I saw this sale a few days ago and wondered how it might function as an external drive, since I have a laptop. Although I have eSATA, my laptop does not play well with it for some reason, as I recently found w/my Kontakt libraries, having to switch my drive from eSATA to USB 2. I don't have firewire, either, and would have to use it as a USB 2. I'm not sure if that would create a performance issue or not. Yet I do remember reading somewhere that they recommend using either eSATA or firewire connectivity for their drive and software.