The increasing popularity of high speed, hot swappable, data transfer protocols such as Firewire and USB 2.0 is evident by the number of devices available for use in either format... One product on the market that affords users the flexibility to use either an optical drive or a hard drive in one convenient device is the CoolMax 5.25" USB 2.0 External Enclosure available from CrazyPC. For $42.95 you are provide a housing and all the accessories required to convert any standard 3.5" IDE hard drive or 5.25" optical drive into a portable device compatible with either the USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 bus.
