A worthwhile addition to any computer is a basic printer; printed webpages
are portable and can be used when the computer is turned off, whether it be a
recipe for use in the kitchen or road directions for use in the car. Also, almost
everyone will need to print and send letters at times.
These days, a dial-up (56kbps) modem is no longer adequate for web browsing,
since so many sites now have Active-X, Flash, and other content which
demands a fast connection (if the user is not to spend a lot of time waiting for
pages to download). For anyone who will be using the Internet often, a faster
connection (at least 1Mbits per second) is a must.