And a data point of one user is a trend? I have seven different computers (x86_64, i686, ppc) and I don't have to install any drivers. What does that tell us?

And a data point of one user is a trend? I have seven different computers (x86_64, i686, ppc) and I don't have to install any drivers. What does that tell us? Just as much nothing. The fact is that Linux supports more hardware (as of about 2007) than any other OS. Feel free to Google it yourself. And when you say Linux, what distribution? I use Fedora 12 at the moment (the on-screen text is beautiful); there are over 300 active distributions. Keep in mind that a Windows or Mac is pre-installed, with the drivers for the specific hardware. If Linux were pre-installed, why would you expect otherwise? Have you ever seen an end-user try to install a retail copy of Windows (missing drivers)? There's a reason people pay Geek Squad $150 for a Windows re-install.