[politekc]

One thing that's pretty important to remember here is that it's incredibly easy to boot from any of the peripheral busses on modern computers, especially OS X.

If home or professional replacement of a HDD was necessary but unavailable, Thunderbolt could be a viable alternative (and USB 3.0 an inexpensive one). 10gbps would definitely cover your fastest SSD on SATA 6.0gbps and there wouldn't be a need for heat guns, etc. Not exactly SATA but damn close.