[Help] Swap Magic Questions

A friend of mine just got his PS2 (Slimline) to play imports and burned dvd's and he made it seem so much easier than I ever thought it would be. I have an old bulky PS2, and he suggested Swap Magic and a slide card.

Which version would be best? I know that certain Swap Magics / Equivalent come with different features...

He mentioned that he can use a USB drive, though his didn't come with one (I imagine to copy save data or load things onto the PS2, but I don't need the one that actually comes with the drive, but can still utilize it) I think its called code breakers or something. It sounds pretty handy as I know that transferring PS2 or PSX save data would be quite useful, especially if I start to play quite a few import games or try to make use of some of the emulators for the PS2.

I know that you have to use the slide tool and "swap" discs every time you want to play an import or a burned DVD, but can you still use the eject button to play normal games, or does the slide tool become the only means to open the drive? I also know that I have to basically take off the front of the drives cover to use the slide tool, is the only other option to replace the whole case with a flip top?

Also, does anyone have a place that they would recommend buying it from in the US? A lot of the sites that sell it don't seem to be quite as professional as others, I don't know, I just feel more skeptical buying from them, heh... then again if the price is right...

Thank you for any help. Its been quite difficult to sift through all the sites on google which seem to either try to sell the product too much or just offer the same information as every other site...

Jam it back in, in the dark.