Dell, HP, and Lenovo who sell to the average user disagree..
Sure they offer their Linux machines to the average user, but I'd bet money that few average users are actually the ones buying those machines.
I know there's quite a debate in the Linux community over whether they should even TRY to go after Ma & Pa User, and that question is valid. If the Linux people want to say, "Hey, this O/S just isn't intended for you. You'll do better with Windows or a Mac", that would be perfectly respectable. But if they are going to try to appeal to the masses, then there are some usability and configurability standards which have been set by Windows that it will be expected to meet.
A LOT of progress is evident in the latest distros. That's outstanding, and I believe they'll eventually get there. If more hardware vendors get a clue, like AMD/ATi just did, and open up their driver source, then things will only get better. (What business are you hardware vendors in, anyway? Aren't you trying to sell more hardware? Since your drivers are free anyway, why not open the source? It can only sell more hardware!)