Judging by their start-ups, those Aussies are quite a crafty bunch

0 Comments | USA TODAY, June, 2006 | by Kevin Maney

SYDNEY -- The electric drill was first patented by an Australian.

Latex gloves? The technology behind Google Maps? That spindle on record players that drops the next record down to the turntable? All Australian.

Clearly the people of this nation can invent useful and interesting things. Which is why I scheduled a romp through more than a dozen Australian early-stage start-ups last week. Australia isn't exactly Silicon Valley -- tech industry revenue here is about $80 billion a year, according to the Australian Information Industry Association. That's the size of two Microsofts. But the nation is trying. So maybe I'll find something cool.

Sunday: About 20 tech industry types dine around a table at a restaurant overlooking famed Bondi Beach. Most are...