256 is for the ram, random access memory. And ya, thats lots. One or two years ago 32 was the shit. Today 64mb is pretty much the lowest you will want to go. Anything over 128mb is cozy, and for recording more is better. RAM is kind of like the "playing field" of a software program. The bigger the number the more room the program has to move about without tripping into itself. Man, that was a lame analogy but I can't think of a better one.