Looking for a NAS box for Mom

StephenB wrote:
Seems to me you already know the tradeoffs, I am not sure where you are going here.

Thank you for your reply - I appreciate you validating my assumptions as well.

Original direction was to find something for my Mom.
Two responses nudged ME towards an upgrade path (and passing my DUO to Mom).

So, I was hoping to hear a compelling argument for the upgrade option since I wasn't (seemingly) fishing for one.
I suppose however the upgrade path make a little sense since it seems the DUO is the entry level platform.
But really still a hard sell for me to pay for an upgrade (the cost difference of a new minus what I can seel my old to mom for).

Frankly, I've not pushed the DUO to it's capacity... and money is tight...
I suppose I'd like to explore streaming possibilities but then I'd need to shell out more for receiving gadets.
Oh yeah, my eldest child close to college age... Did I say money was tight? :oops:

So right now, my box provides backup for the four machine in my home - and I have the FTP server to share "stuff" with a handful of buddies.

maxblack wrote:
I dunno flazer, I think you're making a mistake here. After all, it's been said many times "you gotta backup your NAS" i.e. it could fail as well, and in the end you have to buy something to back IT up so...

Appreciate your reply as well; however, not sure where you are headed here... If your box is a primary repository then yes, makes sense to have a second backup plan, But (as in this case), the box for mom would serve purely to back up: hard to see the need for yet anther box. After all, there would exists 3 copies for each of my mom's machines - the originals on each machine and the double copy in the NAS box (provided said box has 2+ physical drives).

maxblack wrote:
Why not just get her a USB drive and teach her to plug/unplug and backup with Macrium Reflect and/or Syncback?

I suppose those are options but (imho) it makes more sense to shoot for a more simple , centralized approach, that works for her. If I really wanted to, I could back up each machine on each other but experience shows keeping a direct connection between machine can be a flakey option at best. Heck she's having a hard time getting used to Window 7 from a recent Vista upgrade - and issues also configuring her Outlook GUI from the Default View to one she's comfortable with... Can't imagine her learning yet another "new" technology that may have a different "feel" between her two machines, especiallly since the machines are driven by different versions of OS (XP and 7)... Seamless and transparent to her I think is key , especially for my sanity!!!! 8)

But to be fair, I've not looked at either Macrium Reflect / Syncback... I'll do some reseach! However, I think long term, the NAS box route is the way to go for her, especially since it more closely mirrors my config and as I gain expertise over my domain, relatively speaking, I gain expertise over hers as well.

In the grand scheme of things, what ultimately comes out of this thread for me is (i think!) that the DUO is the entry level home NAS box solution for Netgear so really, it would be the solution for mom (provided I push for the minimum Neatgear NAS box solution). And if I go this route, I may as well pass along mine to her and upgrade my own - provided I can both justify and pay for it (the difference anyway)!

Thanks all :D