Like the OLPC laptop, the decTOP's innovations come out of a drive to bring computers and the Internet to rural Africa and Asia: Data Evolution acquired the machine's hardware from Advanced Micro Devices (nyse: AMD - news - people ), whose "50x15" program seeks to take 50% of the world's population online by 2015.

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The original micro machine motion sensor, technically known as an accelerometer, was introduced for air-bag deployment in 1991.

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By applying machine intelligence to data sourced and sorted in this manner, marketers can create micro-segments of customers automatically, allowing them to give early discounts to people who are at a high risk of attrition.

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