My laptop doesn't have a firewire connection port (only has two USB connections) it's a laptop from work, so i can't add it on either.

what limitations am I going to have in funtionality since I can't complete Step 12 of the EOS digital Software installation (Connect the Camera to your computer), or step 13 (set the camera power switch to ON to complete installation)???

there is also a warning to "never use the the bundled USB interface computer, as the sofwar cannot communicate properly with your computer and the installation can't be completed correctly"

appreciate some insight on the functionality i'm losing and what I still can do.

when i get back home, i can check to see if my PC has a firewire, but for now it looks like i'm out of luck

The USB connection is only meant for direct (camera to printer) printing. All other things must go thru the FW interface. At least that's what I understand
If your computer has a PC card connector (formerly PCMCIA), you can probably find cheap FireWire PC cards. Look here. I've no experience with these cards, though.
If you leave near an AppleStore you may want to visit them and configure your camera using one of the Macs.