While the investing community this morning is focused squarely on the very disappointing iPhone 5 relaunch and the lack of a cemented China Mobile deal, which has resulted in a $20 billion loss in market cap in early trading for the second most widely [4]held hedge fund stock, a thing that we find more curious in the aftermath of the latest revalations [5]of an implicit, if not explicitly voluntary, joint venture between Apple and the US government and specifically its NSA uberspies, is just how much of Apple's product suite is derived thanks to developments by the US government. As the following Goldman breakdown of various components used by Apple in its products over the ages shows, one can understand why the NSA felt it was owed a little kickback by Apple and its "zombie" clients. After all, without the US government's technological innovation, Apple as we know it, would not exist.
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Is it any wonder that the NSA believes it is entitled to a little crowdfunded effort by Apple and its zombies clients when it comes to building its next generation fingerprint database?