When using a DAW that releases your soundcard driver when inactive (ie, Reaper does this by default -- the first item here:
http://wiki.cockos.com/wiki/index.php/Preferences_Audio) the MicroBrute loses its MIDI connection and doesn't respond to any incoming MIDI. Only power cycling the MicroBrute or restarting the DAW fixes this. Since I like to give my CPU a breather when I take breaks without closing my project, having to turn off/on the MicroBrute is annoying. I've haven't had this issue with other MIDI devices, so I'm thinking that the MicroBrute is the culprit here. This happens both for the USB and 5-pin MIDI connections.
Any chance this can be updated in a firmware fix?