Could be completely wrong, but speeding up browsing has more to do with how long it takes for the flash shit to load than the effect on system memory.
No I'm saying stop running intrusive ads and I'll stop blocking them. I have zero issue with simple banner ads so long as they are aren't nefarious. You can charge, if the content is solid enough. The problem is most content isn't solid or unique.
People have different threshold levels for what constitutes as intrusive. As an example, I would guess a substantial amount of neogaf users use adblock on neogaf even though its forbidden on the terms of service and could result in a ban. They dont care so long as they can't be caught and they dont have to stare at ads. How many really take the time to expressly allow ads on here, I would guess very little seeing as it brings them no direct benefit and is enabled by default if you have installed such a program.
People will pay for a good service if they think the content is worthwhile.Like Netflix in Australia. There are tens of thousands of Netflix subscribers - people who prefer to pay than to torrent.
And yet more people torrent then subscribe to services like netflix. The fact is that for every person that feels like there should be a paywall to content, there is another that feels like it should be offered up for free with no monetary gain to the content holder. Ad based monetization is aimed at people who dont want to pay but want a legal way to access content. If you can justify not running ads and watching a movie for free then you probably have no problem justifying illegally watching movies in the first place, so you may as well go and do that. I just find it funny that some people find no problem watching terminator on hulu without ads running, but find it morally wrong to download terminator on a torrenting website.