To Partition or...!

[Stephen Hywyn Jones]

I've been advised that "partitioning" is the only way to go, but given that
ibooks now install both operating systems in the same sector as default, I'm
hoping that their advice is based on old knowledge, and that the new ibooks
and operating systems are less prone to crashes.

Ultimately, this is what I want to avoid, - any crashes during a performance
(for which I'll be using the ibook) could be,.....well!

I'm also curious of something Apple Tech Support told me, -  that
partitioning tears the disk, and slows the read/write times substantially.
Would this be something to be concerned about?
I'll be using my ibook 800Mhz 14" along with a firewire audio interface as
an audio playback device, streaming 8 channels of 16bit audio for an hour
long live set. 
I've thought that a seperate, daisy-chained firewire drive, despite being
another device to hook up, may be a safer option. Unless that puts a strain
on the only firewire buss the ibook has.

I'm a little in the dark here so any help would be much appreciated!

Cheers,
Steve

BTW, nice to be here!!! (This is my first involvment on the liist)