<p>Right now, I keep all of my projects on my laptop. I'm thinking that I shouldn't do this, but instead use a version control system and check them in/out from an external hosting repository (Google Code, SourceForge, etc). I see several benefits here - first, I don't have to worry about losing my code if my computer crashes and burns or my external HDD crashes and burns; second, I can share my code with the world and perhaps even get more help when I need it.</p>

<p>Is this a good idea? If so, what are some other project hosts that I should investigate (other than Google Code and SourceForge)?</p>

Assembla
is
awesome.
EDIT: Yes, this is a good idea - I used to use a personal copy of
Vault
and found it was more than I cared to manage (in case my server went down or hard drive crashed - not only was it painful to worry about losing and backing up data, but the downtime). Of course, it doesn't hurt to have your own backup as well. Cover all your bases!