Do I need a USB Storage device?

[ct1615]

My wife currently has 14GB of pictures on her HDD. While space is not an issue on her HDD, I would like to back up these pictures in case of a failure. I can simply install a WD 500GB in her PC and call it a day. I can also get a portable HDD for a similar price but I know the portable HDD will never move from the PC. I also have an Asus RT-N66 router (updated with the most recent firmware) so I can install the portable HDD to it. My question is what would I gain if I install the the portable HDD to the wi-fi router? Currently her tablet is a kindle fire HD and she has an android phone. She may like to look at the pics on them using some sort of app...any opinions or experience on the matter?

I also own a few movies on Amazon digital I could put on the portable HDD but I rarely watch them.

 

[jlake]

For family photos, I have them backed up to two different 2.5 inch 1TB USB portable hard drives and one 3.5 inch 300 GB portable hard drives. And then, I have them backed up to cloud Microsoft OneDrive.

Here's google for free 15 GB.


http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/16/with-its-massive-price-cut-for-drive-google-goes-on-the-offensive/

 

[ct1615]

how's the lifespan on those portable hard drives? I've read stories they only last a few years although I figure most of those stories tend to be worse case scenarios.

 

[sfx2000]

There's some light duty NAS boxes out there - I'm not a big fan of hosting USB-Drives on the Router/AP due to potential security issues...

Also, might consider services like Dropbox, MS OneDrive, or GoogleDrive.