Core components such as disk controllers, USB controllers, motherboard chipsets, graphics cards, sound cards, integrated motherboard components, hard drives, and other major system components are covered. When you start talking about “ease of use” or what I call “trim” components such as specialty keyboards, multimedia card readers, and PCMCIA cards, you’re on your own. The problem is that those components are usually designed and developed around a kernel such as Windows, and they’re not designed for critical system functionality. They’re “nice to haves.”
Linux works for me with every major motherboard manufacturer (ASUS, Gigabit, ASRock, EVGA, MSI, etc.) and every OEM (HP, Dell, IBM). I’ve had little issue finding drivers for graphics cards made since 2004. If it’s “plug and play” certified, it works in Linux. Custom hardware aside, Linux is a rock solid OS.
I ordered a usb mouse and I never even wondered if it works with Linux. It did, as soon as it was plugged in
That’s why its not mainstream consumer ready.