I understand your complaints. However, look at the bright side. When the Mark2's come out, you can buy one at a discount (they said that the Mark1 owners would get a discount), then you can sell your existing Mark1 on Ebay or something. Depending on how big of a discount it's going to be, you might even be able to make a profit.

Personally I think that Empeg has every reason to offer their early adopters a very attractive discount. Think about it: They're planning on being able to produce 1000 units a month starting next March. In any given month, they'll build several times as many Mark2's as there were total Mark1's. So even if they offered a really huge discount to the Mark1 owners, it would be a very small discount when compared to their total revenues. Especially when you consider the fact that only some of the current owners would take advantage of the discount.

Now, as far as your specific complaints in your post, I have some answers to them. You said you haven't been happy with Empeg's customer service so far. Since I've had a completely different experience (and I've read posts from others who have as well), I have to believe that you're the exception, not the rule.

I feel like I'm missing out on some critical features. Ethernet?

I don't see how Ethernet is a critical feature. The USB port works fine. The Empeg is designed to be a consumer product, and at the moment, home computers come with USB ports by default, and not with ethernet ports. Ethernet may seem critical to you, but if you look at what market Empeg is trying to target, it shouldn't be critical to the unit in the long term.


A radio that works? Improved grounding?

Those are very valid concerns. Personally, the radio is not a big deal to me because I only ever listened to the radio when I got bored of the three CDs I had in the car. But I understand how a better radio is important to many people. The grounding issue is a big one as well. So, Empeg is doing the Right Thing, and solving those problems in the Mark2's. You're upset because you're stuck with a Mark1 that doesn't have those new features.

But think about it. It's like any new technology product: There will always be better hardware available next year. Yeah, I get upset when my friends have better toys than me simply because they bought theirs a few months later. But it's not the fault of the manufacturer when this happens. What would you have the manufacturer do? Not release the new version? Allow all the previous customers trade in their obsolete units? Come on, do you think Sony should offer a trade-in program where you can return your used Sony TV for one of their new TV's just because it's better?


I want those and not being able to get them sounds like I'm being penalized by buying early.

I want some of those things, too, but I bought my unit knowing full well that it still had some rough edges. I knew I was going to be an early adopter. As far as I'm concerned, I'm glad I'm listening to MP3s in my car rather than waiting for next March. To me, it's worth it, and I don't feel penalized in any way.


I'm still waiting for an open source loader for Linux.

They have said repeatedly that they fully intend to publish all of the communication specs as soon as the specs have stopped changing. I've been paying attention to what features they've been talking about implementing, and many of them sound like they would require changes to the specs. I think it's right for them to hold off on publishing that stuff until later. Be patient.


I can't use the USB port so the ethernet connection is really attractive to me.

So ethernet is critical to you because you run NT4 and you won't/can't set up a system that will dual-boot Windows 98? Cripes, I've got friends who format their hard disks and reinstall their operating systems about twice a month. And they do it for much more petty things, like trying to get the latest game to run properly. Getting USB to work is not that tough, you just have to be willing to install Windows 98. And if you're one of the unlucky ones who can't get USB working because of a BIOS or hardware problem with your motherboard... well, that's hardly something you can get mad at Empeg for.


My hard drive died and had to be replaced.

Now that's a bummer, but you can't blame Empeg for that. You're complaining about Empeg's support, but I'll bet that Rob did everything he could to expedite that replacement, right? I'm sure they did the Right Thing.


I upgraded to 8c, uploads kept crashing, and now I can't even get emplode to connect to the player.

I had a problem with crashing uploads, and I had a bug where the player wouldn't connect, too. I solved the crashing-uploads problem by doing all my uploads in small batches and running a memory defragmenter after each one. I have a suspicion (unproven at this time) that there might be a memory leak in Emplode or its serial/usb drivers, causing long synch operations to crash. If so, that bug will exist whether you're a mark1 or a mark2 owner. And when they solve that bug, it will be solved for both the mark1 and mark2 owners, as well.

As far as the player not connecting, mine eventually just fixed itself after several synch attempts (on the USB cable). Maybe you just need to wipe the thing and start over with a fresh database? I'm sure Rob can help you with that, once the holidays and CES are over.

In any case, those problems are purely software issues, and as a Mark1 owner, you will continue to get software updates and bug fixes along with the Mark2 owners.


Beta software is one thing. That was understood when I bought my player but beta-fucking-hardware is another deal entirely.

Honestly, the only thing "Beta" about the hardware that I've seen is the floating-ground issue and the weak radio. Everything else about the unit's hardware seems very solid to me.