Appreciate all the folks that post issues on facebook. Continue to do so if that is your preferred communication method. But if you would like faster responses to your questions, please post your questions on the ReadyNAS forum http://www.readynas.com/forum/
They post that, but still fail to communicate in the many threads like this one specifically calling them out... This thread started six months ago... Come on guys!
Re: Open Question to Netgear - What are Your Intentions?
I thought I'd revisit this 'open letter' as it now has been almost six months since I created this thread. Since that post we have seen the introduction of the next generation of ReadyNAS running a brand new OS with a new delivery method for apps, new underlying filesystem and new hardware. We have been told the new OS would not run on existing 64 bit x86 models and almost immediately after this announcement had posts on this very forum instructing us how to do just that. We have posted and read posts on the forum and on the ReadyNAS Facebook page detailing the level of frustration some felt about the perceived lack of participation from Netgear and the feelings of abandonment some felt when told their relatively new NAS is EOL. We have seen bugs that corrupt filesystems, prevent the use of the full volume and truncate large files and also seen Netgear support begin to take notice and attempt aid. For a period of time we have seen Chirpa almost single-handedly play the role of Netgear support and mdgm and StephenB handle the lion's share of 'Netgear enthusiast' support. We've seen users leave - Synology, QNAP and others benefit. We've seen the ugly specter of censorship when posts starting hitting a little too close for comfort. We've heard that Netgear views the forum as nothing more than an annoyance, that 'office politics' are to blame for the dearth of posts by Jedi and that for many Netgear employees this is simply - and only - a job.
What we haven't heard is a response. A response to the original question - what are your intentions?
Re: Open Question to Netgear - What are Your Intentions?
So here is my impression getting into the world of NAS. I run a popular online site that deals with consumer issues including products. I was quite disappointed to find out that the two very recent NAS Ultra 2 devices I purchased at a nice discount were already apparently EOL. Worse, I didn't realize that I was getting the "non plus" version which has the exact same model number but half the horsepower. I've looked at the box and cannot find any way to differentiate between whether you have a single or dual core atom processor inside. This is beyond confusing to consumers and was one of the first reasons I began to suspect that getting a Netgear product might not be what I had expected in the past.
During setup of my first system, I saw the dreaded corruption error in RAIDar. If you've never set up an NAS before, Netgear's instructions certainly seemed designed to wishing you'd never have made that purchase. Other than using a search engine to figure out how other users set up their systems, there is no easy "how to" guide that would make it a simpler process to accomplish the common tasks one might expect. While I have seen the knowledgebase online help with regard to things like TIVO, failing to have documentation with the device is ridiculous and I still don't see the instructions generously provided by users included anywhere. Looking at Netgear's system supporting ReadyNAS is pretty sad. I see several broken links, sparse tutorials and an add-ons area that doesn't allow ratings or reviews or comments about the add-ons.
I'm still new here so it's possible I have overlooked quite a number of things. But I am not a newbie with regard to system set up, I build my own computers, manage Internet servers and more. If the process for me is a challenge it makes me wonder why anyone but sophisticated users would want to purchase a Netgear NAS. The more I read comments the more I think that having gone towards competing products by companies I was never before familiar might have been a much better route and saved me a ridiculous amount of time. At this point I'll need to evaluate what to do because I'm unfortunately beyond the point of return. But I can say that I will not hesitate to share my frustration with others and I wonder whether dumping new products on the market will matter if customer reviews will be brutal - my model's ratings have gone down and I won't hesitate to share my frustration with setup with others.
Re: Open Question to Netgear - What are Your Intentions?
mdgm wrote:
It does look like they've corrected it now. It definitely was a typo. When I installed it the firmware was called 4.2.23.
Thanks MDGM, I just updated my Ultra2 and my Ultra2+. Both now show 4.2.23 in RaidAR. Started on dot-21; now using dot-23. 😄 One of these days I will find the tutorial Papa Bear shared with me; and, finally get my old Duo v1 (nasc) backed up. LOL! Yes, my problem, not ReadyNAS for sure. I still have trouble with nomenclature :oops:
Re: Open Question to Netgear - What are Your Intentions?
Well well well what a mess i have come back to, i don't think i have logged in since 2011 and alot seems to have changed, all for the worse as far as i can see. Netgear being completely absent, addons being charged for, can appreciate some but things like php? No clue as to cost as the site that hosts these things appears to have been down for over a month now. Thankfully my NAS is just that and i don't really care for it being anything more, i have servers and computers on 24/7 to do the other things.
Seems a bit mad and sad that netgear has basically abandoned what was one of the things that made me buy a ReadyNAS, i am still only on the NV+ but for 6TB of redundant storage it fits my home usage, is sitting almost full i will say but almost all my comps have at least 1 2TB drive in anyway so bouncing around files that don't need global access when the computers are off for whatever reason is not a problem.
I must say i will be keeping a closer eye on things here and see what develops but for a 6month old thread and no official word other than a Junior Tech i don't hold much hope, not currently looking for an upgrade/new NAS but from reading this and looking at whats happened its more than likely i will be going elsewhere.
Much respect to those that have stayed and helped, your dedication to the community is truly remarkable and i commend you fully for it!
