[proaudio] New sound card + MIDI input questions

["Arve Barsnes" <arve.barsnes@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all! Two questions I've been meaning to ask of you.

Looking at buying myself a new audio interface in the near future, to
upgrade my little M-Audio MobilePre USB. I've been looking around the
M-Audio webpage at their other cards, but being fairly new to this
whole recording thing, I'm not sure exactly what I should be looking
for. I know I'll need jack inputs and XLR inputs, as I already have on
the MobilePre, but I'll also be needing MIDI inputs in the future, so
that should be included. This isn't in any way a professional studio,
so I won't be needing very many inputs, there will never be an
opportunity to record many things at once, such as a full drum set.
Any recommendations? I know only of M-Audio being good for linux, but
there might be others too that some of you have had good experiences
with?

Now, it will be a while until I actually buy this new interface, so
for now I'm stuck without MIDI capabilities. Not that I have gotten
ahold of any MIDI synth or such yet, but I still want to start
experimenting with various programs that need MIDI input, so the
question is thus: What program can I use to plot in notes, and use as
input to any other programs, for creating sounds? Or any other good
method you can tell me about for creating MIDI input without actually
having a MIDI capable device.

Regards,
Arve