ursakhiin
It's still fairly popular but that popularity is waning as languages with more modern design principles are gaining momentum without relying on a heavy framework like .NET. This could make it a poorer choice for somebody just learning as there may be fewer opportunities for junior devs by the time they graduate.
Even Microsoft has started transitioning to Rust in some cases. I'd hesitate to recommend a language to somebody getting started if that language is under publicized risk of being replaced by its maintainer.
I would add that a purely OOP language also probably isn't ideal for a first language, though. Being able to start teaching with just functions is quicker to introduce than having to describe objects first.
An OOP centric language is definitely appropriate for a second language. But if we are talking "intro", the faster somebody can type hello world while still having more programming concepts in the file than just the print statement, the better. For that last statement, I'd also exclude Python.
I always recommend talking about goals first then recommending a path.
If they know web dev is their future, JS.
If they know IOT is their future, C.
If they know games, probably still C as C++ is still likely the path for a while.
Plus, even in areas where Stinky Tofu is common, it's divisive. When I was in Taiwan, only about half of the people I talked to liked it. The other half wouldn't touch it.
The incompatibility is that the author clearly doesn't understand why the Halo succeeded. Microsoft has historically bolstered game and hardware developers in a way Apple has never been willing to. Their purchase of Bungie is only one example of that.
Apple would not have provided any of the support in the partnership that Bungie needed to complete the game. Their alternate universe is flawed because without the purchase of Bungie there is no Halo.
Microsoft saved Halo.
If the premise is that flawed, I'm skeptical of the rest of the piece.