To add to this: I just installed Fedora 21 on a Thinkpad T430. No additional configuration was required - I dropped in my wireless password using the GUI, and I'm good to go. Plugged in an external monitor, and it "just worked." No network, trackpad, sound, or special key (sound/etc) drivers required - it "just worked."
Desktop Linux has come far from where it used to be just 5 years ago.
Desktop Linux has come far from where it used to be just 5 years ago.