For its purpose, I thought that this was well written article. However, I'd have to agree with some other : 1. Testing for an "average user experience" on a custom 64 bit box is unrealistic.
I would think the average user has an older, off the shelf Dell or Gateway PC and is not running 64 bit.
2. The requirements do not hold true for Win XP, which makes it unfair to hold Ubuntu to them.
I have been using GNU/Linux since 2000 and I am not a super technical person (I just like to read tech news). Sure, I've had problems where I needed to search for a solution, ask a friendly nerd for help, or even read the manual, but those have been few. No matter what OS you use, you will need tech support at some time. How much time do Windows users spend calling tech support?
WARNING - Personal Narrative Follows:
A few months ago, my mother managed to trash her Win XP installation by messing with some security settings and forgetting the admin password. She called me for help. I explained to her that I didn't know anything about it, but she insisted. I got a password cracker and tried to get her in, but to no avail. So, we went for a fresh install of Win XP. I read everything beforehand and it said that there would be no problem saving her documents and personal files. We install, choose the option to migrate the files. I'll skip the deatils of all the problems encountered, but 6 hours later, we boot into the new Win XP, and her files were gone. Several years worth of data - gone. I consoled her, gave her an Ubuntu Live CD and told her if she wanted more help from me, she needed a better OS. A week later, my mother, the most computer phobic woman in the world, installed in herself. It migrated her files for her without a problem. It worked out of the box. the only thing she needed help with was installing the drivers for her wireless card, which she would have needed on any OS.
So, the moral of the story is - if my mother can install Ubuntu, anyone can.