Hi, I have only tried SS 2.3 and it works without problems, so have not upgraded to newer versions. As for your other questions, I add the following : 3)I play MP3 @ mostly 128, VBR or 192 and I skip forward a lot (I like to shuffle) - my battery life is onlt btwn 4-8 hours total. Is that normal from my skipping or is there a setting that can save battery life, minus converting all my file to atrac? Depends upon how much shuffling you do, but keep in mind that the current consumption of the player is more than tripled (x3) when the hard drive is seeking. Sony's quoted time for 128 MP3's is around the 18-20 hour mark. Are you sure the battery is fully charged ? (see below) 4) Is it true I can charge my player just using USB? It just shows that it's syncing, but obviously will not unless the a/c adapter is plugged in right? Yes, player charges whenever connected to a USB socket regardless of whether SS is running, so you can charge it from any PC with a USB connection although some USB hubs will not deliver enough current. Red LED on adaptor is on while charging and a full charge can take around 5 hours (USB only) and a lot less when using AC adaptor. See page 9 and 10 of user manual for details (get it from download section). Hope this is of some help.
