I'm considering getting a laptop rig with a firewire interface (such
as M-audio 1814) and a firewire hard drive (perhaps La Cie, with a
firewire 800 pcmcia card).

Is anybody else using such a configuration? My net searching seems to
say that with the interface at firewire 400 speeds (1394a), the hard
drive will also be limited to firewire 400 (the bus works at the speed
of the slowest connected device). Would multi-track recording be
practical at those speeds? Would the interface (mostly going "in")
and the hard drive (mostly going "out") stay out of each other's way,
or would they contend?

Any feedback appreciated!

email to marc at the domain name allearsaudio.com