Walter Briggs

Walter Briggs writes opinion and repair coverage for Consumer Tech. He previously spent 30 years as an electrical engineer designing audio and mobile products for consumer electronics companies. In retirement he volunteers at community repair events, fixing other people's electronics, and lives in Vermont. His phone is from 2016.

How-to
Northeastern study: 19 of 21 cars shared data
Nineteen of 21 late-model cars sent data to outside companies in a Northeastern University study, and the phone app did much of the work.
Walter Briggs Oct 12
How-to
3-2-1 Backup Rule: How to Protect Your Data
The classic backup framework helps guard against losing photos, files and documents to drive failures or disasters.
Walter Briggs Oct 11
Laptops
Googlebook 'Better Together' updates add Samsung support
Google is rolling out updates to its Android sync features for Googlebook, including support for Samsung Galaxy devices and a smoother setup process.
Walter Briggs Oct 11
How-to
Exorcist: Martyrs Debuts at NYCC 2026, Release March 2027
Mike Flanagan presented the first trailer for his Exorcist film at New York Comic Con, calling it his scariest movie yet.
Walter Briggs Oct 10
How-to
Anthropic launches free AI security scanner for open source
The new service uses Anthropic's strongest models to find vulnerabilities, but its reports come without human review.
Walter Briggs Oct 9
Phones
Apple issues AT&T carrier update for iPhone 18 Pro Max on iOS 27.2 beta
A new carrier bundle version 72.0.3 extends the fix to beta testers.
Walter Briggs Oct 9

Northeastern study: 19 of 21 cars shared data

3-2-1 Backup Rule: How to Protect Your Data

Googlebook 'Better Together' updates add Samsung support

Exorcist: Martyrs Debuts at NYCC 2026, Release March 2027

Anthropic launches free AI security scanner for open source

Apple issues AT&T carrier update for iPhone 18 Pro Max on iOS 27.2 beta