Using external hard-drives and blu-ray burners

Ok, as I prepare to spec out new systems, I still have a few questions.
 
For external media, what are the best options to look for?  I would obviously prefer to be able to copy data from a PC to this media as quickly as possible, I've done the "start the copy and do something else for three hours" bit before and it gets annoying really soon.  Optimally, I'd prefer to have one external hard-drive unit (where I can easily swap out the hard-drive) and one external blu-ray burner that I can take from PC to PC, but transferring data at the best possible speeds.
 
Since I'm looking at replacing up to three PC's over the next few months (and, possibly, others for people that work with me), I'd like to get the best options standardized over all of them.  I've heard about new cases that come with docking bays and I know you can get 5 1/4" docking bays that you put into a normal slot on the PC, but I'm wondering if they would transfer data the fastest and be able to handle both hard-drives as well as blu-ray burners.
 
I currently have external hard-drives and an external DVD/CD burner that I can take from PC to PC connecting to each using either USB 2 or Firewire.  Needless to say, all of these are quite old by now (at least six years old each) and I'm sure there are even better ways today.
 
Hmm...  Now that I think more about it (the other benefit for having to type out these questions), would I be better served just getting a blu-ray burner on all new PC's (since they obviously also act as DVD/CD burners and readers as well)?  If so, then we're only talking about hard-drives I guess!
 

Cool, thanks Jim!

Been doing a bit of searching tonight. I like the hard drive you mentioned (the 1TB Samsung F3 HD), but are there any docking stations you would recommend (and/or any to avoid)? And, while I'm being so presumptious to ask for opinions, should I get an enclosure without a fan and a 5,400 rpm drive (how much performance would I lose?), or a 7,200 rpm drive with a fan? Or? (Can you tell I've been reading reviews? Many that contradict themselves...)

 
Here's the docking station I've been using:
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1346&ID=1895
 
The only time you'd need a unit with a fan is when going with an external enclosure (assembling a custom external HD).
When using a docking station, roughly 3/4 of the HD is left out in open air.  No need for a fan...
I like a docking station better for shuffling large amounts of data... as it's much easier to change HDs. 
 
I use the Samsung HD I mentioned above.
Fast, reliable, inexpensive...
5400RPM HDs will be slower.  That may or may not matter to you...