> SSH Keys are probably the biggest barrier to people being able to use and contribute with GitHub
The barrier to entry of writing software doesn't need to be zero. If a person is going to write code, they should also learn some of the basic tools of the trade.
And I'd claim that an SSH key isn't one of them. There is only one platform (UNIX-based web applications with application servers) that actually benefits from them, and plenty that don't (Android, iOS, Mac desktop, Win32, this week's .NET desktop stuff, ASP-of-the-week, Windows Phone 7).
As a company that makes money from users, it's to GitHub's benefit to make it easy to use their stuff.
I use SSH keys to log into Linux and OS X boxes all the time, servers and otherwise. And boy have I wished there was an easy SSH server to run on Windows.
You have to log into remote boxes these days and SSH keys are the best way to do that.
(Until 1password gets iTerm2 integration anyway, but the 1password guys don't seem receptive to that idea)
The barrier to entry of writing software doesn't need to be zero. If a person is going to write code, they should also learn some of the basic tools of the trade.