Ah..., I see how you carefully didn't come out & call me delusional--thanks!
I think what you're saying is that a USB 2 connection will definitely be slower, but not nearly as slow as I might think for backups, over a FW800 or eSATA based drive and if I really *really* like the smaller form factor, perhaps I should just get the late 2008 MB. (Esp given I'm not a gamer.)
Thanks--and if anyone else begs to differ--let's hear it! :-)