Or are they just not scared to get stuck in? Either way, don't expect the gap to close, says Rhodri Marsden.

Life on Marsden

In a move which has prompted the technology world to say "blimey", Adobe announced last week that it will no longer produce boxed versions of its Creative Suite, which comprises such industry standards as Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. Instead, its customers are being ushered hastily towards the online equivalent, Creative Cloud, a software-as-service "solution" which you can use for as long as you pay a monthly subscription fee.

As unwanted distractions go, I'm hard-pressed to think of anything as annoying as video ads which automatically start playing when you arrive on a website. They're even worse than the Go Compare bloke turning up in the middle of your relaxing shiatsu massage. My automatic response is to dive for the mute button, or, if I'm feeling particularly irritable, set about my laptop with a samurai sword, which I keep handy.

I once had the humbling experience of being admonished by a security guard in a branch of Zara for daring to take a photograph of a window display. I remember feeling indignant, and slightly surprised, that preventing photography was part of a clothes store security guard's remit.

To millions, text messages aren't complete without an animated ghost or angry face. Are these symbols a language for the illiterate, asks Rhodri Marsden?

Millions have downloaded utilities to bring back some traditional lements of Windows

Life on Marsden

Life on Marsden