Linearizing PDF scans

[J. David Bryan]

Is it still useful to linearize PDFs?

I've been scanning and PDFing manuals for 16 years, and I've been 
linearizing them regularly.  My understanding is that this made them 
accessible on a page-by-page basis in Web browsers without requiring a 
complete file download first.  But given the increase in typical bandwidth 
in 16 years, I wonder if this is still useful.  It is an extra step, and it 
does make the files somewhat larger.

Recommendations?  Does linearizing confer any advantage locally once the 
entire file is downloaded?

Thanks.

                                      -- Dave