It's actually amazing what you can do with Sound Recorder and Windows Media Player, which come with Windows. I mixed sound effects for a stage play on my computer, just using those programs.

Burke, there are several utilities that do a very good job of Zipping files. I suppose the best-known ones are WinZip and PKZip, but they're both about thirty to forty bucks. You should be able to find a free utility to do the job, or one that's bundled with something else. I've had Norton System Works (Norton Utilities, Antivirus, and other stuff) for years, and they always have some sort of Zip utility that works fine. I'm sure McAfee has a product of similar quality and price.
-Joe Offer-