Let me translate the following page: Node Profile allows you to designate one or more content types as "Node Profiles", which enables the fields to be displayed as editable DURING REGISTRATION. The jury's still out on whether or not it can display the info in your user profile after the fact (though I believe it can).

What this means for StartPad -- Right now a new users signs up but only edits some special "profile" fields which cannot be accessed by the rest of the site (and so cannot be integrated into special views, etc.). We also have a content type (Member directory) which we want members to fill out, but since it is a regular content type it can make use of taxonomy terms, it is accessible by Views, etc. There is a disconnect between filling out the initial registration form and then filling out a member directory entry, making it that much harder to get people to sign up.
--NOW, I can just set that content type as the "Node Profile" and the fields become part of the registration process! Skip the disconnect, retain all of the usefulness of using a regular content type as a member profile. (The only way it would be better is if I could just REPLACE the built-in profile with a content type of my choice.)