Mel - to answer your question: many hi-level tech folks I know do, in fact, use their notebook at their "desktop" computer. In other words, it is their only computer. They use it portably while on the go, and while at home, they dock it . . . that is, they plug any peripherals they want or need into it - usually a monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, and maybe a few others.

The heat issue is huge in terms of notebooks. It is one of the reasons that component failure is so much higher than with desktops. Anyone thinking of using a notebook as their only computer needs to think about this problem. I have not had a desktop part go bad in the past 4 years or so. I have had to ship every notebook I have had during that time off to service repair centers, some went multiple occasions. That covers around 5, including all of them in the household and office.

Here is something else to consider: tablet PC's. I am completely sold on them and don't imagine I would ever get another plain notebook again. I absolutely love using just a pen to navigate, and getting rid of the mouse. And of course, being able to use handwriting is nothing short of revolutionary in terms of use for me. It certainly is not for everyone - you pay a premium and the specs are usually not the best in terms of performance. And screen size is normally "small."

Dual-boot systems: love em, best way to go if you have some technical know-how or are willing to invest some learning. I have a mixture: one has XP and Linux, another has XP and Vista, and so on. Linux is so lean and mean. Vista is so dumb and crippled, on purpose so it stays more secure, but is so much better than XP for media. Gotta say something about memory usage . . . it is just like the best tech guys have been writing - it appears to be a hog but in actuality uses memory far, far better than any previous version of Windows. But of course anyone who is remotely a techie will need to dual boot for now.

rafi