hardware in many cases yes, software less so.
There are very few cases where one piece of software is a good substitute for another and where they are they are usually trivial pieces of software.
Approximately 80% of the time, the software that works on one computer will work on another. In most of the remaining cases, the software will still work on the other computer, or at least have an acceptable substitute. For example, Microsoft Office works on a high 90's percent of all personal computers.
It is only if you have an exotic car^W computer that you'll have trouble finding parts^W software.
