Edit: Stefan, sorry, I misinterpretted what you meant.
While they do allow visual media/entertainment to become truly interactive, is that in any way necessary? Does it improve quality of life? Perhaps you believe it does. If you get great joy from the entertainment, then you can argue your quality of life has improved.
My opinion is that it doesn't have such a positive impact on quality of life.
Have they really made everyone's job easier and more productive? That's part of my entire point. People are working MORE hours than ever before, stress levels and stress-related problems are MORE common. Do people feel better when they've accomplished something great but had to spend so much time at their jobs that they made large sacrifices in their private lives? Is that an increased quality of life? Is that an easier job? I think that really depends on perspective and what your job is, but I think on the average computers have had the exact opposite effect as they were intended.
Computers were meant to make us more productive so we could relax more, but rather they have fueled the flames of greed and caused us to work MORE, desire a more productive economy, require everything in real-time, etc etc etc.
For outlets....if there wasn't the internet, I'm sure Al would have invented something else.
b