Those Tascam mini studios seem to be very good indeed, but they're a bit expensive where I live, and my focus has changed a lot since the beginning of this thread. Now I realize that Guitarhacker is absolutely right, I should get an audio interface and focus entirely on the 21st century, home recording approach.

I just can't get over the price tag on these things. mad

Last time I came here, I mentioned an interface called Omega. Ugh, awful reviews on Amazon! I am very afraid to buy it. Now I might go with the Alesis i2o. I resent the small number of inputs, but at least it's affordable in my area. Everything else is just too-much-money.