Ryan Farley

It's a bit harder to find good scans of British computer magazines from the 80s and 90s, which is a shame because, well, just look for yourself: buttondown.com/suchbadtecha... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

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

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...

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.

"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-...

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.

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.

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.

AGI is here #cursor

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.

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

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.