What's your favourite piece of technology, and how has it improved your life?
It's probably my laptop – a Macbook Pro. It's the second laptop I've ever owned – the first was also a Mac. Going from having an Atari to a laptop changed everything. It allows me to work anywhere I want and send my work home – I can work anywhere in the world.
When was the last time you used it, and what for?
It's on right in front of me now – it's not doing what I want it to do. I'm trying to connect to the internet and it won't allow me to. It's open every day of my life. I used to think of this thing as being my crack.
What additional features would you add if you could?
To be honest, there's nothing extra I really want now. I could probably take things away from it, actually. Mostly I'd like to take the weight off it.
Do you think it will be obsolete in 10 years' time?
My laptop, absolutely – it will be obslete next year. It was probably obsolete as soon as I bought it.
What always frustrates you about technology in general?
Partly the fact that as soon as you buy it, it's obsolete, but I think one of the biggest frustrations is that I need it – the dependency issue is frightening.
Is there any particular piece of technology that you have owned and hated?
My cell phones. I think I have this field around me that makes electronics work bad. It's not like an entropy thing, it happens very quickly.
If you had one tip about getting the best out of new technology, what would it be?
Wait for a bunch of other people to buy it and use it and make it better. I waited until about a month ago to get an iPhone, for example – and I've already broken it.
Do you consider yourself to be a luddite or a nerd?
Wouldn't you have to be a nerd to know what a luddite is?
What's the most expensive piece of technology you've ever owned?
I've never bought a car for more than $2,000. I bought this Linhoff Master Technica view camera for like $4,000 – that's probably the most expensive.
Mac or PC, and why?
Mac. I think the only reason people use PCs is because they have to. Mac is the most streamlined computer there is. I started using the Mac in college because I was doing editing, and they were the only computers we could use to do that.
Do you still buy physical media such as CDs and DVDs, or do you download? What was your last purchase?
I do buy DVDs still. My last purchase was called Essene, one of Frederick Wiseman's documentaries. Basically a bunch of my friends and I started a club where we're buying every Wiseman documentary and share them.
Robot butlers – a good idea or not?
Are we talking Bicentennial Man here? Am I going to have Robin Willians in my house? I have these plants in my house that are dying, so having a robot butler to water them when I'm away would be pretty handy.
What piece of technology would you most like to own?
A machine with which to be able to clone myself and feel the experiences of all versions, because I would learn other things – like how to cobble or something. It's not an ego thing, it's just mega-multitasking, so that one version would be sitting at home playing Xbox 360, another version would be writing. Another would be eating, another would be travelling and so on. And one version would be watering my plants.
• Cary Fukunaga's Sin Nombre is now showing
