In January 2022, a volcanic eruption ripped apart the underwater cables that connect the Pacific island of Tonga to the world. At a stroke, the country was plunged into the kind of isolation it hadn’t experienced in more than a century.

From the isolated village where I live you can catch a minibus to the nearest supermarket, seven miles away. On the return journey it will drop you and your shopping off right outside your front door.

The world’s best tech, all in one place

Christmas is coming, and Stuff ’ s playing Santa again: our 2025 Gift Guide is packed with techy kit that’ll light up faces faster than fairylights on a frosty night. Which is not to say you can’t keep the best things for yourself, of course…

TYLER NORRIS SPEAKS JUST AS YOU might expect a renewable-power developer turned academic would talk. Phrases like maximum nameplate capacity and new load integration glide off the tongue. He delves in

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