They always loook nice.

But a storage device is

• always an investment You can get some 6 4GB Sandisk Extreme III cards for the price of one.
• always based on a real hard disk. That rotates, and is far more fragile than the flash kind of memory storage.
• larger and heavier than an extra set of CF's.

As for tripod "replacement": Since that thread that described using  a wire with a screw (that fits into the camera's tripod mounting ) I created and used one of these. It is not a tripod, but it's a huge step ahead.

As for the PS plugins: if you need to cut out things and you don't want to engage in hours of masking yourself, I personally believe that Vertus FluidMask is hard to beat. You can download a demo from VertusTech. This will work about a forthnight. As for buying a serial, you're best off at www.pluginz.com , despite that "z" a fully legal software reseller. (I bought there more than once, and you get your download link from the original creator). Price: some $210 .  Also for those of European residence.

There are no Borg. All resistance is fertile.