>I wouldn't include Apple in that list - at least not yet.

Same opinion here. You are certainly right. Apple is certainly not the company to bet against. Their follower base and market positions are impressive. As some of you, I have frequent encounters with 2.0 startup shops. Their new financial paradigm has a lot in common with the one of their parents at the end of the previous century... There are other bets on "lemming finance" that are certainly more appropriate in the 2.0 arena than AAPL:)

One thing though. What the end-value of $160 billion useful when one knows that 1) this cash may be spent on buying overpriced competitors or 2.0 overpriced shops at top-value and 2) loans are pouring out of QE, US, EC or, even better, in Asian version into the economy. Alternatively, should the market liquidity indeed evaporate, their cash would of course become more than useful.