In the days of standalone applications, this was quite common. Upgrade the OS, and the software would still run. Upgrade the computer, and the software may stil

In the days of standalone applications, this was quite common. Upgrade the OS, and the software would still run. Upgrade the computer, and the software may still run. (Progress was so rapid back then that 10 years of progress in hardware would cause issues with poorly coded memory checks and timers). In the days of standalone computers, you didn't bother with upgrades at all. Developers would create new software for popular platforms a decade after their prime (think Apple II or 8088 based PCs) even though the rate of progress in hardware was beyond astonishing. Rather than maintaing what they had, schools could build upon it. Of course, network security and applications means that it is a struggle to maintain what you have on a budget. Artificially obsoleting hardware only make matters worse.