Keeping a GB or two of RPMs on disk to enable this to happen is, I believe, a very small price to pay -- especially if the user can choose if they want to or not. I disagree that Windows does not require you to keep your OS distribution on disk. I believe most machines sold with XP come with complete re-install kits, often kept in a hidden partition.
Well that's really an interesting idea. If we're going to keep a copy of the rpms around, we might as well get the most milage we can out of them.
I don't really know if it would help me in my real use scenarios. When I've had a Linux install trashed it's either been a blown disk or hacked machine (who knows what they'll do to the reinstall kit.)
