Smallest, Best Audio Recorder For Photojournalist?, newbie question re multimedia slideshows Options

[Maurice Ramirez]

i'm a photojournalist and i want to start making slideshow presentations with recorded ambient sound, interviews, music, etc, that play in the background while the images run.

my question is: what tool would you recommend for getting good audio? it's gotta be small in size, since it has to fit easily into my camerabag. i've used a sony minidisc recorder before but getting the sound into my 15" pb g4 1ghz seems to be a hassle, not to mention the cords are not the convenient for moving quickly. i do like the sony mic that i got for it but would prefer one that fits into a camera's hotshoe.

here's a sample slideshow that I'd like to get sounds for next time, it's a concert festival i shot recently:
http://homepage.mac.com/mauriceramirez/mus...eSharing95.html

it would have been nicer had i put in sounds of the crowd, and the artists (with permission of course).

also preferable is something with lots of battery life, that doesn't need a huge external charger for packing for travel.

ideally I'd like to do presentations like this:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/assets...ash/A240593.SWF

thanks,

-m