That's what I'm doing now, as a matter of fact. After Peter pointed out the (should have been) obvious solution of simply using the laptop as an X terminal. Enable xdmcp on the desktop upstairs, and I don't need to install anything on the laptop except an X server. I could even take off the X client stuff if I wanted to prove a point.

The only thing I still need to get working is gcc. The fan on the laptop was apparently controlled via Windows. I left it on for a couple of hours while I was woking on something else and when I came back the bottom was HOT. I found a utility someone wrote for Toshiba laptops specifically to turn on the fan under Linux. That's what I need to build.