I guess it would depend on your definition of the word "dead."
It's currently #8 in overall market capitalization with $45K in volume over the last 24 hours; that's more than the #6 and #7 coins combined.
It used to be in the top 5, now its going out of top 10. It is not dead, but its dying, and many more interesting coins are available.
It lost the battle with LTC, and now even with NXT.