retrolefty:
Also many (myself included) now enjoy the ability to operate without a bootloader at all using the upload sketch using programmer option the IDE version 1.0.x now grants. I find myself using it more and more for various reasons. So if one has the means to reburn a bootloader in the first case, then they also have the ability to upload sketches without even needing a bootloader.
You also could do this pre 1.x
I do it with 0022. In the older IDEs you had to define new board types for each programmer.
But even though the "Upload Using Programmer" option in 1.0.x doesn't require a new
board type you still may need one because the IDE doesn't give you back the bootloader space
when you use ISP (It doesn't know you are using ISP vs a serial interface with a bootloader).
So while you can use ISP with the new option without having to define a new board type,
you don't get all the benefits of using ISP like being able to use the full flash space
unless you create your own board type. For most people this probably isn't an issue given
the new smaller size of the bootloader.
--- bill