Yeah, can't work with crap sticking in my usb drives, I have a tendency to tilt the notebook and the drives/wires brunt all the weight of the computer on em. Portability is huge for me, I'm constantly moving around the house, and browsing while I'm on the can too
I do run an external at my desk already, but barely use it. How much of your 40 did you fill up(with applications)?