What's your favourite piece of technology, and how has it improved your life?
Whatever piece of word processing software I'm using. I never learned to touch-type.

When was the last time you used it, and what for?
To answer the previous question.

What additional features would you add if you could?
I'd like a Word-compatible processor optimised for writing novels, that takes up a minimum of storage space, thanks.

Do you think it will be obsolete in 10 years' time?
I imagine we'll be using some version of it as long as we continue to write at lengths greater than 140 characters.

What always frustrates you about technology in general?
The reality of malfunction, something I've quite rightly been criticised for neglecting to adequately depict in my fiction.

Is there any particular piece of technology that you have owned and hated?
The last fax I bothered to purchase, which cost virtually nothing, and was so loaded with features and options that I've yet to figure out how to send a fax. Fortunately I only need to send two or three a year, in which case I go to a nearby shop.

If you had one tip about getting the best out of new technology, what would it be?
To wait for at least the second iteration, but then I suppose it's no longer new. But I've always tended to be a slow adaptor. I'd rather watch other people use new things than use them myself.

Do you consider yourself to be a luddite or a nerd?
Neither. I try to be objective about technology. Agnostic, in a sense. Whatever personal opinions I form tend to have more to do with what we find to do with the new thing.

What's the most expensive piece of technology you've ever owned?
A Volkswagen Passat.

Mac or PC, and why?
Mac. I started with Apple, in a pre-Windows era when PCs seemed to involve more of a learning curve. But the fact that I'm yet to acquire so much as a single virus still seems a very good thing.

Do you still buy physical media such as CDs and DVDs, or do you download? What was your last purchase?
Both. I like physical browsing. It activates the hunter-gatherer module differently. I last bought Arcade Fire's new album, The Suburbs, via iTunes.

Robot butlers – a good idea or not?
I've never been very intrigued with the idea of robots, not even as a boy. Actually I've never been intrigued at all with the idea of a butler.

What piece of technology would you most like to own?
A Festo Air Penguin! It's an autonomously flying robotic penguin.

William Gibson's new novel, Zero History (Viking), is published on 2 September