[drbawb]

Exactly. I'd sooner attribute kernel panics to faulty hardware or a corrupt install than a problem with Rails. (Sure, running a web-server might _exacerbate_ the problem, simply by exercising the hardware -- but it's unfair to attribute that to a problem with Rails/Ubuntu/"mystery.")

The fact that they could not achieve break-even/speed-gains on Rails 3 tells me the application was likely a less-than-stellar codebase to begin with.

I'd agree, if you can't get a Rails application running after investing $100,000 [minimum] in it, it's probably wise not to advertise that fact.