I contacted Yamaha Tech Support on Jan 11th 2007, to inquire again on
the firmware update.  I had a couple of home theater guys coming out
the following day to fine tune the system the next day.  I wanted to
confirm two things first that there was a firmware upgrade and secondly
it would not reset any settings that had been done by the techs.  I
told Yamaha Support that if there was no firmware update I was planning
on returning the receiver and cancel the setup scheduled.  If there was
a firmware upgrade, but reset the system settings I would reschedule
the system setup date.

The support guy was a lot nicer and more sincere that when I had called
them on Jan 2nd.  He told me that the word he had gotten was that a
firmware was schedule for release in the US to be made available to the
public in approximately 10 days.  He did not know of any Yamaha Service
Center firmware update.  (I called the local professional service
center and they confirmed).  He could not tell me how it was going to
be made available or what the firmware upgrade process entailed.  He
said that would be highly unlikely that it would reset my existing
settings for surround sound and such.  We then had some small talk
about the streaming capabilities.  He explained that they would almost
have to install a computer with Linux on it in the receiver to get the
expected quality.  This made sense.  Then later, I thought, "Wait, my
cell phone and my kid's $80 Wal-mart in-dash receiver do a better job
than what the USB option does."  You can hook an i-pod into the USB
port of the in-dash receiver.

Since then; the tech guys have done their fine tuning.  Now, I will
wait until the 21st and call Yamaha Tech Support again on the firmware
upgrade.

Side note:
The two tech guys that check my home theater setup did only minor
changes.  I had them program all my remotes or at least try.  They got
stuck in the same places I did.  They took all my video routings that
were going through the receiver and hook them directly to the TV
(Samsung). The routing through the receiver was throwing off the lip
sync for satellite.    They turned up th rear speaker volume as their
personal preference.  They did not changed the speaker distance
settings.  The techs stated my room already match the speaker distance
defaults.  They reviewed my speaker sizes.   They replaced some of my
cabling with monster cable which I had on hand.   I am glad it was free
promotion, normally they charged $200.  They were still there for two
hours.

My wife bought me a Harmony Remote for my birthday.  The remote did not
recognize the receiver as an MP3 player.  It wanted an external device.
Harmony's tech support guys were confused when I told them that the
N600 was able to play music from a USB, PC, Internet.  Once I was able
to explain the receiver,  they configured the remote for me. I can now
use the Harmony remote to control the N600 features.  Thumbs up for the
tech support guys from Harmony.   They are patient and willing to help
you out.  Plus, you are not speaking from someone overseas with a
strong accent.

I have until Jan 29th to return the receiver.  I sure hope a firmware
update comes for as much time as I have invested in the Yamaha N600.