Looking for the most compatible NAS in my pricerange

[Megatomic]

Hey all, I'm looking for a new NAS (home) for my home network. I currently have a Netgear SC101, but I'm getting really unhappy with it. I can only use it with computers with WinXP x86 on it as the device needs drivers and a special utility for PCs to connect to it. Netgear has no plans to release the software and drivers necessary for the SC101 to work in x64 and Linux environments so I'm outta luck there.

What I want is a NAS that doesn't care about what OS it on it as long as the OS supports the requisite network protocols. My price range (self imposed) is $300 or less. Some potential opportunities are linked below:

Level One FNS-1000

Q-NAP TS-101

SimpleTech SimpleShare

Tritton TRI-NSS200

Which of these would be the most compatible with the widest variety of operating systems? I plan to have a mixed OS network consisting of WinXP x86, WinXP x64, Windows Vista (eventually), and Linux (Ubuntu variants). I'd love to have a gigabit capable NAS but that just isn't mandatory.

Thanks for any help and tips you can offer.

 

[Slowlearner]

All of these should do just fine. The Qnap product seems too pricey.

 

[Megatomic]

I'm actually leaning towards the Qnap item. It's got a Gigabit interface which would be nice for streaming media in my house.

 

[Megatomic]

Well, I didn't get any of those items. I cheaped out and got a Buffalo Linkstation 250GB unit from BestBuy for just $149.95 and I'm glad I did. It works great straight out of the box and there were no drivers or custom apps to install. I haven't tried it out in WinXP x64 or Vista yet, but as this thing is a purely TCP/IP device it should be just fine.

It completely blows my Netgear SC101 right out of the water. :thumbsup:

 

[Nothinman]

I just can't believe that a company would sell a 'NAS device' that requires drivers on all of the clients, that makes absolutely no sense.

 

[Megatomic]

Agreed. The device kinda works fine in an x86 WinXP environment, but it's worthless outside of that.

The LinkStation, on the other hand, is a winner.