Deamer has got an interesting bit of work there, and I think his research highlights the difficulties of the hydrothermal vent origin of life. I saw him give a talk in August, and he actually said that the point of this research was to have some fun. He noted that professors can't have fun till after they receive tenure, though...
I'm more inclined towards the shallow lake/prebiotic soup hypothesis, though if we could keep some of the hydrothermal system advantages (like sulfide mineralogy and enhanced catalytic reactivity), that would assist in a number of the difficulties of the origin of life.
™ Version 4.2