Thinking of getting one, as I'd like to make more video/music available across my home network. So rather than add storage space to my home 'server', thought I'd look at NAS instead.

Just wondering how well the interface works really. Does extra software need to be added to each computer that I want to see the Linkstation? Or is it just a case of mapping a drive letter to a network resource?

Oh, and it needs to work with a Mac Mini too.

Thanks,

Steve

Really easy to get going just plug it in to your router and it just works as a network drive.

There may have been a setup program to configure it though cant remember but nothing difficult. You can also use it to run as a FTP server. If you get one you probably want to put the latest firmware on which i think you can get from the linkstation wiki. Don't bother with the included backup software it is not very good.

Two shortcomings:

• Can not use USB to transfer files so a bit slow on the ethernet (although you can add a USB drive for more capacity or mirroring your HD)
  
• Has a schedule facility for switching on/off but a bit limited and no wake on lan feature.
  

Other things to consider is hacking the box to use it to run a slim server, mail server etc... not tried it though too complicated.

I have had mine for a year and I havent checked prices recently but if I was to purchase another NAS device I would probably try a Linksys NSLU2 with a USB HD attached (more hacking options which are easily done without having to be too good with the linux command line). The other one is Synology Disk Station 101g+ which I think you can use as a server with mail, P2P, webhosting features (much easier to do than the linkstation and does much more out of the box).

Thanks for the extra info. Did know about the hacking for SlimServer, as a Squeezebox is on my shopping list for '07 too

Just worried about the Mac compatibility at the moment, as the spec sheets I've found for various Linkstation models (there's more than I thought!) only list Windows-based OSes. Or is that just for the wizard software they give you? I would have thought the Mac would be able to just see the device down the network cable, just as a server resource :confused:

Steve

I think you might need windows to cofigure the basic settings of the device (user access,ftp, schedule settings) Once that is done it should be seen as a network device regardless what OS you are using. I use Kubuntu and it works fine with the NAS so I would think the apple should do to. Also can also browse it with a windows mobile phone. The only problem I have had using the linkstation with Kubuntu is streaming large files can give a choppy playback whereas on xp streaming is perfect although i think this is an OS problem rather than linkstation.

i think the only decisons to make if buying one new is how big a hd you can afford and if you want to pay extra for the gigabit models. If you are buying an older model there are several generations but i think you only need to check this out if you plan on hacking.