These new Swatch Gent models look fabulous - a return to the aesthetics of the early models but with a difference - they're larger!

From pure white to beautiful black, with some wicked colours in-between, these new models are very tempting:

According to various sites I've found that mention these watches, they're available for pre-order on Colette but I couldn't find any mention whatsoever of these watches - or Swatch, for that matter!

If anybody sees these then let me know or, better still, get me both the black and white models (and maybe the green to boot, if you're feeling flush) and I'll be a happy bunny!!

Some of you will have heard me utter those words many times And why not? We should all take time to enjoy the beautiful things in life!

I found an interesting project today on Kickstarter - a New York-based Designer Duo called EVIGHEDEN have produced some really beautiful work and are raising money through Kickstarter to help them finish their collection.

Here's how they describe themselves:

EVIGHEDEN (which means "eternity" in Danish) is Marianna Barksdale & Abigail Stewart. We are a luxury fashion studio, launched in 2010. We design high-end garments, drawing on stories to inspire each collection.

All our pieces, from tiny accessories to the formal collections, are one-of-a-kind. We make textiles from scratch, work with local artists, and buy from farms to get materials like wool, yarn, and metal, so we can genuinely say we're making something New. We want our clients to feel transported, as if on a flying glitter unicorn of happy, when they wear our garments.

The work they've produced for this collection is fresh and stunning, real Things of Beauty. Click through on the Kickstarter Widget below and take a look or check out their website for photos of the full collection.

Remember: The great thing about Kickstarter projects is that you are not being asked to invest huge sums of money AND you will get something unique and special back as a reward for your investment if you so choose.

So. I'd like you all to start off with this previous post, if you don't mind...

Read it? Good. Now close that browser window/tab and continue:

The title of this post is a big clue: I now have an iPad.

"But you said you weren't going to buy one because it doesn't support Flash!" I hear you cry out. I did say that, yes. I also said that the screen gets messy and that I couldn't see enough use cases for myself.

Well, now I've changed my mind. I have found some excellent use cases, have tired of the Adobe vs. Apple ego-bashing that I've witnessed all over the web and am indeed very pleased with the user experience that the iPad offers me.

There's the key concept: USER EXPERIENCE

Apple "do" User Experience like no other company. I am sitting here, writing this on my MacBook Pro, next to me are my iPhone (still only 3G ) and my iPad. Why? Because they are devices that I love to use. They work and are a joy to use.

I have replaced my morning iPhone routine (see that last post) with a morning iPad routine - a larger display and that much bigger interactive surface DO make a difference - and find Twitter, Things (my to-do manager of choice), Facebook (with the exception of those wonderful app I've written ), BBC News and even the weather so much more usable on the iPad for my morning eyes.

Thanks to Air Display, I can even use the iPad as an additional monitor when working in Mac OSX (which I'm doing more and more, as I now need only wait a few more hours for my Adobe Web Premium CS5 Mac license to arrive before I kiss Windows goodbye for my daily work life).

Now. What about that "Flash thing"? I am still not happy that Steve Jobs and his merry men have this, frankly, very arrogant and childish attitude towards Flash. My opinion here hasn't changed. I haven't "accepted" this "Apple way". I do know that, in time, others will find a way for some Flash content to be visible on the iPad and even the iPhone. I also know that it doesn't really matter that much. There are ways and means of achieving anything.

I'm also, however, not impressed by a lot of the knee-jerk responses from the pro-Adobe camp and the sudden evangelical focus on Android. Android will not make it and will not pose a threat in the mainstream market. Have you seen the designs of the Android-based tablets coming out? I rest my case.

What I have done is made my choice based upon how a device fits my life and fits my appreciation of good design, attention to the User Experience and how it feels - something we should all think about constantly.

In addition to that, and to answer some of my previous criticisms:

- the volume is loud
- the video quality is excellent
- zero boot-time web browsing is fantastic
- the weight is really not so bad and the simple Apple iPad case is an excellent add-on and well worth the money, allowing the iPad to be held at a angle on your lap for easy viewing
- the usability and interface failings I mentioned really do seem to be issues with the Apps I was trying out. The Apps I have installed seem to be well developed and really do offer a great experience (with the exception of the BBC News App which shows me a green screen every so often instead of the matrix of thumbnails for articles)

Oh - and the screen does get messy and is far too reflective. In it's defense, however, the colours are fantastic!

I wrote:

The iPad is not magic. It's not a netbook challenger and it's not really revolutionary.

Well. It's not magic, but it is an excellent tool which has no doubt redefined many people's experience of information consumption. In that sense, it is revolutionary.

I stand by everything I wrote before (as always) and can only say that I stand corrected on some points and am happy that I purchased the iPad - not only because I will be developing Apps for it!

If you look at the bottom of this post (or any other post on my blog, for that matter - hint, hint) you'll find that I've now added the almost ubiquitous Facebook "Like" button functionality to this blog. I decided it was time and had a few minutes spare in which I could add it... to give you a chance to say how much you enjoy my posts!

The Like button and the little "thumbs-up" icon are becoming a massively-popular meme throughout the offline world with stickers, graffiti and even advertisements echoing the "I Like" sentiment. Coincidentally, I found something related while checking through today's links on notcot.org:

If you want to be able to mark your preference, or indifference, on physical objects, you can now do so with these wonderfully analog rubber stamps from Nation:

Now you can not only show your appreciation for content online, but you can print it and stamp it with your approval aswell!

The final design for the "New Bus for London" has now been released and the project is moving forward ready for 2012. The result looks fantastic - and it's got a rear platform, just like the old Routemasters!

Take a look at this video from Transport for London:

This is going to be a great bus to ride on - particularly if you, like me, love the old routemaster's rear platform and hop-on, hop-off bus trips. It's a great feeling being able to just jump onto, and off from, the bus with an open platform. This feature is also going to create jobs as there'll be a need for a second crew member, a conductor, to check oyster cards and issue tickets.

The bus will be light and airy and will also be significantly greener than existing buses as it's a hybrid. All in all, this looks like it'll be a real winner for London and it promises to bring back some of the uniqueness of the old Routemaster and make the London Bus something special again.

The only thing that Transport for London need to do now is give their drivers a refresher course on smooth driving