Be aware, that there are some small "adapters" that allow you to plug your CF onto an IDE cable; PC-CARD-to-CF adapters; and USB (and some IDE) based devices that support CF and other memory devices. The latter two are hot-swap capable; AFAIK, the first type is not.
I have both a PC-CARD-based unit (a SanDisk "CompactFlash(tm) PC Card Adapter") that I use in my laptop along with a USB-based built-in device (fits into a 3.5" drive slot of my desktop) that supports the gamut of memory devices. I've had the PC CARD unit much longer as it was supported in the 2.2 kernel.
I've heard direct reports of people that have fried bits of their chipsets by just yanking a CF out of the IDE cable "adapter" type of connector while the system was powered.
Bottom line, make sure you use know the operating characteristics of your CF connection technology.
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Lombard, David N