I see and understand that point about obsolescense.

But obsolescense depends on several things.

One, if you are happy with a computer and everything works on it, as long as it continues to function, it's useful even if it can't be upgraded further. For example, my Sony Vaio desktop is now 4 years old, it's too old to run Vista. It contains all my virtual instruments. I'd consider it a closed system now, but it runs great, and does everything I need it to do, so as long as I can turn it on, it's a valuable part of my studio and will continue to be. I don't need Vista to keep it working.

Second, if you buy software instruments and register them, you usually have upgrade options, many of which are free or at a small cost. So even if your computer becomes outdated and no longer functions, you can still get the updates for the virtual instruments and applications you purchased.

Computers becoming outdated is just part of the vibe. In 2009 everyone will have to buy digital television sets because analog tv's won't be able to receive anything anymore. Fair? Of course not. But that's the nature of technology - it has to keep moving forward, and at certain points it makes no sense to continue backwards compatability. In fact backwards compatability often drags down the performance of an app.

At any rate, constant upgrades are here to stay.