Are Peripheral Devices Dead?

[MyDigitalpoint]

I remember some years back when having a scanner, a printer, a good pair of speakers, or any other hardware device was a must have to round your computer system.

However the increasing popularity of laptops and netbooks makes not necessary to plug external speakers, while a PDF printer makes easier sharing a document through a USB stick or delivered electronically than printing it on paper.

Do you think that peripherals are nowadays thing of the past or still absolutely needed for your daily activities?

[Zach]

Yes, of course. You can't tell me that you never use your printer or your speakers or headphones or a mouse or a flash drive. I don't think peripherals will become "a thing of the past" until our brains are plugged directly into the Internet.

[pqnation]

I don't think that they are "a think of the past" they've just been replaced by other devices that are more useful to some of us; not everyone needs a printer or a a fax machine. But a lot of students and people who work in offices would probably even cry if these items were taken from them. It's all a matter what devices certain groups of people need most.

[HiddenKnowledge]

A good pair of speakers, *check*.
Printer with wifi function, *check*.
Fax, *che O, wait.. There's the exception. If there's any Peripheral Device that's hardly used these days, it's the fax.
The only company I know that still uses this is the police department, and they are slowly dropping support for it at the moment.

But most other things are still being used, as far as I know. And did you forget webcams, scanners and microphones?
They are used more than ever these days!
The world changes and so do the Peripheral Devices, they might be less noticeable because they are being built-in the computers, but that doesn't mean they aren't there.

[MyDigitalpoint]

Ah that's the clue!

When I posted this thread I was recalling the bulky devices that used to be a must-have let's say ten years ago, but what all of you are expressing is making sense in my brain, touching the "fast forwarding" button to see that technology has evolved so new devices are still the complementary part of our computers now and then.

[rowebil]

How will they ever be dead? It's however you define peripheral devices.

I own a PC repair business, and I'm really into computers - I know a peripheral as anything that plugs into the computer to extend it's capabilities. Could be a flash drive. or even a printer... :P