Z3100 questions, starting with APS

I work IT in a smallish print shop where we're looking to get more involved with giclee and photography. Currently we have an Epson 9600 Pro, and are looking at the Z3100 and iPF8000/9000 as a replacement.

To start out I'd like to know more about the build in spectrophotometer works. I've read that by default the profile is stored on the printer's hard drive, but you have the option of copying it to the workstation so you can use a RIP to manage media. Is this possible with the standard profiler, or only with APS? Can someone give me a breakdown of what the advantages of APS are?

Is the spectrophotometer recognized in Windows as a normal device, so RIPS and other 3rd party profiling software is able to use the device? We're picking up an i1 w/ software and Wasatch for ripping. I don't think Wasatch can create profiles itself, so it would be nice if I could use the i1 software to do so. I'm saying this on the assumption that APS is going to give more accurate profiles. We may also consider another RIP like Onyx for the sake of automation, but I really like the looks of Wasatch and their focus.

I'm sure I'll have more later, before we make a move. Thanks for all the expertise you folks have, reading the archives has already answered a lot of questions.