Two-year-old Groupon is emblematic of an age when technology competence will increasingly dominate business, and the only way to succeed will be by exploiting a direct connection to customers via the Internet.

FORBES: Groupon—an Ordinary Company for a Revolutionary New Era

In other words, each laptop is part of a wireless mesh that relays the broadband signal from laptop to laptop—so those out of direct range can still get a connection to the internet.

ECONOMIST: The $100 laptop is fast becoming a reality

But it skips out on the direct internet connection, which could leave it more vulnerable to hacks.

ENGADGET