So, I have a debate going on, and in some respects I am less in the know than with others....
I already have 3 primary external hard drives--all FW400--that to some degree or another are connected to my macbook when I plug the FW in (I have the miniPal, which acts as the firewire hub for the other two).
I have 2 500gb drives and a 750gb drive. The 750gb drive is exclusively my iTunes library (I finally got around to ripping most of my CDs and DVDs). The other two drives are kinda up in the air, but figured one for backups and storage, the other for digital photos-with my dSLR and travels, my photo storage needs blew up quick.
So here's my debate.
I use a MacBook at my apartment as my primary PC. Current living arrangements do not lend themselves to a desktop (which could serve as a base station to these drives). I would love to be able to wirelessly always have access to my external storage, rather than have to either move them, or be within the FW cable length.
So, I figure I could go with a time capsule, or I could get some other (arguably more affordable) NAS type device like a Synology, plug it into my network router and achieve the same thing as the time capsule, but with a bit of a savings.
The other thought I continue to entertain, is picking up a MacMini to serve as the base station for the external storage, since I should be able to pick one up for not much more than a brand new 1tb time capsule. But that is honestly the higher end of things (and if I went that route, I might play around with the mini as an alternative to my apple tv).
Cheaper is always better (not cheap, but budget friendly, I should say).
I am not worried about iTunes streaming without the macbook, if it has it its a bonus, but it is not a requirement. I'm just looking for a good way to have access to my growing external storage drives, without always needing to be tethered to a cord.
thanks
I already have 3 primary external hard drives--all FW400--that to some degree or another are connected to my macbook when I plug the FW in (I have the miniPal, which acts as the firewire hub for the other two).
I have 2 500gb drives and a 750gb drive. The 750gb drive is exclusively my iTunes library (I finally got around to ripping most of my CDs and DVDs). The other two drives are kinda up in the air, but figured one for backups and storage, the other for digital photos-with my dSLR and travels, my photo storage needs blew up quick.
So here's my debate.
I use a MacBook at my apartment as my primary PC. Current living arrangements do not lend themselves to a desktop (which could serve as a base station to these drives). I would love to be able to wirelessly always have access to my external storage, rather than have to either move them, or be within the FW cable length.
So, I figure I could go with a time capsule, or I could get some other (arguably more affordable) NAS type device like a Synology, plug it into my network router and achieve the same thing as the time capsule, but with a bit of a savings.
The other thought I continue to entertain, is picking up a MacMini to serve as the base station for the external storage, since I should be able to pick one up for not much more than a brand new 1tb time capsule. But that is honestly the higher end of things (and if I went that route, I might play around with the mini as an alternative to my apple tv).
Cheaper is always better (not cheap, but budget friendly, I should say).
I am not worried about iTunes streaming without the macbook, if it has it its a bonus, but it is not a requirement. I'm just looking for a good way to have access to my growing external storage drives, without always needing to be tethered to a cord.
thanks