I have my empeg hooked up via ethernet, I am using mac OS9, and I am having problems. The jEmpeg java program recognizes (sees) my unit, but none of the commands appear to work. I cannot configure the unit, add playlists, start putting tunes in etc... All commands seem to take several minutes, and then they say they fail. I am not a great computer guy, but pretty familiar with mac. Is there any other software I need (ie for the tuner, hijack, kernal etc...). I don't really know what is required and what is just cool. It came with a bunch of windows stuff for the tuner etc... Is there a person/tech support line that will support mac users? Sorry for all of the questions, and I have read the faq as well. Can a browser be used to edit or synch the unit?

regards and apologies in advance. Email or call me collect at 323-650-0680 [email protected]

In order for Jemplode to work on your player, you need to have it running version 2.0 Beta 11 of the player firmware. At the current time, the easiest way for you to do this would probably be finding a friend with a PC and a 'net connection. I think it's possible for mac users to get a serial upgrade to work if the phase of the moon is correct, you click your heels together three times, and you sacrifice a fatted calf, but the friend-with-a-PC thing is probably quicker.

Instructions for upgrading your player firmware with a PC are here.

Incidentally, your signature still says you don't have an empeg yet.

And by the way, make sure to get the latest Jemplode JAR file from the Jempeg site.

but... my friends with PCs will laugh at my MACness. Is it worth trying to get this going for a mac user, or should I just bag it? Has anyone had good, smooth sailing w/ a MAC after getting set up? Or is it a constant nightmare? Just Curious? When does the iTunes interface get released? THAT's what I am talking about!!!

Using the player with a Mac and Jemplode should be fine in the long term. The only tricky part is upgrading the player firmware.

You'll only need to a player firmware upgrade once in a while, so there's nothing wrong with using a friend's PC to do the job. Make sure to use the PC to both install the 2.0 Beta 11 software as well as the latest Hijack. Then future Hijack upgrades will be do-able with Jemplode on the Mac.

I guess it's possible to somehow upgrade the player firmware by using Windows emulation software on the Mac combined with some kind of a serial port adapter. I think others may have been able to do this successfully. If anyone's got a procedure for it, I'd love it if they could do a writeup here. But unless someone's got a step-by-step guide and/or you're willing to experiment with it, then the friend-with-a-PC is the most painless path to a firmware upgrade.

JEmpeg works sweet for me in Mac OS X. Is definitely worth using too - in most cases it is even more flexible/powerful than the official Windoze software.

Is it worth trying to get this going for a mac user, or should I just bag it?

It is worth it, and jemplode works well for everything except upgrading the actual player software. Like Tony said for that your best bet is to borrow someones PC running windows or linux. It can be done using Virtual PC and a DB9 to mac serial adapter (I used the one that comes in the Palm Pac for mac OS) if you already have VPC, but I wouldn't bother buying VPC and getting it configured just for this. After getting the empeg upgraded, music uploads and playlist maintenance can easily be done with your mac. You might want to consider upgrading to OS X though as I think jemplode gets a little more testing there than on OS 9.

-Mike