Indeed, I agree, making the Empeg work better is the prime reason. The understanding of Linux and the improvement of the Empeg go hand in hand. You must possess a certain level of understanding of the operating system, specifically the one on the Empeg in order to use some of these upgrades. rsync is a good example. I'm tired of having to go through a process that takes 8 hours to sync my Empegs. Why not learn enough so I can use other methods such as rsync? EXT3 is so much nicer from my point of view. Would I rather wait for a minute and a half while the Empeg gets the hda4 into rw or would I rather not wait at all? The choice seems clear to me. Anyway, I'm not trying to start a debate here only find some answers and maybe someday I can help others that might find themselves in the same place.