"You're looking at new systems, or installing Linux on a box that used to run a different OS, and you're wondering if all the components--video, modem, Ethernet, sound--will work on Linux. The vendors can't, or won't, tell you if their products will work on Linux. You need to know what the chipsets are, to find out if there are Linux drivers.
"Alternatively, you want to know what components are installed inside a computer, and you don't feel like hauling the thing out, popping the case open, and tearing it apart..."
