I suspect that we'll see a firmware update at some point in the coming months - Outlaw's openly said they're working on some programming for a firmware update, so I can't imagine them simply doing nothing.

What sort of dongle are you thinking of? The 990's USB port is a type B, which is not compatible with the flash memory devices that use the type A connector. I'd figured on using the old laptop to do any necessary updating (not much to drag) since there's likely going to be some software to run to push the update over to the 990 (similar to the firmware update program available for the first batch of 1070's that fixed a remote control issue). I actually tucked a USB cable in place for that very purpose when installing the 990, since it gave me the ability to tinker with the USB port as an audio input and left me able to do a firmware update with only minimal rear panel reaching (just have to flip the SVC/OPR switch).