[Bookworm_Girl]

Hi, Flygrl. I posted to some of your questions in the other thread about your Mac not recognizing your reader. Here are my thoughts about some of the difficulties you are experiencing.

Audio: You should be able to drag-and-drop your music files into the folder READER > database > media > audio. I agree with Natasha that the problem is likely that you are trying to transfer iTunes AAC files which are DRM protected. Check the file extension and see if they are *.M4P files (the P stands for Protected). The 950 can only read iTunes AAC files which are non-DRM protected. These files will have the extension *.M4A. The 950 can also read non-DRM'ed MP3 files. If you click on the song in iTunes to highlight it and then enter Command-I it opens up the info box where you can see the filename and extension. Also I have a column in iTunes called "Kind" that says Protected AAC if the song has DRM.

I am going to assume that you will be using your PC workaround since the Mac (for now) isn't recognizing your 950.

You should be able to purchase books from other sources without the Sony software, e.g. Borders, Kobo, Booksonboard. When you purchase the book, it will download a *.ACSM file. You can then open this file with Adobe Digital Editions. When it opens in ADE, it adds it to your ADE Library and also saves a copy of the EPUB to your hard-drive in the folder Documents > Digital Editions. [Well, that's the Mac path; I assume the PC path is similar.] Your 950 will show up in ADE for PC as a device just like your iPod shows up in iTunes. So you can use the ADE software to transfer books to your 950.

NOTE: In order to use ADE for PC, you have to install the Sony Reader Library. You don't have to use it, but you have to install it. That's because the installation process provides the necessary drivers that ADE needs to see your 950 as a device in order to transfer books.

However, many people actually prefer to use the software calibre rather than the Sony Reader Library or ADE. It is very powerful at managing and organizing your books. Add the EPUB file from the Documents > Digital Editions folder into your calibre library and then use calibre to transfer to your 950. If the book doesn't have DRM, then you don't have to use ADE as this middle-step. You can download the book and then import it straight to calibre.

Library Books: You have to use either the Sony software or ADE to transfer library books to your 950. calibre can't do that one. The reason is there is a special expiration date in the library book that only seems to get applied properly when you transfer via Sony software or ADE. The process is similar to purchased books. You will download an ACSM file from your library website, open it in ADE and then use ADE to transfer to your 950.

Hope that helps!