It is unfortunate that challenges like these are so complicated and that only a few people with specialized hardware and knowledge can take part in this. We need challenges like this that can give open participation to a lot more people, without specialized knowledge to garner a lot more publicity for Bitcoin.
Earlier on the puzzle was accessible to everyone with a cheap computer, if it was any easier a single person could have quickly snagged the whole prize. Making each key progressively more difficult to find ensures the challenge will remain open to all for a very long time.