I imported the first Mac into England in 1984; you know, the beige box. I imported what I think were the first four that came into England. I never opened the instruction manual. That was the best thing about it.

I just want things to work properly.

My interest in film is sort of catholic - apart from science fiction and horror movies, I'll watch almost everything.

Design and technology should be the subject where mathematical brainboxes and science whizzkids turn their bright ideas into useful products.

So I think the winners in recession are the people who produce new technology that does things better, which people really want.

We’re taught to do things the right way. But if you want to discover something that other people haven’t, you need to do things the wrong way. Initiate a failure by doing something that’s very silly, unthinkable, naughty, dangerous. Watching why that fails can take you on a completely different path. It’s exciting, actually. To me, solving problems is a bit like a drug. You’re on it, and you can’t get off.

Britain's great strength is its innovative, design and engineering natural ability and we're not using it.