The paper says they are using a computer from Gumstix.
The "minicomputer" confusion is from the paper calling them "miniature on-board computers".

I have an AMD Phenom 9600, which is 4 cores at 2.3GHz. It still gets by decent enough for anything except games that have come out in the last 2 years. Many of newer games max out my CPU and leave me with an unplayable experience. I have a friend with the same GTS 450 as me, who gets by fine with an mid-tier Intel machine purchased last year.

Ubuntu reached its success by having a good selection of default apps and a relatively smooth user experience.
How does launching a smartphone OS with the exact same philosophy constitute "being corrupted by its own success."?

Ubuntu for phones does come with a predefined interface, which many people may like. If they give you access to a real package manager (they've said it will not initially ship with a phone Software Center) what would be stopping you from changing your user experience?

FTFY

16:9 seems to be cheaper to mass produce than 16:10. The prices are currently lower and the quantities are higher on Newegg at least.
If anything, pushing for 2560x1440 would be more attainable.

To be fair you are trying to run a newer version of GIMP than your distro supports. You don't really have the right to complain that unsupported software doesn't work correctly. That being said, I agree that input should not be handled by GNOME, or in the very least shouldn't be "tightly integrated" to the point where it breaks compatibility between versions.

Chakra is no longer based on Arch Linux and is focused on keeping a pure Qt/KDE workspace. They've implemented things like bundles so you can install GTK apps without "contaminating" the system.
This project is more trying to be what Sabayon is for Gentoo. They're keeping compatibility and streamlining the install experience.

i don't get it. Maybe these jokes are getting too complex?