Originally Posted by shakeNbake
Good thread, I'm also considering the two Konas for my next bike, just not in the near future.
I can't comment much for the Gary Fisher, except that I don't like hybrids.
For the Konas, the Smoke has 26" wheels, you can get more(also cheaper) selection of off-road tires, while the Dew looks like it's more intended for road/packed trails. Also note that both are rigids, so they might not be that comfortable off road.
The Konas can't take disc brakes, but I really don't think you need disc brakes anyways
Take a look at the Fisher Wahoo or any mountain bike in that price range. For a do all bike, mountain bikes are better than hybrids. You can get slicks or semislicks for road use but you also have a bike that you can go out and play on. It may not be as fast on the road as a hybrid (but hybrids aren't that fast) but it is far more capable in other situations. Granted you aren't going to bet a great bike at this price (you'd need to move up a couple of hundred dollars to start seeing greatness) but the bike will be serviceable and fun.
As for discs, at the $500 level, you aren't going to get very good ones at that level so I'd stick with V-brakes. If the bike comes with them, use them otherwise just go with regular v-brakes.