Consider this riddle: what do a company called MooBella that has developed an instant ice-cream vending machine and a software company called StrikeForce Technologies that has built a security tool that blocks “keyloggers” and a P2P (peer-to-peer) file-sharing program called Zingee have in common?

Well, they were among the 68 start-ups that pitched their products and services to venture capitalists and other would-be investors at Demo ’06, the twice-yearly technology showcase held this month in Phoenix, Arizona.