Tag Archives: nas

A backup

2

Finally considered NAS again and it’s going to be the Synology DS211j. I’m wondering if I can remove the HDD from 2 of my WD MyBook’s and slot those in. Might get 2x1TB though. Jacq seems sold on the idea and it’s a new toy to play with. The proliferation of ext HD’s has to stop, the simplification of backups has to start, media sharing will be good and scooting around with usb drives gets boring and this is definitely the way.

D’s macbook screen died 2 days ago so with the age of the overall machine and her coming need for a laptop when she starts a new education/career course in September I said she could get a new one. Being a student does indeed have it’s benefits which saved me around £300, she impressed with her knowledge of the machine so is on the shortlist at that store for a position and she has the best computer in the house. And it’ll do Facebook, Minecraft and Runescape. Keeps her happy :) On the upside she does now believe that Portal and HL2 are worth playing despite my saying so for a long long time.

NAS or not to NAS

6

Been reading about NAS and with 2 computers to upgrade and daughters that have a stack of photos some of which are not backed up I wondered if this would be a solution. I have no idea if it is – colour me clueless on this one. The setup:

me: 2 mac minis that are almost the same in content. Each has a HD attached, likewise they too are almost similar. My laptop/netbook contents can be ignored.
jacq: laptop running Vista
girls: macbook each

Images/files should be shared as we exchange those by email or usb right now, music really should be shared so Jacq can access all of her music upstairs. I have yet to find the equivalent of a digital jukebox with a really clear display and easy to use controls (an ipod touch is not the answer here as good as they may otherwise be for reduced sight and hand mobility). So I understand that a NAS keeps everything together, you add drives to add redundancy and once you are set up everything goes swimmingly. Or do I not need one as it would be overkill and could be done – that is automatic backups and sharing – much more cheaply? Wifi or wires? Plug and Play?