.NET Framework

So, i'm currently studying programming in the .NET language, basically C#. I have to admit i like this thing, it gives you a lot of tools for developing, and the fact that i can program in different languages, including VB, without changing the program result (as in speed and whatnot), is quite good.

I know that usually you guys hate microsoft to death, but i think this time they did something acually useful. Does anyone have any opinions or experience with the thing?

please, NO FUCKING TROLLS, if that's even possible.

>>4
It's a Java clone done better, certainly, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's done right.

Whatever merits .NET may have, though, what's a deal-breaker for me is Microsoft's stated policy of not fixing bugs that cause their implementation to deviate from the published standard for the sake of backward compatibility, combined with the fact that their Community Promise only extends to other implementations insofar as they do follow the standard, so they can't emulate their bugs. That breaks even the tiny pretense at cross-platformness that Mono gave them.

That, and the fact that neither I nor anyone I know uses Windows. The fantasies of sheltered Microsoft weenies aside, Windows was never as ubiquitous as people believed, and its market share is dropping quickly.