Absolutely, but my emphasis was on the difference between "love" or "want", and "need". Switching a programming language is extremely expensive, doubly so in systems programming. Organizations won't pay the price for something that doesn't make a big impact. Unlike many other new languages, Rust does have the potential to make a big, bottom-line impact, but that impact is almost entirely due to safety.
> They might benefit if the app is aiming for max performance (esp HPC), memory efficiency (eg embedded), or minimal latency
I don't think max performance is an issue at all, nor even minimal latency where you need it (there are realtime GCs, and GC languages do support arena GC allocation in embedded and realtime settings, like realtime Java), but definitely it's a big gain in memory efficiency.
But again, I said they could benefit. It's just that the main focus shouldn't be on those that would benefit, but on those for whom the language is indispensable, or tremendously beneficial.
> I think Rust might have good, network effects if it takes off.
Absolutely, it's just that if you want Rust to really have an impact rather than just be popular, you need that network effect to be in the right network, and for systems programming, that network is not well represented on HN and Reddit. While these venues are good for marketing, and while the message will get to some of the most important crowd, it may have a negative effect as it would attract many that don't really need Rust, and if they end up making up most of the community, they may slowly push the language in directions that may make it less appealing to those who really need it.
