Take care of yourself.

I am sorry to hear that. I know....our dear friends, lovers, and similar beloved people bring to us changes in our consciousness and that affects us emotionally. You should take care of your health and try to get some help to heal the sorrow caused by our beloved ones.

Man....there is a huge difference in the quality of sound. Sony will give you the best sound ever for a device at that price. You would be shocked.

You should test other USB cable with the NW-A55 since USB-cable can too be damaged or so.... Test the cable with the computer's different USB connectors.

Personally, I believe it does not get scratched easily, it depends on how you handle it. The screen is based on TFT colour display with white LED-backlight. I would recommend screen protection though...