Precision M4700 Questions

On Thursday 24 January I ordered, and paid for, a "top of the line" highly customized 64bit Precision M4700 with Windows7 Professional sp1 with XP Mode.  Dell has sent me a "Dell Saved Cart" email and a Purchase Order Confirmation email,  I am looking forward to receiving this laptop, which is tentatively scheduled to arrive on 08 February.

I wasn't knowledgeable enough (although I was not completely ignorant, because I had browsed FIVE M4700 manuals) to select all the options myself, so I did that by phone with a Dell sales rep.

But after studying the "Dell Saved Cart" list of selections, I have some questions about the following choices.

0) 319-1364  I ordered what I believe is the most advanced Processor available for an M4700:  a "3rd Gen Intel Core, i7-3940XM Proc(Extreme 3.0GHz, 8N Cache, Upgradable to Intel vPro technology)."  The sales rep said that I could upgrade the processor later.  But what would the "Intel vPro technology" do?

1) 331-7898  No USH, No Fingerprint Reader, and No Contactless SmartCard Reader.

1-a) I remember not selecting USH, but now I can't remember what USH means in this context, and a Google search didn't help.  I would appreciate anyone giving me a definition, or a location that defines it.

1-b) My understanding is that although I will not have a Contactless SmartCard Reader, I will have a regular contact SmartCard Reader.  Correct?

2) Unlike the Latitude E6530 that I had been considering, the Precision M4700 apparently does not have an RJ-11 Modem Connector, and my search of all five M4700 manuals for "Fax" (without the quotes) I got zero hits.  I don't do a lot of faxing, but I do some, so I need fax capability.  I brought this up with the sales Rep by email, and he responded with a phone call, but said that "Fax modems are old fashioned and now people fax by Ethernet."  I wondered what that meant, and he tried to explain it, but he was in a hurry and he didn't make any sense other than to say that to fax by Ethernet I should get a Dongle that connects to a USB port.

2-a) I would appreciate knowing whether the M4700 really can send and receive faxes, and if it can, how is it done?  To Fax, does the M4700 need special internal hardware, not included in the standard M4700 interior hardware?

2-b) What model of Dongle should I get, and where should I get it?  Does the Dongle have an RJ-11 port that connects an ordinary telephone wire cable to a telephone port in the wall?  (My office already has such a port in the wall, and my Dell C840 on which I am writing this has an RJ-11 port connects to the wall phone port.)

3) 342-4760  750GB 2.5" 7200 Hard Drive.

3-1) I assume that such a drive would include some sort of Shock Guard dropping protection.  Correct?

3-2) Another option would have been a Solid State Drive (SSD), but that's a newer technology and I don't trust it (due to a Wikipedia article).  The sales rep confirmed that I could have a Hybrid, where the SSD acts as a Cache for the main Hard Drive.  If so, where would the SSD go --- internal, or external?  And how large could its capacity be?

Thanks for any comments, suggestions, help, or answers!

R.N. (Roger) Folsom