Try using a Python editor? I don't want to start the next "emacs vs vi" round, but seriously...

Just like a C editor "corrects the formatting" for C, a Python editor "corrects the formatting" for Python.

A friend of mine, a physics major, is using Python to do his finance math (he secretly prefers Matlab) -- managed to write same exact code in Python, since chaining statements with ;'s is still allowed. All variable names are exactly one letter long, no spaces -- a wall of text margin to margin with no blank lines. His code will be dumpstered the moment he is not available to maintain it.

My senior colleague also does not get it. The thing is, with C-syntax you need braces + indentation. So python halves your work out of the box. In C when indentation and braces are mismatched you read the code one way, but the computer interprets it differently. In Python: fixed.

What? US has middle class? ...not really

Everything is relative. I admit that Perl is heaven compared to C or MASM. It is possible to write millions of lines of code in Perl. It is, however, a nightmare compared to Python: just the appearance of Perl code is an eyesore.

I see windows boxes at relatives houses and they are all infested with viruses and botnets, their browsers hijacked, mostly not from viruses but from "free" stuff they installed from the internet. By contrast, all the linux machines are pristine. Even two computers in the same household - one Linux and the other one Windows - there is no comparison.

You can downmod me all you want and tell stories how you managed to secure a Windows machine with your ninja IT skills, the average household's computer is like the "house" from TFA.

Slashdot ate my '>' sign

From someone who used Perl for over a decade: as soon as your project evolves beyond a couple of package files Perl degrades into a nightmare. I learned Python from scratch a few months ago and it is easier to code and manage by leaps and bounds. Character encoding and number of existing libraries also shines compared to Perl, even for Python 3

a) Do not let a Windows machine control your hose. US Navy tried that. Bad idea.
b) Going by the past history there won't be a patch from Microsoft. Wait for a third-party A/V software to come out with a fix.

Have a separate mailbox that you divulge to corporate entities without hesitation, but can still open it on per-need basis. This way all spam goes directly to recycle bin.

I recently switched from C to Python, and my productivity shot up ~100 times. For example, I created a tree of hashes to perform pattern matching on large data sets in linear time. It took me 2 hours from concept to production run. Also factor in a huge library that does everything needed on this planet, ease of maintaining 100x fewer lines of code and 0 memory management hurdles.

The downside is that it runs 100 times slower than C, but since it is the programmer's productivity your are talking about, you are very wrong.

proof

Because "do some emergency welding work" and "weld here" is not newsworthy.

I am more curious about what the reply was to the undegrad student and how did they keep him quiet. Also, did he get a congressional medal for saving 1000s of lives?

...and end with a no-fly list