Can you make your product last longer into the future?

How can you best make your products last long into the future?

Of course, if you could predict the future, you’d be in Vegas betting and winning. But how about at least a guess? An educated guess? Maybe at least give it a shot, if only a possibility.

A simple example from technology is input options. We enjoyed a powerful Bose sound system for several years but when Apple changed their input device, we could no longer use our iPhones in the player. OK, no big deal, at least there’s a regular audio connector in the back so you can just connect manually, right? No such luck. This speaker dock has a grand total of one input: the 30-pin Apple connector. So unless you want to use your old iPod or iPhone (don’t forget that you have to remove your case as it doesn’t fit snug), you’re in luck.

We did this for a while, but soon enough all of our phones had the new Lightning connector. I thought it must be possible to turn that 30-pin adaptor into something else. But no such easy luck. I really wanted it to work with Apple’s AirPlay and found two promising products: Dolry Hi-Fi Stone and Auris Skye, both of which seem to be either unavailable or just plain gone. I almost plunked down the whopping $70 or so for such a little device that sounded like it did what I needed, but the jury seemed to be still in deliberations.

So there you have it. High gone low tech gone to … Craigslist. Anyone have an old iPod they want to rock out to?