For instance, people have everyday technology in hands and they believe, if the ordinary Jane/John Doe has a multi core processor smart phone costing them 1000$ with manufacturer margin, NASA/ESA/JPL whatever guys with millions of dollars of funding has to use better and faster and fancier hardware. And by being ordinary John/Jane Doe, fancier does not mean "radiation hardened", "autonomous in hostile environment", "updatable on slow and relayed links". Because these are not their daily problem. They do not know about them. Also if Apple/Samsung/Motorola heck even Nokia guys could design and mass manufacture, and distribute any smart phone in a few months to be held on john's or jane's hands, NASA must be a fricking snail fast. How distant could Mars be? I can transport from continent to continent in a few hours?
Don't be harsh on them.
Some of the questions may seem dumb, but may be really good questions if they are worked on. For example, I believe radiation hardening is needed because while transportation to Mars there is massive amounts of radiation to be moved through. If the Curiosity would not be operated in the journey, and Mars radiation levels are not that massive. Could Curiosity use multiple (with spares of course) faster and cheaper ordinary processors with small energy footprint, if the transportation was inside a radiation hardened armor that would be gotten rid off on the Mars surface?