Under Linux, driver support can be "built-in" - i.e. modules (drivers) "compiled into the kernel" or
dynamically loaded via modules. (look at the file /etc/conf.modules for examples of some modules that
are most likely loaded dynamically. also try the command lsmod to see what kernel modules are loaded.
The commands insmod and rmmod can be used to load and unload modules. This is one thing that lets you
have a base kernel that is smaller and then you load modules for what you need. There are a few kinds of
modules that must be compiled in, but most things can be loaded dynamically. There are possibly some
slight performance implications for one method versus the other, but I rather doubt you would care.

As mentioned by others, the "optimized kernel" means that every unnecessary module is removed from the
kernel, perhaps the kernel is optimized for the version of CPU in the laptop (or perhaps not, if you cannot
assume what CPU is there - 386, 486, 586, or 686 or ?). Supposedly with binaries compiled for a particular
CPU, there would be better performance than using the default "one-size-fits-all" 386 version. I'm not sure joe
user would notice much. In the case of some distributions, all the binaries have been recompiled to support a
given CPU, not just the kernel. Of course, that works fine if you have a Pentium II and you have a version
compiled for 686 support, not just 386. But, if you might be installing it on an older laptop, it might not run at
all if you didn't have a 686. (Depends on what you mean by "portable"). Now, RedHat distributes their version
with 386 support by default because it's the "lowest common denominator" - it will run on any processor. You
can always customize your own by running menuconfig or some other kernel configuration utiltity. Some
distributions (e.g. Mandrake) make their claim to fame by having all binaries, not just the kernel, by default
compiled to support a 586 or 686. RedHat is trying to be a more generally applicable product. Others are
trying to specialize. The nice thing about the Linux world - there isn't just ONE DISTRO! That way no one
can become the new M$!!!! Pick and choose your own. There isn't one distro that's the best for every one.
That's the way it should be!

Beside, (IMHO), with regards to kernel optimizations: who cares? Some boxes might be pushed so much that
they need all the advantage they can get. However, most of us now have MORE THAN ENOUGH CPU
horsepower on our desktop for most uses and that kernel optimizations may be therefore less important.

More important for laptops, perhaps, to keep to total size of the complete installation down (laptops tend to have
smaller drives than desktop boxes), not just the size of the kernel, extra modules and packages aren't even included
on the drive. You can do this with a "custom installation" or you can just go on a search and destroy mission Now, the
advantage of a smaller kernel is that it can run with less memory without swapping. Some laptops tend to have
less memory than a lot of desktops, I suppose. However, in general, this is not really as big a deal, since linux
makes so much more efficient use of memory than bloatware such as Doze. For smaller disk drives, often found
on a laptop, total system software size might matter.

(Heh, there's a version of linux (Debian-based) called LRP (Linux Router Project) that fits on a floppy. All that it does is provide
a particular kind of network routing (IP masquerade/NAT), but that's cool, because an old 486 with LRP
can take the place of a networking box that costs several hundred dollars!

Remember that Linux distributions as we know them are: the Linux kernel (Linus' creation) plus the
GNU system utilities (and in some cases a few additional utilities from the distro writer (e.g.
RedHat has "rpm" package installer). Thus, it is possible to have a small kernel and then only the utilities that
you need if you really want to spend the time to get things pared down. I guess this is what they've done
for you, too, in case you don't want to take the time to simply do your own "custom install" and specify
which packages you want to install.