Funny thread! :)

I guess the thing here is that bit operators are not really "in you face" in Java. If you are programming in assembler, or even C, bits will be what you know. Programming at a higher level, you may not be that aware of bit functions and how to use them in real life. You should, but many are not.

The second approach by gojomo here is neat and effective and works directly at the bits instead of bloating with creating Strings and other objects for this simple task. So it's not the fault of the tool, it about the abstraction level people are thinking in.