Takes a Lickin and Keeps on Playing

Well, I won't bore you with all the technical details. The sound quality is excellent. The storage media is cheap, reusable and compact. I've had this for about a year. I like the CD burning software; it's very simple to use. I'm afraid I'll have to agree with all the other posters as to the Open MG Software. It is definitely not the most user friendly or flexible software. The ATRAC codec is for me, very close to CD quality sound if not better. This thing is rock solid and will take a lot of abuse and still work wonderfully. I've dropped it on concrete a few times, but it keeps going. Yesterday, I fell in a puddle at work, and it got soaked; I thought I had killed it. However, after it dried, it played just like it had before. Now, the discs that I had carried with me got wet also, and it plays them with a little attitude now and again. But the other discs I have that did not get wet play just as well as before. All the settings still work, and the sound quality is still excellent. I looked at MP3 players, but the cost of the player combined with the cost of memory drew me to the minidisc player. Also, I like having a device that not everybody and his brother has. I use this thing for work, school, shopping, eating out, or wherever I need portable music. I paid about $130 for it in 2003. Now you can get it for about $50. That kinda sucks, but I'm sure I've got my money's worth and more by now. I have to say that I'm very pleased with the toughness of this device. I can't believe that this thing got completely soaked, and is playing just as well as before a day later. Very solid player. If you don't need the frills of a radio, and recording from multiple sources, this is the player for you.