saxophernalia

Hello All! Please help me end my confusion! I know this is probably going to sound like a dumb question to most, but I really need to figure this out... I have been doing a lot of research on the Sony Hi-MD Mini Disc Walkmans. My primary use for this item would be to record myself playing my saxophone in order to create files to burn on a CD or to the harddrive of my computer. It seems like using Mini Discs is outdated, or it just seems that there would be some more advanced technology that would have surpassed using these Mini Discs. Can you please tell me why the Mini Discs are necessary to record musical performances? As a result of this question, I was looking into the Sony Voice Recorders that appear to be used mainly for recording the spoken voice. However, I read that there is a microphone jack on these voice recorders, so is it possible to record musical performances on these devices? I guess I am wondering WHY Mini Discs are still used for these recorders. What is the benefit of using these discs and how come there are not recorders that just use a memory card as opposed to mini discs (like a digital camera would). Are Mini Discs still the best technology for this purpose? Thanks!