But how is adding Firewire back to the MacBook going to help with the
"USB not mounting issue" you mention above when 6 out of 7 of the most recent consumer camcorders reviewed (and all of the most popular ones) on camcorderinfo.com don't even have Firewire?
Because then you can choose from wide range of cams that use FW. If for some reason I would want to shoot for fun I would probably go with some small HDV with XLR's so at least I could use decent mic.