Which is a deficiency of compilers and languages they support: there should be a notion of "verbatim" code, where the compiler doesn't try to apply any code transformation changing the "literal" semantics (as opposed to "intended" semantics).

Of course this would only be possible for languages like C which don't make any advanced abstractions on the hardware arch.

Did you give a shot at other languages in the same category as F#, like Haskell, Ocaml, Clojure or Elixir?

To replace the F# side of things? F# is pretty unique as far as performance/language/tooling goes. It's outclassed in specific cases, but overall it's a great package.

The alternatives you listed aren't known for being able to write top-performance idiomatic code (I've got something _working_ in F#, but it's ugly non-idiotmatic code). The overhead of a GC is just too much to pay when doing linerate networking. Rust allows me to keep nice, high-level, idiomatic style, without paying any overhead. I can account for almost every byte.

> "The occidental mindset is heavily geared against advertising."

As opposed to the oriental mindset? Speaking as one, I'll still take no ads, thanks. IMO it's a mistake to look at East Asian cities (and the assault of advertising it presents) as some kind of preference for advertising - in the same way you can't look at LA and come away with the conclusion "wow, people really love being stuck in traffic!".

Well, I don't know.

I think that people from the west tend to see the negative aspect of advertising: people over here think "annoyance" (all the answers to my provocative post were like that — yeah, small sample, not significative), whereas in Asia it seems to me (but I may be wrong) that people see the positive side: the image I have is of people thinking "opportunity of bargain". Maybe I don't understand it. Websites filled with tiny ads, streets covered with neons and shop signs, they might very well pretend. And indeed, they don't have a choice, Like LA people stuck in traffic because there are no other ways, websites are just like that and consumers have to do with it.

* If you got free rebate coupons, gifts, etc. as rewards for opting in, would you still refuse it?*

Absolutely. I've boxed my tee vee and put it in the garage for months at a time because of advertising.

>If you got free rebate coupons, gifts, etc. as rewards for opting in, would you still refuse it?

Yes

Look at Jared Diamond over here. Just because we're plastered with ads doesn't mean we like em.

I didn't talk about liking or disliking ads. I don't like medicaments but I find them very valuable.

I guess the text tries to cover both opt-in and opt-out dialog boxes, which perhaps indicates that somewhere in the admin level configuration is an option to choose which mode the service should work in.

Or Samsung and Yahoo just did not understand each other and this dialog is a collateral damage.

> The only experience that's worse is those set-top boxes the cable companies provide you with.

I don't know about the American market. Over here (France), set-top boxen aren't so bad. And there are regular software upgrade; some of them even include games and apps.

In Canada it's like he said though. Press a button, there is just enough of a delay to wonder if you pressed it hard enough, then it starts moving... slowly.

It may have to do that often actions on set top boxes are related to accessing content, for which the software has to check permissions; these are usually embedded in the stream (think mumultiplexed), and the decoder needs to receive the frames before being able to extract the content and display it. Cable network has very high latency (compared to fiber or adsl).

If some of the credential checks are stored in a separate device (dongle, smartcard ), then it could take even longer.

It's probably the only one that works, and it's just a hint (the conversion function is weird btw, it accepts hexadecimal symbols ranging from '0' to 'z'; it actually "decodes" any base from binary to triacontahexadecimal (36)).

I wouldn't worry much about people whom I granted access to my computer, (though it could be worrisome if someone else got their hands on their credentials), I would worry about people who got access fraudulently. But that requires tighter security policies.

Regarding Windows, it's all explained on MS website (just a Google search away), and it seems quite potent, but a default consumer OS doesn't push for stringent requirements for each and every application being installed. It's up to the user to setup the adhoc policy, and hook up VNC to it, I guess. The good thing with application markets and distro supported package repositories is that in theory all this could be included in the package and verified for conformance by the repository maintainers.

I don't understand the point you're trying to make: are you saying that no matter the OS, some hardware platforms will be flaky and others well supported?

Yes. If my first impression of a Linux desktop would be an install on this crap hardware, I might blame the software as well.

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