Sergio, thanks for your quick reply. Sorry to say, though I was able to use mini com to confirm that my serial interface name was correct as previously used (following the Flashing Edison (wired) page's instructions), I had the same result. A white screen with no text, non responsive, and leading to a kernel panic in Mac OS X which required a reboot.
I then again deleted all files on the Edison and did the same thing. I used unzip in the Edison directory and after using Terminal never got a black screen, just a white screen.
Is there something else I should try or should I return the Edison and start with a new one?
thanks
Dan