When you buy consumer technology you are frequently taking a gamble that neither technological advance nor fashion will render it obsolete before you have extracted the value you expect.

There is, however, a way to more or less “future-proof” a purchase: buy a modular product that allows you to upgrade key components if the technology changes or you want to use it for a different purpose.

If you are a serious multiplayer games enthusiast, for example, it makes sense to buy a desktop PC that can be upgraded with a new graphics card or faster Ram modules, rather than a laptop that is difficult to upgrade. Similarly, in the fast-changing mobile broadband market, rather than buy a laptop with a built-in cellular data modem, it may be better to buy a standard laptop and a plug-in data card that can be swapped out when a new technology is available.