Purchasing anything sight unseen can be problematic, but this is doubly so for shoes. Sizes vary between manufacturers, and it’s difficult to tell.

Almost every little contraption that we have hitherto thought was meant exclusively for tycoons and celebrities has now become affordable and accessible to ordinary people. When even a wired, box-like CCTV camera was looked at with awe a few decades ago, PTZ and wireless security cameras now figure among the top security options even for homes.

Let’s face it – most men must hate choosing presents for the woman in their lives. Unless they have been handed a list of what to buy and where to get it, many men find themselves wandering up and down the high street at the last minute, hoping for some inspiration to hit them, or worse still, buying several different presents in the hope that one hits the mark.

Nearly three quarters of households in 2007 have access to the internet. This is a big improvement over internet usage in Australia in 1998 – only one in eight households had internet access back then. We use the internet for education, entertainment, shopping and banking, among others.