When digging through an old box of cables recently looking for the one I swear I kept that still connects to anything, I stumbled across something that brought back lots of memories — an old Microsoft game controller from the early 2000s. I have always loved that thing. So much so that even long after Microsoft stopped supporting it and I retired my PC for a Mac, I still could never bring myself to throw it away. Some objects carry too many good memories to part with.
Remembering an article I read recently about someone who used AI to connect an old printer, I had a moment of inspiration. Would that work here, too? A few quick prompts later, my favorite controller that is no longer in production has brand new Apple software and works like new. After years of trying to find something new to replace something special that previously worked just fine, I was finally able to bring the original back to life.
Needless to say, I have been distracted by games lately. Some joys never get old.
The whole experience also reminded me of a theme that I thought a lot about in my engineering career. Planned obsolescence is the term for the business strategy of designing something with an intentionally short life to build a product treadmill of new sales. You see it a lot in industries like mobile phones where it’s increasingly rare for one to last more than a few years. Makers of game controllers eventually stop supporting old versions to nudge you towards new purchases. And yes, I think it too often applies to investing as well.
Have you ever felt like the topic of portfolio design feels like a never-ending cycle of chasing the next new thing? A lot of that is probably by design. So let’s talk a little about how the financial industry uses planned obsolescence to maximize their own profits and what you can do to avoid it.
