Arthur C. Clarke, one of the great visionaries of science fiction,
died yesterday at the age of 90. I remember reading his book
Imperial Earth when I was about 12 years old and thinking how cool it was that in the future, everyone walked around with computers about the size of a paperback book that provided communication, access to the global data network, and even audio and video playback. OK, so we didn't go to Mars by 2001 or discover the Godlike alien intelligence behind human evolution, but Arthur C. Clarke invented the iPhone. In 1976. The future just won't be the same without him.