I usually use the USB cable because I leave it connected to the computer and just plug the camera in. Taking the card out involves more effort and time as I have to open a door on the PC to insert it. Transfer speed wise doesn't really concern me as I usually walk away and do something else if there are heaps of files to transfer.
If I have only one days shooting on the card (which is usually the case) I use a little program called 'transferrer' that copies the files to a new folder created for todays date under a folder I've specified (eg 2008). What I would like is a program that copies the files to folders created based on the dates the files were taken, which is what our Ricoh digicam does. If I've got multiple days I manually copy the folders to where I want them and rename since the Pentax naming system is unsortable! If anyone has a program that does this in one step, please enlighten me!
Cheers, Nige