DJEMBEDRUMMER,
Not that it makes any difference here, but all Macs use Firewire to import video, not USB.
For transfer from mini-DVDs, you must use a tray-loading external DVD drive. You can pick one up at any Best Buy, Walmart, etc.
If you want to be able to import full-quality (uncompressed) DV footage, you'll need to purchase a camcorder that records to miniDV tape. Both hard drive camcorders and direct-to-DVD camcorders must compress the footage in order to store it (in the case of mini DVD, it is compressed using the MPEG-2 standard). This means that the footage loses quality before it ever leaves the camera.
If the end result is intended to be edited footage that is then burned to a standard DVD, it doesn't really make any difference. However, uncompressed DV footage as it is recorded to miniDV tape is significantly better. With miniDV, there is always the option of exporting the edited footage back to tape, and playing back to a TV/HDTV from the camcorder. This scenario delivers
much higher playback quality than DVD.
Scott