The sop*HIC*sticated hardware reminds me of the planned-economy orange in an old Hungarian classic movie (A tanú /"The witness"): the home-grown orange was eaten by the protagonist's son just before the ceremonial tasting by Comrade Bastion but the protagonist's agent was prepared, he just had a lemon laying around in his pocket. The protagonist served the lemon to Comrade Bastion (the fictional communist leader) saying "this is our orange... a little yellow, a little sour, but ours anyway". Comrade Bastion, being a simple man, fell for it, despite having his face visibly contorted by the taste of the lemon. The protagonist received awards and benefits from the government for his lemon trick.