Thus, the only way I could find to have shows I'd recorded/downloaded playback on the karma in proper track order was to manually add an ID3 tag for every track on each show. No thanks.
using rio music manager (the software that comes with the karma) make a playlist, drag and drop the files from explorer in to the (empty) playlist. as long as the files are named according to etree standards, they will by default be placed in order (the sets you get that are named "track 1" "track 10" etc. get screwed up, but bandyyyy-mm-ddd1t01 works every time)
using FLAC only, gapless playback works out of the box. you might have to update the firmware if you got a real old karma. i had to upgrade the firmware, but that was like 8 mos ago (i was an early adopter). i have the "gapless" feature turned off - you do not need crossfading, etc for flac, just for mp3s (which i never use)...
as for the gui - i never find it a problem. maybe not as smooth as an ipod, but it didnt take me very long to get used to it...
the software does kinda blow, but again, all i do is open it, create a playlist, and drag/drop the files (or open the software, and delete files from the unit), so i dont really care - it gets the job done easily enough...
i never use the rio dj features, or the eq settings...
oh yeah - you gotta love the fact that it can be hooked up via network cable (or usb)...
i am surprised you didnt like it, darrin - sorry if i gave you a bum steer. i love mine.