Tom Adelstein recently wrote an article on How to Build a Low Cost Linux Desktop Computer, and he sent me the the link at the tail end of my own adventures in installation of Mandrake 10 on a new system.

Few articles for people using the Linux kernel really go into depth on how a system is actually built, which is something I really didn't think about until yesterday. Most people who use computers these days don't know the hardware well enough, and because of the inconsistent support from hardware manufacturers it compounds the problems of Windows users moving to GNU/Linux.

Maybe that's a gap that needs to be filled. Microsoft has made a lot of money and created a very large market by disassociating the hardware from it's software - maybe the path of GNU/Linux is a bit different. Or maybe not. But the issues related to hardware must be addressed.