The upload speed of Firewire [aka iLink, IEE1394 etc] is a big plus.

Its a real pity that the Rio HSX 109 doesn't have support for both Firewire *AND* USB2.0.

USB 2.0 has speeds similar to Firewire and is backwards compatible to USB 1.0.

Given the HSX109 is a premium piece of kit it would have thought it made sense to the designers to future proof the
HSX 109 design as 10MB/s is pretty slow these days.
All they did was put a couple of USB 1.0 ports on it to allow third party devices such as USB to 10Mb/sec Ethernet and maybe in the future USB to Firewire adaptors - when the drivers are written for the HSX109 linux version etc etc.

Heck 10MB/s in a wired network has been pretty passe for about 4 years now.

If the HSX 109 had better connectivity it could have become the 'central' mp3 respository device for ipod and Rio systems.

Thats my 2 cents. I'm keeping my eyes on the ipod as future gadget to beat the current crop of portables with flash ram.