Firewire now legacy?

Probably not. Firewire never really took off like Apple intended it to.

 

It's not Thunderbolt that will relegate firewire to "legacy" status, it's the improvements in -USB-, such as USB3, which should be on the new Macs with the Ivy Bridge chipset.

Doesn't USB 3 provide improved handling of data "over the bus", as well as updated speeds?

 

I can't see firewire existing to much longer. It would not be a shocker if the firewire port got axed on the new MBP's.

The only external drives I buy now a days are USB3. I don't even bother with firewire anymore as I'm pretty confident the new MBP will have USB3 then firewire.