The way we go about our day to day activities has changed considerably over the past ten years. So when was the last time you

1. Bought a newspaper.
Five years ago, before I discovered that all the good stuff from the Guardian and the New York Times was available online, not to mention newspapers and magazines I’d never heard of.

2. Paid £3.99 for a DVD at the local video rental shop.
Eighteen months ago, before I found Amazon DVD rentals. £6.99 a month, 4 DVDs, and no late return charges.

3. Ate a Big Mac.
Three years ago, a few days before I first read Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation.

4. Paid close to full price for a bestselling novel.
Three years ago, at which point I learned to trust Amazon’s amatuer resellers, and every bestseller became available for £0.01 + postage, a few weeks after it was published.

5. Took a dictionary or thesaurus off the bookshelf.
Was it three, or was it four years ago? About the time I found dictionary.com. Not exactly the Oxford English Dictionary, but good enough that walking to the bookcase became too much of a chore.

6. Had a problem when making a purchase because of a language barrier.
Two years ago, after which I discovered I could happily use Amazon in Germany to buy those Babylon 5 DVDs before they were released in the UK, with a little help from an online German to English translator.

7. Bought a CD in a music shop.
Four years ago. It was coming up to Christmas, I was short a present or two, and Amazon’s cut off date for Christmas delivery had passed.

8. Bought a cheap plane ticket from a budget airline, or used a cheap alternative like lastminute.com.
One year ago, before I discovered that buying direct online from British Midland and Avis was actually cheaper than using the budget alternatives.

9. Decided to wait for the DVD box set because buying all six individual DVDs cost twice as much.
Eighteen months ago, before I realised I could buy each Stargate DVD as it was released, and sell it on ebay a week later for the same price, plus postage.

10. Spent more than ten minutes in a supermarket.
Three months ago, at which point Tesco’s online food shop really did start delivering the goods.