i tried with my mac and the built in GUI extractor on the ubuntu live cd. the jlime ext2.tar opened up fine on the mac but not the "other" build. so i thought i'd try it out on a linux session. but had no luck. i'll try the link you've got on your post and the command line extractor....gotta admit i'm a little nervous about that since my linux command line skills are close to nil but i guess i gotta learn sometime
thanks i really appreciate the follow up.