My question is whether you can access files on the hard drive without going through the Logitech Media Player, such as through a file manager.

* answered my own question
the answer is YES, via any file manager from the market, from root directory go to MNT folder, then Media folder, you will see ...

just installed the official 3.1 OTA. Noticed no thread for bug report for official version, maybe new thread helpful for this.

Bug #1
programs pre-installed in Android Market do not list as installed, but states "not compatible"

Bug #2
Tried to install a program not pre-installed, Big Picture ...