Investing in old technology...

A phone call from my mother invoked an uncomfortable feeling in me: she told me she and my dad had bought two VCR-recorders... I told her: "You want me to come and install them?" "No, the others aren't broken, yet!"
She is afraid that in a short while there won't be any VCRs in the shops any more, and that, if theirs breaks down, they won't be able to watch all the tapes they have...
I can understand the logic, yet it makes me feel uncomfortable, since the latest HD-DVD-recorders are very user-friendly, and you can digitise the whole lot of tapes... But that's a lot of work too... which you don't have if you have a social choir life as my mum has... ;-)
In short, for myself and for school I prefer investing in new equipment. No unnecessary luxury, but hardware that can resist the future for at least 5 years and that is right for the way it will be used. No second-hand computers for our school: if you work with old stuff you need three or for times the necessary manpower to keep it all going... And in the end it is more expensive, and very often out...
Fortunately people aren't supposed to be treated like computers, so I hope to be around as a computer-wizzz for a while... ;-) Anyway, they won't find a bin that is big enough to dump me...