[Funkstar]

I think all the most importal points have already been covered (reliable, expandable storage, afordable, etc.)

Building a user community round your NAS is also a very good idea, us geeks are a loyal bunch if treated right and can add a huge amount of value to your existing products. Thecus have this almost right. Additional software can be added through modules, leaving Thecus free to concentrate on the key features.

One area that Thecus is quite badle beaten by it's competitors (Netgear/ReadyNAS in particular) is its comunity management. ReadyNAS has a really good forums where the developers hang out and help with all kinds of problems. Thecus have support forums here which only Yvon oversees, there are two user forums (one may be unoficial, that might be because the official one uses terrible forum software) and a Wiki. It would be realy good if they were all together (especially if they were all here).

Thecus also have to make sure they are on the ball with regards to source releases. I've seen a couple of threads on here of people pointing out that Thecus are in breach of the GPL as sources for their latest firmware are not available.