yes to both...
i realize Kontakt is a great sampler (shhh, it's why i'm selling my Emu!!)
but yes, for hardcore hardware people, this sampler is a great one. long recognized in the drum and bass community for a great "bass machine" and great filters.
the ONLY thing i'm sketched on with Kontakt is playing it live. with my Emu, it was no worries. i guess there are plenty of people using laptops running Windows/Mac live, but i have seen a few occasions of some true embarrasment when the computer crashes mid-set!!
(one was really funny, this cheesy duo of guys, one was singing...hah, we thought he was till the computer died and you could see he was really lip syncing!)