So lots of people have commented or asked "What is this / why bother with microprocessors? Whats the point of learning to write programs for them when you can get 8+ cores to work with?
It might surprise you to learn that roughly 55% of all CPU's on the market are 8bit micro controllers*. Yes 8bit micro controllers, not the latest Intel or AMD processor.
That's because micro controllers are in every part of our lives. Your DVD player? Micro controller. Your remote for the DVD player? Micro controller. Those lights that go off and on automatically? Controlled by a micro controller. Your cell phones? Yup More micro controllers. They keyboard I'm typing this with right now has a micro controller inside of it. Just about any piece of electronics you can think of have micro controllers.
So Micro controllers aren't going out of style anytime soon as they are everywhere. That's why learning how to program for them is still relevant, in fact that's where as a programmer you can make serious bank. Being good at micro controller programming.
*Sources:
http://www.eetimes.com/discussion/other/4024488/The-Two-Percent-Solution
http://web.archive.org/web/20070220134759/http://www.circuitcellar.com/library/designforum/silicon_update/3/index.asp
