Once again, the way the particles knock electrons off the stuff they are travelling through (this time the gas) provides a useful signal (detected by the wires).
Both Apple and HBO have triumphed by producing original, high-end stuff at a time when many of their competitors were travelling in the opposite direction.
Most of the time, machine data is an indication of business activity, either customers travelling through a web site, making calls, texting each other, or buying stuff.