We're sort of out on one end of the bell-curve, really. For Joe Blow, average computer user, email and Word and YouTube works on their decade old hardware. Unless you're a gamer, there's not a lot of call to have the latest and greatest - and you can still run a lot of stuff on lower settings on old hardware. Long-lived console generations and the paucity of PC-first development have kept the minimum specs on even AAA titles pretty low.
For instance, my parents are happy as clams using a G4 Macbook and a second-hand HP Pavilion laptop
For instance, my parents are happy as clams using a G4 Macbook and a second-hand HP Pavilion laptop