Continental US’ Most Isolated Tribe Gets Internet

The ultra-remote Havasupai reservation, which sits at the floor of the Grand Canyon, remains inaccessible to cars, trains and, until now, broadband internet. Thanks to Oakland-based non-profit MuralNet, seven Havasupai families from the 450-member tribe can finally use cell phones and connect to the web. With help from Flagstaff-based Niles Radio, MuralNet installed “microwave hops” at the rim of the canyon that transmit signals down …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

An innovative orange juicer, how science fiction inspires science, a stadium-sized nature installation and more from the web this week

Orange Juicer Turns Peels Into Cups Italian design firm Carlo Ratti Associati’s “Feel the Peel” machine takes the beloved orange juicer and turns it into a model for sustainability. The oranges are still freshly squeezed, but their peels are turned into biodegradable, bioplastic cups. The massive machine stands over nine feet tall and can accommodate 1,500 oranges. Each is peeled and its rind is dried, …

MIT’s New Color-Changing Ink, PhotoChromeleon

From MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory comes a product that could calm the nerves of fickle consumers. PhotoChromeleon is a high-tech ink that changes color through “reprogramming.” This means exposing the ink to UV light to activate or deactivate some of its components, which include “a scientific mix of cyan, magenta, and yellow photochromic dyes,” according to Fast Company. The sprayable ink can …