Herb (may I call you Herb?), it's not just a matter of showing off to my friends and marveling at blinking lights. It's that I am trying to solve two problems with one tool - if possible. I have felt the need for a mixing board for a while, then I got involved in this home recording thing, and I have found a mixing board that is an audio interface. I thought that would be a good idea, but you really hate mixing boards, dontcha. smile

OK, the mixing board is on the back burner now. I am researching audio interfaces and I have a new question.

I found two that seemed interesting to me:

1) UMIX1008

http://www.icon-global.com/Audio+Interface_Recording_UMIX1008+Satellite.htm

http://www.streetwisesales.com/product/umix-1008-satellite-usb-audio-interface/

2) M-Audio Fast Track Ultra

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Fast-Track-Ultra-High-Speed/dp/B000Z8U0IY

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may08/articles/fasttrackultra.htm

Uh-oh. It seems that both rely on controlling software and/or proprietary drivers. How much are these things generally dependant on drivers? The reason I ask is that I use Linux, which is never supported. I thought it would be plug-and-play. frown