This "small" area is called the US.

Oh common! A lot of people here have a grandfather!

Thanks to the billions invested by the US government to develop computers in the 50's (cfr. the SAGE project), the US has had the upperhand in computer hardware and software until now. The US have been able to develop fantastic new technologies that stimulated economic growth and boosted productivity. Slashdot is a fine example of these new technologies. If the US invests heavily in smart grids, within 10 years we will be able to slashdot distributed nuclear battery networks.