First off, we must keep in mind that eventually, all computers (and technology) will become obsolete. Imagine trying to future-proof your Walkman in 1988, for instance. Yup, you could've added more battery power or a clearer sound, but you were never going to get your New Kids on the Block CD -- or MP3 -- to play on it. You can only go so far to adapt current technology to what the future holds. You could buy a really, really fast processor for your laptop, but what if anything without a touch screen is passé in three years? RAM, for instance, it's becoming a lot cheaper to get more memory. If you had future-proofed your computer with a ton of RAM five years ago, you're probably be kicking yourself now, as the price of RAM has dropped significantly. As a result, paying for an upgrade now is a lot cheaper than having the biggest allowance you could get at the time.That's another reason you should be keeping your eye on what the computing future looks like for your specific purposes instead of pondering future-proofing. Think about what you want for now and you're more likely to be able to make strategic, value-driven upgrades in the future.