Apple doesn't make bandaids. It doesn't make bullets. It makes none of the things you see people using in zombie movies or in alien invasion flicks. Mad Max never booted up a MacBook. This is real life. And in real life the stock market and London are burning, and Apple's the most valuable company in the world.

Like everything else, the Cupertino, Calif.-based Mac maker's shares were down Wednesday: 1.42% in mid-day trading. Everything else, however, was down more. While Dell and HP offer cheaper alternatives to the Mac, if money doesn't mean anything any more, why not go with the best-looking computer?

Can't afford to buy a $250 netbook? Apple' shiny objects can offer you some digital comfort: iPods start at just $49. That's less than a tank of gas. No wonder Apple is more valuable than Exxon Mobil right now.

And then there's the iPad. Apple's competitors are still struggling to match Apple's price of $499 here. Apple just builds more of them. It can also offer shaky suppliers the kind of gold-plated credit most governments can't.

If you're building a new factory in the Far East, you're going to want to strike a long term deal with Apple. With state and local governments in the United States heading towards bankruptcy, riots engulfing foreign cities and state fairs, and stock markets plunging worldwide... it might just be worse this time.