What gotchas do I need to know about as far as jEmplode is concerned versus the Windows Emplode?

Dunno, exactly. Probably nothing as long as you're using ethernet to synch. They should behave the same.

It would probably be a safe test to just use Jemplode for a while on the PC. If it meets your needs, great.

However there are certain things you still need the PC for. Upgrading the software via serial, applying fresh kernels, serial-port shell access (if you need to do that), that sort of thing. For that, although VirtualPC would run the necessary software, I dunno how you're going to get a serial connection hooked up to one of the new macs, and get that serial connection properly recognized by the VirtualPC software. I suppose it can be done, I just don't know how it's done.

Better solution: When you move to the mac, just keep an old cheap PC gathering dust in the garage. Only fire it up when you need to upgrade the player software or apply a fresh kernel. Or better yet, just do that stuff on a friend's PC.