[Bob Zelin] "aside from the fact that the MAcBookPro does not have native FW800 ports. "
Hey Bob, just a small correction: The 17" MacBook Pro's do have a FW 800 port, it was the 15" models that didn't one in the past. However, with yesterday's announcement, now all MacBook Pro's have a FW 800 port as well as many other new features.
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/
Tony!
P.S. I would go with a SATA external drive solution/raid as recommended above.