@Greg
"Until C# can cope with in-line code in assembler"
That kind of defeats the "platform-independent" nature of IL code. If you want to use inline assembler, you can always create a C++ assembly with both managed and unmanaged code. After looking into the MSCORLIB assembly with .NET Reflector, it appears to be written as such an assembly.
"without .Net's crippleware"
What...?