I know that Sony makes a number of different digital dictation machines (including a couple that handle MD's, as you mentioned above), but I am not sure about the foot control--it seems like they would logically offer such a thing though--

I am currently looking at palm/pocket sized digital 4-track recorders(not exactly what you need, I know) and one thing that I have discovered is that the removable media are getting bigger by the day,which extends the recording time incredibly--some media formats are available in much larger capacities than others, though, so when you are considering different models, make note of the removable media format, and then check to see what is available.

Tapekiller--a laptop is a big, bulky, kluge compared to the digital dictation recorders, MD recorders, palm/pocket studios, etc that are now available--and they are considerably cheaper than a laptop--