Howard Marks: 'The last time I used my iPhone was to find out where I was'

What's your favourite piece of technology and how has it improved your life?

The iPhone, but it hasn't improved my life in any way whatsoever, because I haven't figured out how to use the thing. But I like it very much.

When was the last time you used it?

A week ago, to find out where I was.

Do you think it will be obsolete in 10 years?

Almost certainly, yes.

What frustrates you about technology in general?

Its lack of consistency and the fact that the machine is never as good as when you first bought it.

Is there any particular piece of technology that you have owned and hated?

One of those very early palmtop computers – they were just terrible, they never worked at all. And if you ever let the battery run out, all the data would disappear. I hated that.

If you had one tip about getting the best out of new technology, what would it be?

This sounds terribly straight, but to read the guide book. But they're so big these days, aren't they?

Do you consider yourself to be a luddite or a nerd?

Neither – I'm exactly halfway between the two.

What's the most expensive piece of technology you've ever owned?

A U-matic video recorder, which was around before they standardised videotapes to VHS. It had a monstrously sized tape deck in it.

Mac or PC and why?

I prefer a PC, because I'm more used to it. When I came out of prison [in 1995 – Marks had spent seven years imprisoned in the Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute, Indiana], I rather arbitrarily settled for a PC. And because that was the first computer I learned to use, I'm more comfortable with it still. But I do hate the fact that people divide themselves into Mac or PC users.

Do you still buy physical media such as CDs and DVDs or do you download? What was your last purchase?

I mainly download these days, but if I particularly like an album and want to keep it, I'm old-fashioned and will go out and buy it. The last one I bought was Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits – I bought that quite recently.

Robot butlers – a good idea or not?

No, I'd rather have a personal relationship with whoever's doing my butlering.

What piece of technology would you most like to own?

A mixing desk, but I haven't got a place big enough to put it. Where you've got an awful lot of knobs and lights but only have to use three or four of them – that would be my ideal piece of technology.

• Mr Nice, a film based on Howard Marks's autobiography and former days as a drugs smuggler, is out now on DVD and Blu-ray