The image is actually part of National Geographic’s International Photography Contest 2009 – one of 25 examples collected by Boston.com. Check out the entries if you want a little eye candy to tide you over until dinner. [NatGeo via Boston]

According to Zhongyi Electronics, Microsoft “only paid to use [their] software for its Windows 95 system”. They say that the two fonts weren’t even covered in the agreement to begin with. Yikes. Microsoft is appealing the court’s decision by claiming that the fonts were in fact covered by the agreement and that there was a “legitimate right” to use them. [Obama Pacman]

They are not just light sources, however. These LED towers also collect rainwater and funnel sunlight to the multiple levels of the 1km long Expo Boulevard. [World Architecture News via Inhabitat]

It features an internal sound amplifier, a 3.5mm jack for headphones and a USB port for recharging. Nice, but if you really want to take this whole scumbaggy espionage thing to another level, you go with the SIM card spy ear. [Chinagrabber via 7Gadgets via OhGizmo]

The can also has a wireless remote, rechargeable battery and a false bottom that hides a USB port and the on/off switch. It looks pretty convincing, but I’m less impressed by the ’80s-looking version of Coke “Clossic”. [ChinaGrabber via Technabob via DVICE]

The main phone screen (pictured below) has call-centric icons, plus shortcuts to regular Windows apps that can be categorised into icon-based tabs on the left.

The interface can also switch between landscape and portrait views, and there’s a unified look to it all. I’d like to see some extra flair, though…like photos of contacts for incoming and outgoing calls. It’s such an obvious thing, so hopefully that’ll show up by the time the phone arrives. The xpPhone’s maker—China’s In Technology Group aka ITG—also says it will support direct access to the Outlook address book for contact management.

Their English pre-order page remains more like an expression of interest form, as it still doesn’t list price. If you’re curious, you can choose a 3G module for your carrier’s necessary frequency (AT&T, Vodafone and Orange are listed).

Jokes about getting a blue screen of death mid-call aside, I’m getting more and more intrigued about the xpPhone. I mean, the thing weighs almost a pound, but just look at those specs below compared to say, the Nokia N900. I’ll fill you in when I hear more on pricing/availability — or any plans for an actual US (non-import) release. [ITG]

Configuration
• CPU: AMD Super Mobile CPU
• Memory: 512M/1G
• SSD: 8G/16G/32G/64G
• HDD: 30G/60G/80G/120G
• LCD: 4.8′ TFT Touch-screen LCD 800*480
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP
• Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA (HSDPA/HSUPA)
• CDMA/CDMA2000 1X/CDMA1X EVDO,TD-SCDMA，TD-HSDPA
• Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g,WiMax(optional),Buletooth,Stand-alone GPS
• Camera Specifications:CMOS, 300k/1.3 Million
• Ports: 1 x earphone jack, 1 x microphone jack,Docking Connector (includes VGA output signal ), 1 x USB 2.0, SIM Slot
• Battery: Removable Lithium-ion
• Talk time: about 5 hours,Stand by time: about 5 days
• Real life: about 7 hours(Standard), about 12 hours(Large)
• Talk time: Standby time，Operation time may vary depending different usage.
• Weight: 400g (include battery)

Google claims their site automatically removed the search listing because of perceived malware threats, and had nothing to do with what People’s Daily actually published. People’s daily, though, feels as though they were the victim of an unfair attack, calling the event “malicious”.

Pot. Kettle. Black. [The Register]

I don’t know if the lush gardens, the green public transportation, and the pedestrian and bike-friendly road network would help with their contamination problems, but they sure look pretty. SOM—the architects who won the Beijing Central Business District competition—say that it will help save a lot of money and resources:

The SOM plan defines new strategies for building municipal infrastructure and high performance buildings. Implementation of the plan could reduce energy consumption within the district by 50%, reduce water consumption by 48%, reduce landfill waste by 80%, and result in a 50% reduction in carbon emissions. Reduction in emissions from office buildings alone would equate to a reduction of 215,000 tons of CO2 per year, which is the equivalent of planting 14 million adult trees.

Now, if they could make the Chinese government actually respect human rights, then this city expansion would be truly people-friendly. [SOM via Otto]

Above is the Dark Sword, the Chinese military’s newest drone. Not only does it look a lot cooler than any American model, it’s apparently much more manoeuvrable and highly capable in air-to-air combat. This is on top of the Chinese having carbon copies of the Predator and Global Hawk UAVs ready to go in their arsenal.

Not to mention the names are much more awesome. How cool is the phrase “Dark Sword?” Or better yet, “Sour Dragon?” Seriously. [DefPro via Wired via PopSci]