I don’t think the author is intending to tell everyone to always use something else, I think the author is trying to tell most people who use dd that there are easier ways to do what they are trying to do, and that things are files, which is something that a lot of people here seem to be forgetting.

Which is like saying vim is useless, 90% of what you'll do is covered by nano.

Well, it pays off a lot to know a complex tool and using it for easy stuff gets you in the habit of using it, reminds you of the arguments etc.

dd is really really useful.

yes, it is. and if you know you need it, you know you need it. and if you don't know that, you don't need it.

I had almost managed to completely forget about 9 track tapes. Now you've made my head hurt.