Power Users

I recently saw an argument break out on a Python Slack channel I lurk on about the importance of 'power users' and how much attention tech companies should pay to them. It degenerated into an argument about whether or not OSX rebuilt their entire OS on BSD because of the power user. It turns out OS X is a port of NeXTSTEP, which was based on BSD. Yawn.

But broadly speaking I think it is true that tech companies should pay attention to their power users. One of the reasons I switched to OS X from Linux as my desktop OS was that they used a *nix-based operating system which is important to me as a web developer (that and stunning hardware with an OS built to spec).

I'm probably what one would consider a 'power user' although not as much of one as I'd like to think I am. I started using a Mac about ten years ago. Now my mother, brother, sister, wife, father-in-law and brother-in-law all own Macs. Why? Because they ask me what computer they should by and the answer is simple: get a Mac.

It's also why we have things like WWDC. Someone's got to build the apps and if the only operating systems you use are Apple ones, guess which platform you're going to build for first.

It's also why Docker shouldn't be kicking off about people using the word 'docker' in github repository names.