@jamieburchell: Here is some material from my post at the other forum.
I have a friend's Synology 210j here with me. It blows the DNS 323 in matters of performance, features etc. The cost is not exactly 2x(or 3x) of the 323. more like 1.5x for the NAS box. Look at the total cost of buying though:
DNS 323 + 2x2TB drives: 164.99$ (Amazon.com) + 2x100 = 364.99$
Synology 210j + 2x2TB drives: 199$ (Amazon.com) + 2x100 = 399$
http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DNS-323-Ne … B000GK8LVE
http://www.amazon.com/Synology-DiskStat … amp;sr=8-1
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?nam … e&c=CJ
In percentage terms the synology is only (100x(399.99 - 364.99))/364.99 = 9.58%. Just about 10% more expensive, but much much better performance and features. I tried the DSM 3.0 release. Very polished and reliable and good support for external hard drives. Has a GUI that lets the user initiate rsync backups to the USB hard drive, Amazon S3 or to another rsync capable NAS etc.
I like the hardware on the DNS 323. The metal casing on the 323 and the look and the tool less design to access the drive etc are master strokes in the hardware design. Low end internals means less cost and less performance etc. Thats ok with me. But my gripes are all on the software side. 9 firmware updates in 5 years? Seriously Dlink, is that all your software department is capable of? Hardware is only one side of the product. Software completes the product. It brings out the goodies that the hardware is capable of!!! Enough of my rant. Can't help it. I am seriously disappointed with the DNS 323's software support and features.
Just to answer your statement about tech support vs forums: Forums are a easier and less expensive support tool compared to dedicated phone line tech support. On the forums one is leveraging the expertise of the knowledgeable community support and also the answers provided to previous questions. When one googles "DNS 323 usb hard drive" or some query the first link is to some post in this forum or the other forum. For most people that suffices and that means less calls to tech support. Every company maintains forums and provides tech support on the forums. This is the first company forum I have come across where tech support posts are minimal!!