Fast card readers
Rob-Art over at barefeats.com has a test of read and write speeds for CompactFlash cards.
The main point I see is that if you’re using a laptop with an ExpressCard/34 slot, downloading the card is much faster using an ExpressCard reader than a Firewire 800 reader, assuming you have a fast CF card.
On machines without an ExpressCard slot, then Firewire 800 is your best bet, see my recommendation for a Firewire 800 card reader. I also like a FW800 reader because I can use it on any of my computers. When I travel, I just borrow the reader from my Mac Pro, along with a 6" FW800 cable— simple and plenty fast.