Network storage makes more sense for home users now that so many of us have two or more computers in the home, along with growing collections of pictures and music.

The ability to share these between computers is valuable, which is where network storage, which doesn't need a PC to be switched on, comes in.

The DNS-313 doesn't come with a hard disk - the user has to add their own Serial ATA disk, but that is a very simple business. After that, it's a case of plugging it all in and running the supplied software on any PC, at which point it sets up and formats the disk, as well as giving the DNS-313 a name so it can be easily found on the network.

Once that's done, it can be accessed using the standard Windows networking system, but it's also possible to run the same disc on other PCs to automatically create shortcut icons for the disk.

The device is unobtrusive when in use - it has a fan to cool the disk but this is not very loud. Like all networked hard disks, it's quite slow compared with disks connected directly to a computer, so if you're using the disk for backup, it will be a long process.

Vista compatible: Yes