Akai S3000 Newbie Setup - Need Suggestions Options

[ol2o]

I want a Akai S3000 XL. I'm new to it so I have several technical questions about set up.

CurrentEquipment list:

Akai s3000 XL
Powerbook G4 - no SCSI port, only firewire/Ethernet

Would you recommend for road use an external Hard Drive, CD Rom, or a zip for the scsi connection? What would be the best setup loading sounds and dependibility for a tour. Secondly, would a scsi to USB connector work to get it to connect to the laptop? If anybody cares to throw in some suggestions for sound editing software and transfer software for Mac OS X, that would be great too.

I'm wondering if a Benkin SCSI to USB connector will work as a direct interface from computer to sampler.

[ol2o]

Just to let everyone know, I got and Adaptec SCSI to USB adaptor and it works. The company provides drivers for the computer to read the USB, so with that in miind the sampler doesn't need to be the work horse in the connection. The USB/computer end does all of the work to read the machine. MESA II works just fine in conjunction.

Another issue.
I went with a Zip 250 SCSI for the external HD solution. The Akai is having a problem reading the disk though. i'm going to Hard Disk -A, but it's not finding the sounds/samples/programs on the disk. It sounds like there is an active connection to the drive as when I look for something the zip revs up. Does the zip have to be formatted in a different way? Does the Akai need a fresh OS on it to handle zips?

i just changed the SCSI ID to match a little while ago, but it's still not reading the disk. The SCSI set up is

Zip = 5 with termination on
Akai = 5

is this right ?