Re: [linux-audio-user] Advice needed: portable audio recorder?

Hey all, I need some advice... I want to buy a device for making high quality recordings "in the field" via a MIC of enviromental sounds and also small jam sessions in enclosed spaces and the like. It would also be nice (but not required) to have the capability to just plug a guitar or keyboard into it and record as well. Being linux friendly, preferably via a USB cable (both read and write) is highly desired! I am, however, on a limited budget! So basically I need the most bang for the buck ;) Top end of my budget might include the Edirol R-1, at around $400USD. This device uses compact flash cards for storage but I'm worried about propietary (windoze) software being required for file transfer. http://www.edirol.com/products/info/r1.html I've also been reading up on something called the Zoom PS04 which is aparantly a fairly popular digital 4-track recorder. Seems to have lots of bells and whistles, is half the price of the Edirol, but has no USB. This means buying a smartmedia card reader and hoping I find a way to convert the proprietary ".aud" files to waves or something with linux. http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/models/ps04/pdmodel.html Then there is MiniDisc and even some harddrive based music players with record features. Too many to even sort through! Is anyone using anything like this with linux that can help me out with a recommendation or two?