"Things to know" about these gizmos:

(1) you have to tell the OS before unplugging a mass storage device (flashcard or harddrive).

(2) USB2 and Firewire400 are approximately equal in speed, and either of them will likely seem FASTER than the drive in most laptops -- performance is generally quite good, but not always as good as a desktop machine's built-in drive can be.

(3) Some enclosures have external power supply bricks. Avoid those.

(4) Some enclosures have built-in switching supplies, and just use a standard 3-prong supply cable. Go for this kind.

(5) My favourite here is a CAD$34 USB2 generic enclosure, with built-in fan and power supply. Cheap, light, snaps together, and I just love it.

(6) My other one here is a combo USB2/FW400 unit, with external brick. Equally good performance, but a pain to move around due to the brick. It was also pricier than buying two of the cheaper units. Live and learn.

(7) All of these generally work well under Linux.

(8) Linux firewire support sucks eggs. USB2 is far more reliable. Not to say firewire doesn't work at all -- just more the case that on some systems it works, and on others it doesn't.

Cheers