"What makes an icon a valuable addition to the interface, rather than a mere decorative element?" UI designer Alla Kholmatova has some nice thoughts on the matter, including the refresh symbol.

Make it so. Make it so. Make it so.

Japanese educational programme / Rube Goldberg machine programme.

Making a simple website doesn't look to have been one of the problems addressed. A nice idea though.

Have you seen Memento? You should if not. It's a great film that uses amnesia as key plot device, and a Polaroid camera as another. The camera in question is an SLR 690, which featured a sonar auto focus systems, and marked the end of the line for the ingenious collapsible Polaroid SX range, a promotional video of which can be seen here. If you struggle with the length of the video, at least skip to 4min 50sec and enjoy leaning how the single lens reflex mirror system works. Furthermore, to see one in the flesh, why not pop in to see us sometime as we have one on display!

Beautiful little video about a lovely big idea. Anyone fancy a London version?

A lovely Open University video narrated by the equally lovely Clive Anderson (making it feel like a long skit from Have I Got News For You).

A nice post from Google Ventures' MG Siegler on how successful big products start humble before they get big. The absence of cruft and bloat and over complication.

While it doesn’t filter alcohol or salt, it does remove 99.9% of most bacteria and protozoa from up to 1,000 litres of contaminated water. Best travel companion ever.