With Apollo, the government (NASA and DOD) had specific hard requirements, and went to private contractors to build them. Those private contractors created such things as the integrated circuit, and then later sold them to other markets. Everybody wins.

With SpaceX, they're using (AFAICT) mostly standard parts, like computers running Linux. They're not developing any new computer technology, and they're one private company so they're not marketing it beyond space flight.

(They are doing great new things with systems integration, but it's not clear how that would benefit anyone outside that space program, and they're not publishing much information, anyway.)

I always thought the major benefit of Project Apollo was that it was public spending on R&D. How will private spaceflight companies like SpaceX benefit non-spaceflight-related endeavors?