I don't think your average user really knows anything about the OSes. For most people, the only OS they know, is the one that came pre-installed by the computer manufacturer.

Instead of good branding/marketing, Linux needs a good sales team to pitch to manufacturers. Linux will continue losing, until the manufacturers add to their custom builds: Linux (-$100) or Microsoft Windows(+$100)

All Google has to do is strip down Linux, provide excellent driver support, and make things look pretty. They've got the infrastructure in place with Gears, they control the browsing environment. Users don't need to know anything about Linux. All they need to know is that it's made by Google and works.

But in order to make the manufacturers interested, they would have to be convinced that the buyers would be satisfied with Linux. Considering the user experience of current Linux desktops, I'm not sure we will se that happen in the near future.