Dov Moran still recalls the moment of acute embarrassment that sparked the creation of his most successful invention.

In 1998, the then-chief executive of Israeli technology company M-Systems was due to speak to a group of existing and potential investors in New York. But when he faced the audience of some 200 people, the laptop on which he had saved his presentation failed to turn on. As he frantically pressed the start button, he recognised some acquaintances in the front row and realised he might have saved his blushes if he could somehow have transferred his presentation quickly to their laptops.