Regarding the latter half of this article, I see no reason why there is a need to distinguish information processing from evolution -- it just so happens that complex self-replicating structures can compete better when they respond to information, and so they are evolutionarily favored.

The real challenge is modeling evolution mathematically. I don't see why Darwinian evolution is often considered a property of life, as opposed to life being the prime example of the fundamental, logical algorithm of evolution. That is, any self-replicating, changing system will tend toward competitiveness in its environment.