Oh do get into this! I love having people to compare notes with.

So far the ziploc bags have worked great for certain things, like egg custard. But I think Allison said that her roast she did the bag was starting to degrade a little after 24 hours or so in heat 140-150. Just meaning, the seal wasn't holding up real well I think. It's hard to get all the air out of the ziploc bags, although I am getting better at it, so they tend to float. But my rice maker has a steamer tray, so I stick that in and it pushes the bag down.

You should read this from Auberins about what device to use: http://auberins.com/Sous%20Vide%20a...tion%20note.pdf

I think some rice cookers with lids are ok, but others have a sharp lip that can damage the probe's wire.

Also, make sure your rice cooker is big enough. Mine is 24 cups and I find myself wishing it were bigger! I think a 10 cup would be too small. Someday I'll look into larger devices.

Some people say they've had their foodsavers for years, so I'm not sure it's that flakey. There's a Foodsaver group on Yahoo, seems like there are a lot of devoted fans.