Once connected, the Veritoken can be removed without losing your connection so you don’t have to leave your USB key plugged in to leave behind when you’re finished. And there’s a chance you might, because the other great thing about the whole thing launching from the USB key is that you can take it to any computer. Everything runs from the USB key and nothing is installed on the system you want to connect from.

The hard disk is 160Gb. In practical terms we ran two heavy-use user accounts — both of them crammed with settings, utilities and software for creative pros — and stored about 20 full movie files before we managed to fill it up.

The advent of widespread digital connectivity opened the field for stock photo companies not just for provision but to flog their wares. Often with several million images in their stables, the big providers would never have the time or funds to disseminate them all by catalogue.