Ryan Farley
@ryanfarley.co
Running and writing, usually slowly, in Thailand for 13 years.
Author of the Such Bad Tech Ads newsletter: buttondown.com/suchbadtechads
Co-founder of Pith & Pip: pithandpip.com
Author of the Such Bad Tech Ads newsletter: buttondown.com/suchbadtechads
Co-founder of Pith & Pip: pithandpip.com
The Commodore 64 turned 44 last week and, purely by coincidence, the ad I chose to write about was for one of the C64's strangest peripherals: buttondown.com/suchbadtecha...
#retrocomputing #commodore #commodore64
#retrocomputing #commodore #commodore64
A bizarre Commodore 64 peripheral, a mime, and some pretty bad ads
Two years of nightmarish smiles and makeup before anyone laid hands on Mimic Systems' actual product.
buttondown.com
September 8, 2026 at 2:22 AM
The Commodore 64 turned 44 last week and, purely by coincidence, the ad I chose to write about was for one of the C64's strangest peripherals: buttondown.com/suchbadtecha...
#retrocomputing #commodore #commodore64
#retrocomputing #commodore #commodore64
Guys, we solved the on-device AI problem 40 years ago, I don't understand why we're still debating this. (via byte.tsundoku.io#198608-049)
August 18, 2026 at 7:56 AM
Guys, we solved the on-device AI problem 40 years ago, I don't understand why we're still debating this. (via byte.tsundoku.io#198608-049)
In the conclusion to the Gateway 2000 advertising saga there are overworked churchgroup volunteers, small town mayors hired as assistants, and elaborate faux soap operas. Check it out!
buttondown.com/suchbadtecha...
buttondown.com/suchbadtecha...
Gateway 2000’s descent from awesome to bad ads in the 90s (Part II)
What started as endearingly bootstrapped marketing descended into soulless corporate sales.
buttondown.com
August 5, 2026 at 7:42 AM
In the conclusion to the Gateway 2000 advertising saga there are overworked churchgroup volunteers, small town mayors hired as assistants, and elaborate faux soap operas. Check it out!
buttondown.com/suchbadtecha...
buttondown.com/suchbadtecha...
I feel like this Apr '91 ad in PC World was trying to warn us about the future of bloated software and we should have listened.
June 29, 2026 at 7:55 AM
I feel like this Apr '91 ad in PC World was trying to warn us about the future of bloated software and we should have listened.
@benjedwards.com's vintage computing commenters deliver yet another nugget of hilarious hardware history, this time explaining the 1980 hard drive that could interface with your VCR to backup data to videotapes: buttondown.com/suchbadtecha...
A doomed marriage and a bad ad for Corvus Systems' drives
Cool product, weird marketing, and really, really poor timing for a proprietary solution.
buttondown.com
June 17, 2026 at 3:06 AM
@benjedwards.com's vintage computing commenters deliver yet another nugget of hilarious hardware history, this time explaining the 1980 hard drive that could interface with your VCR to backup data to videotapes: buttondown.com/suchbadtecha...
"Because AI generates so much content, 'you would think that actually the job of the comms person or the storyteller would be fewer and farther between,' says Gab Ferree."
It doesn't generate *great* content. So duh you need 2x editorial to sell it.
www.businessinsider.com/hottest-job-...
It doesn't generate *great* content. So duh you need 2x editorial to sell it.
www.businessinsider.com/hottest-job-...
The unexpected winners of the AI slop boom: Word nerds
The rise of slopaganda is fueling a surprising tech hiring boom.
www.businessinsider.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:23 AM
"Because AI generates so much content, 'you would think that actually the job of the comms person or the storyteller would be fewer and farther between,' says Gab Ferree."
It doesn't generate *great* content. So duh you need 2x editorial to sell it.
www.businessinsider.com/hottest-job-...
It doesn't generate *great* content. So duh you need 2x editorial to sell it.
www.businessinsider.com/hottest-job-...
Neuromancer wasn't as inscrutable as I had been led to believe. It was great but just a heist story followed by some short and interesting musings on AI and tech. Snow Crash was long and interesting musings on language and tech followed by some B-grade action. I'll take the latter every time.
January 16, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Neuromancer wasn't as inscrutable as I had been led to believe. It was great but just a heist story followed by some short and interesting musings on AI and tech. Snow Crash was long and interesting musings on language and tech followed by some B-grade action. I'll take the latter every time.
At almost 40yo I now love Singapore for all the reasons I hated it when I came just before turning 30yo. Their tourism materials really should advertise more non alcoholic brunches, dog parks, and quiet hours
January 2, 2026 at 1:15 AM
At almost 40yo I now love Singapore for all the reasons I hated it when I came just before turning 30yo. Their tourism materials really should advertise more non alcoholic brunches, dog parks, and quiet hours
Testing software for a living is a recipe for disaster.
I enabled premium subscriptions on my Buttondown newsletter to write (professionally) about the feature. Then sent my (personal) newsletter that loudly boasts it doesn't have a premium option.
It's amazing anyone trusts me with this stuff.
I enabled premium subscriptions on my Buttondown newsletter to write (professionally) about the feature. Then sent my (personal) newsletter that loudly boasts it doesn't have a premium option.
It's amazing anyone trusts me with this stuff.
October 2, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Testing software for a living is a recipe for disaster.
I enabled premium subscriptions on my Buttondown newsletter to write (professionally) about the feature. Then sent my (personal) newsletter that loudly boasts it doesn't have a premium option.
It's amazing anyone trusts me with this stuff.
I enabled premium subscriptions on my Buttondown newsletter to write (professionally) about the feature. Then sent my (personal) newsletter that loudly boasts it doesn't have a premium option.
It's amazing anyone trusts me with this stuff.
My favorite thing about Kagi is custom bangs.
I'm working on an article that relies heavily on archived pages and if I search `ia [URL]` (usually the address bar, sometimes Kagi itself), it takes me to straight to Internet Archive's timeline view of that URL.
I'm working on an article that relies heavily on archived pages and if I search `ia [URL]` (usually the address bar, sometimes Kagi itself), it takes me to straight to Internet Archive's timeline view of that URL.
August 22, 2025 at 2:37 AM
My favorite thing about Kagi is custom bangs.
I'm working on an article that relies heavily on archived pages and if I search `ia [URL]` (usually the address bar, sometimes Kagi itself), it takes me to straight to Internet Archive's timeline view of that URL.
I'm working on an article that relies heavily on archived pages and if I search `ia [URL]` (usually the address bar, sometimes Kagi itself), it takes me to straight to Internet Archive's timeline view of that URL.
Writing for @buttondown.com has turned me into a newsletter evangelist. So I started my own to share the whacky, charming, extremely non-AI ads from tech magazines in the 80s and 90s. Enjoy! buttondown.com/suchbadtecha...
Bad ad, but almost an iPad (in 1984)
I, for one, am glad that one of the greatest paintings of all time wasn't an 8-bit image drawn by this guy.
buttondown.com
July 16, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Writing for @buttondown.com has turned me into a newsletter evangelist. So I started my own to share the whacky, charming, extremely non-AI ads from tech magazines in the 80s and 90s. Enjoy! buttondown.com/suchbadtecha...
Me at mile 7: I should sign up for Portland marathon.
Me at mile 14: I should sign up for a second health insurance plan.
Me at mile 14: I should sign up for a second health insurance plan.
July 7, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Me at mile 7: I should sign up for Portland marathon.
Me at mile 14: I should sign up for a second health insurance plan.
Me at mile 14: I should sign up for a second health insurance plan.
The absence of Cormac McCarthy on this list is a crime: www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/fam...
Famous Authors on Roller Coasters
F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Aaaaaaah aaaaaaaaaaaah ah ah ah ah aaaaaaaaaaah ah aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.”
Emily Dickinson
“Aah aaaaaaah – ah aah aaah – ah aaaah...
www.mcsweeneys.net
April 11, 2025 at 5:18 PM
The absence of Cormac McCarthy on this list is a crime: www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/fam...
My daughter has more frequent flier miles and airport fashion at 4 than I have at 9x her age.
March 31, 2025 at 6:28 PM
My daughter has more frequent flier miles and airport fashion at 4 than I have at 9x her age.
Four books and 1,923 words later, I can finally confidently say that King's Dark Tower series is not for me. Took me a while to accept considering a fun premise and nigh universal praise, but my god is it slow and tedious--not methodical (which I love!), just so dry.
March 11, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Four books and 1,923 words later, I can finally confidently say that King's Dark Tower series is not for me. Took me a while to accept considering a fun premise and nigh universal praise, but my god is it slow and tedious--not methodical (which I love!), just so dry.
Reposted by Ryan Farley
Garmin has just announced the new Garmin HRM-200, which might look like a normal strap, but under the covers outlines the future of Garmin sensors. Dive in for the full in-depth review: www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/01/garm...
January 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Garmin has just announced the new Garmin HRM-200, which might look like a normal strap, but under the covers outlines the future of Garmin sensors. Dive in for the full in-depth review: www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/01/garm...
Went to the park for an 8 miler. Everyone was in jackets, pulled tight around them, blowing warm air into their palms to stave off the frigid 76F air.
December 29, 2024 at 1:39 AM
Went to the park for an 8 miler. Everyone was in jackets, pulled tight around them, blowing warm air into their palms to stave off the frigid 76F air.
Watching one of America's collective freakouts from abroad always feels like reading some undergrad sociology paper. Unless you're an American expat. Then it's a little more like thumbing through your yearbook.
December 15, 2024 at 4:00 AM
Watching one of America's collective freakouts from abroad always feels like reading some undergrad sociology paper. Unless you're an American expat. Then it's a little more like thumbing through your yearbook.
Splitting my hobby time inefficiently between coding and 3D printing means it's usually only 30 lines before everything turns to spaghetti
December 14, 2024 at 2:07 AM
Splitting my hobby time inefficiently between coding and 3D printing means it's usually only 30 lines before everything turns to spaghetti
Before I started running marathons I ate a lot, slept a lot, and ran slowly. After I started running one or two a year, I ate a lot, slept, a lot, and ran slowly.
December 13, 2024 at 3:27 AM
Before I started running marathons I ate a lot, slept a lot, and ran slowly. After I started running one or two a year, I ate a lot, slept, a lot, and ran slowly.