"I really think everyone/thing Ubuntu related should be focusing on the fact that the desktop doesn't cut it"

So, the problem with this is that what you think is important might not be what other Ubuntu users think is important.

Also, I've installed Ubuntu 12.04 on my MacBook Pro, and it _just worked_ (TM) out of the box.

"If it doesn't do its job, who cares that it can unzip twice as fast."

Unless of course you're day to day work involves unzipping large amounts of data, in which case it ends up being important.