Originally Posted by ShuttleBug
1) How important is it to choose a system with IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface? What exactly is it and how does it work?
I wouldn't say "IMPORTANT", but it is convenient to have, and you'll find that most machines have it nowadays.
2) Is it absolutely necessary to have a digital media reader? 4-in-1 or 6-in-1? What do laptops w/o readers use?
Not absolutely necessary, but very convenient if you use a PDA or digital camera. Most laptops with a reader can at least read Compact Flash, SD, Memory Stick and one or more other formats. If it doesn't come with a reader built-in you can purchase one for around $20, but it is yet another part to carry.
3) What would be the smallest number of 2.0 USB ports
reasonable? Since I know that I will need at least one for (a) parallel port toUSB printer connection) and another for occasional use with (b) external 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive, should I assume that a system with a total of 3 ports would be adequate?
3 or more is pretty normal nowadays, sadly most sub or ultra notebooks (the really small ones) don't come with more than one or two.
4) I note that on some laptops video memory is shared DDR (128 MB or 64 MB). Is this good?
Not good, not bad. It slows things down a little and you lose a little of your main memory for the video card, but unless you plan to play high demand video games you will be just fine.
5) I also see that the network card in most systems in my price range (+/- $1K) is integrated 10/100. Should I be able to get along with this? It appears that systems with 10/100/1000 are in laptops with faster processors and llarger hard drives; this kicks prices out of my price range.
Gigabit lan is pretty rare and usually reserved for corporate use between servers, it is only slowly making its way into the household. You won't be needing it.