i just ordered a new hard drive and dvd drive (both
external) and like an idiot forgot i didnt have usb 2.0. Is
there anyway to upgrade to usb 2.0? like a new bus or
soemthing or maybe a firewire conversion plug? thanks
for any information you can give me.

I really think performance wise you'd be a lot better off to
return the devices and get external firewire devices. Or
devices that have both USB and firewire.

There are some firewire/USB adapters out there, but I've
never used one don't know how well they work.

If you have a desktop and use OSX than yes, you can just buy a USB 2.0 card and install it. But The guy up above is correct, Firewire is supperior to USB in every respect, you will be MUCH happier with firewire.

Sorry, but there are no USB/Firewire conversion dongles out there. The previous posters are correct, if you have a iMac G3, you CANNOT use USB 2.0 and take advantage of the higher speeds. You are stuck at the 1.1 speeds. That's where Firewire is MUCH superior. If possible, return everything you have WITHOUT a Firewire interface and opt for either dual interfaces (Firewire/USB 2.0) or if you really can afford it, want to plan for the future, and see a new Mac in your future, TRIPLE interfaces (Firewire 400/Firewire 800/USB 2.0).

IMHO, for most uses USB 2.0 is almost similar to FW 400, but can't ever compare to FW 800!