The browser-safe palette was developed by programmers with no design sense, I assure you. That’s because a designer would have never picked these colors.
The only reason to use the browser-safe palette is if you have a concern that your Web design work will be viewed from a 256 color (8-bit) computer system.
I think it’s safe to say this second quote pretty much says it all. Are the dead? No. Should they be dead? Yes, for all intensive purposes they should be put out of their (and our) misery.
Wandering the Interwebs 