Do you mean like this? http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd

"implicit expectation that any OS should work on any machine" Really? I don't think that And OSX can run on many Windows machines http://www.hackintosh.com/#hackintosh_compatible

You are talking about 6 years ago.

Also: "What are you going to do if your distro "isn't certified"?" Buy something that is.