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The Man who Helped bring the PC to Life is now Proclaiming its Death.

Thirty years have passed since the Personal Computer was created.  In those thirty years, the PC has been at the forefront of technology with bleeding-edge graphics and utility.  It has had an immense influence on new technologies, economics and has helped shape the world we know.  Thirty years have passed since a team at IBM gave birth to the idea of the PC.  Today Mark Dean, who worked on that team, is claiming the PC is dead. 

"My primary computer now is a tablet. When I helped design the PC, I didn't think I'd live long enough to witness its decline.  But, while PCs will continue to be much-used devices, they're no longer at the leading edge of computing. They're going the way of the vacuum tube, typewriter, vinyl records, CRT and incandescent light bulbs."  Mark Dean shared these sentiments on a company blog.  He is now the chief technology officer at IBM Middle East and Africa.  He went on to note recent technology trends such as tablets and mobile devices continuing to surge in popularity as well as the impact social networking, and technologies supporting, has had on development. 

Mobile hardware is certainly advancing fast and as tablets get faster it will be interesting to see how new hardware develops.  The PC is still the pinnacle for graphic and visual fidelity when it comes to gaming.  Just witnessing the tech demo for Epic's new engine, it is clear to see that the PC is unmatched; however that performance comes with a big price tag.  Affordability for bleeding-edge visuals will continue to push the faint of heart consumers away but there are some genres that just work on PC.  MMOs, shooters, RTS and some RPGs really flourish on the PC with an experience that cannot be replicated on any other platform.  It will be fascinating to see how this all plays out.

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