Mr Kindel says that the 'smart tiles' design interface of the Windows phones were based on traffic signs and other iconic visual signals you see in everyday life.

BBC: Le Web: The tech world's best talk about the hottest trends

Lawson is now fighting off a budgetary collapse of this high desert town of 2, 100, where the paved and gravel roads have no traffic signals, only stop signs -- and even those are so faded from the sun that the village would like to replace them if it had the money.

CNN: On the border: Guns, drugs -- and a betrayal of trust