[Super74]

"Even Ubuntu needs an upgraded graphics card and RAM to utilize all of the bells and whistles."

Bells and whistles are what makes computing fun for the average user. Why do you think the iPhone is such a hit? It's basic functionality? or the fact that you can have a lot of fun on it? It even sucks as a phone and people don't seem to mind.

In my IT business, the first thing I do for most customers is upgrade their RAM because their desktops come so poorly packaged and the performance is abysmal. Once done, I have never heard a complaint.

We need to stop talking about exceptions and start discussing general usage. Most users are running W7 or Mac OS X, and run a multitude of programs, apps and at the same time. I believe in breaking bottlenecks.

Lastly, I am glad to see smaller companies making a difference, like the one in the article.

[ElliotH]

Why do you think the iPhone is such a hit? It's basic functionality? or the fact that you can have a lot of fun on it? The iPhone was initially a hit because it was the first smart phone that was really designed for the consumer (before that, the way I see it there were mostly business smartphones). It is a hit today because it is seen as the cool phone to have and it is very well marketed. The eyecandy provides only the finishing touch.

their desktops come so poorly packaged People get what they pay for, and for a lot of people they pay a relatively small amount of money to a company that puts a large markup on the hardware in their PC so they end up with something cheap. Most higher end machines from the likes of Dell are pretty useable on the RAM front from what I see.

Most users are running W7 or Mac OS X On the server this doesn't matter at all. Servers run mostly Linux, generally with no UI. Or Windows Server - which runs with a UI not that much more advanced that what you might have found back with Windows 2000.

Lastly, I am glad to see smaller companies making a difference, like the one in the article. I'm sure we all are - but I don't think that they are making the difference you think they are. A 512 core server set-up won't help any user make a home video, listen to their music or play games. What it will help is large datacenters who can serve more requests simultaneously.

[Super74]

The iPhone was initially a hit because it was the first smart phone that was really designed for the consumer. Yes, you are correct, because consumers want the bells and whistles I mentioned earlier. Apple's marketing was a success in highlighting the eye candy that the Mac OS X has been known for. Even MS eventually added most of the visual effects associated with Apple's OS.

The consumer is mostly uninformed when it comes to their hardware needs and that is where the manufacturer should step in. As another HN article discussed, the confusion in PC model labeling is another example of this carelessness. Steve Jobs has always said the consumer does not know what they want, you have to tell them.

I should have said most consumers use Mac OS X or W7 and those machines need more than 512M of RAM.

In helping large data centers improve their power consumption, creating consumer products that inspire and ignite a passion or pushing larger competitors to continually have to innovate, smaller companies always make a difference.