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It's the role of the PC as a cultural touchstone for which Gates seems most proud. When asked if the PC had changed people's lives for the better, Gates replied, "There's no question that it has." "The PC has improved the world in just about every area you can think of," Gates said. "Amazing developments in communications, collaboration and efficiencies. New kinds of entertainment and social media. Access to information and the ability to give a voice people who would never have been heard. All of these have their roots in what the PC made possible, amplified and extended by other devices. "But we're still falling short in some areas," Gates added. "Education is one example, where the impact of technology lags behind almost every other part of society. There's so much more that can be done to utilize technology in engage students, help teachers, and customize learning for each child." The question now is how the personal computer will evolve. Clearly, the days of the desktop PC are over; in Oct. 2008, laptops began outpacing the sales of desktop PCs, and that trend has continued to accelerate. And phones have made the computing experience even more personal; the addition of GPS chips to phones allowed the phone to provide location-based services, a capability that notebooks simply haven't been able to adequately duplicate. Computing devices have become gateways to the Internet, Gates said, and will continue to serve that role. "On a personal level, technology will be more seamlessly integrated into our lives. We see this taking shape now - so many things are becoming available in digital form and are accessible to us wherever and whenever we need it," Gates said. "On a societal level, technology will contribute to solving many of our greatest challenges," Gates added. "In global health, it will advance scientific discovery, diagnostics, and delivery of health services to the world's poor. In education, it has the potential to ignite student interest in learning and help teachers understand what's working and what's not in the classroom. And in many other areas, including energy and the environment, computers already are and will continue to be an essential tool for data collection, analysis, and innovation." And what's on the road ahead? Who knows. "The next 30 years are going to be equally remarkable as the last 30," Gates said. "We're really still just at the beginning of what's possible. " LOAD-DATE: August 15, 2011 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH PUBLICATION-TYPE: Web Publication Copyright 2011 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved