The M Audio cards are real good for the price. The 1010 I believe gives you 8 analog INs and a stereo Spdif digital IN, same for the OUTs. Even though it's a 24 bit card you can still record in 16 bits. If you decide to record in 24 bit which gives you more headroom and dynamic range then you can dither down to 16 bit when it comes time to write your master for your CD. The 1010 is a PCI card usually with a Breakout box that houses the inputs and outputs so you have to make sure you have a free PCI slot in your computer. If you are recording alone usually then 8 analog ins seems to be a bit much. Oh yeah, and zero latency means that the unit supports Direct Monitoring which bypasses the computer path and you can monitor what you are inputting through the card itself. I still have the Delta 66 in one of my computers and that was plenty for home recording, but I got a Firewire MOTU Traveler because I needed the 8 analog INs to transfer tracks from other sources as I do mixing and mastering jobs too. I do tracking with this interface too but I also have a laptop and the USB interface I got for that is a simple thing called the EMU Tracker Pre and it also has Direct Monitoring. You can't really go wrong with a USB interface, or Firewire, but for laptops Firewire becomes a bit of a concern because most laptops usually only come with 4 pin Firewire connection and audio recording needs the 6 pin, so you have to go and get an adapter card that converts to 6 pin. Texas Instruments make the best and stable ones so you have to shop around.
You may not be wowed by the 1010 but I think you will notice an improvement, and you can't go wrong for the price. But, in summary, if 10 inputs is a bit much then shop around for good USB interface with 2 or 4 inputs. Hope this helps.

Fivehands