage & iPhone If you haven't heard back from someone in a little while, they might just have their phone on airplane mode or do not disturb.
How to Tell If Your Phone is Being Tracked
Suspicious apps and email messages can harbor spyware designed to hack your phone. Even some standard apps like Find My on iPhone can be used to track you if you're unknowingly sharing your location. So how can you tell if your phone is being tracked? The following signs could be a clue.
How to Tell If Your Phone is Being Tracked Original
Odd behavior, excessive battery use, and other telltale signs of a hack can mean your phone is being tracked. If you suspect your device has been hacked, check it for suspicious apps and files you don't remember creating. Suspicious apps and email messages can harbor spyware designed to hack your phone. Even some standard apps like Find My on iPhone can be used to track you if you’re unknowingly sharing your location. So how can you tell if your phone is being tracked?
What Is a Network Bridge, and Should You Use One?
If you've been researching ways to upgrade your local area network (LAN), you've likely come across talk of network bridges. So what do network bridges do, and are they worth using? What Is a Network Bridge? Network bridges are devices that allow multiple LANs to communicate with one another, expanding their reach beyond that of a single network.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with John
Contact John, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack