Forcing companies, manufacturers, and individuals to relinquish their archaic hardware and software will produce a temporary spike in hardware sales, as well as ensure that our modern, sophisticated standards are universal.

Banning the sale and resale of outdated hardware like IDE hard disks, floppy diskettes, USB 1.1, 32-bit processors, and other outmoded equipment ensures that consumers are buying top-of-the-line hardware with longevity. It also frees developers from being forced to shoehorn in functionality for equipment that should no longer exist.

Forcing the adoption of modern software standards like FAT32 formatting, current-generation Web browsers, external stylesheets in Web sites, XML-compliant document standards, and contemporary programming languages ensures maximum compatibility, frees developers from a multitude of debugging woes, and reduces complexity for the consumer.

Japan had a similar initiative where they banned the sale of electronics older than four years. This kick-started their consumer-electronics sales and paved the way for universal standards. America needs to stop accommodating and start innovating!