> Hardware performance is more important than software performance if the algorithm is likely to be implemented in hardware
I don't think that's necessarily a given at all, but I grant that's mostly a matter of opinion I guess.
> Given that the purpose of the competition was to replace SHA2 if/when it is weakened
I think the dirty secret hiding there is that I see very few actual expectations SHA2 will ever be broken. Assuming it can be and picking a different secure construction, of course, is a good idea. But even the designers of BLAKE have admitted such and so did NIST.
I don't think that's necessarily a given at all, but I grant that's mostly a matter of opinion I guess.
> Given that the purpose of the competition was to replace SHA2 if/when it is weakened
I think the dirty secret hiding there is that I see very few actual expectations SHA2 will ever be broken. Assuming it can be and picking a different secure construction, of course, is a good idea. But even the designers of BLAKE have admitted such and so did NIST.