I have a laptop sitting around while I take my windows8 tablet/netbook hybrid everywhere I go. now, I would like to use that laptop from the tablet with a remote desktop solution, and that's no big problem, but I would also like to install a dual-booting system on the laptop and be able to turn on, restart and shut off the laptop from the tablet.

do you know a method that would make what I want possible at all?
which distro of lunix would be best fit for this (I was looking at slackware)?

(directions to further reading is welcome).

EDIT: the laptop has a windows7 home edition so no RD server from microsoft

actually you can install VNC server on your windows-linux-whatever and therefore you can shut that system down (and reboot the default one). Accessing the boot menu is not so simple.

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so, with VNC server the host will return on-line after the boot is complete,
nice and neat the way something like this should be..

does this mean there is way to remotely access the boot menu?

I guess my only alternative is to edit the boot default before restart.
I'm not even sure if I can edit LILO(slack) from windows..