Oh, and I actually hate the apple OS. It is completely foreign to me…

Go with WD for harddrives, they consistently get better reviews than Seagate.

You could get a NAS, I agree they seem pretty cool and appeal to the geek side. However, you don’t really need a NAS for the amount of data you have. You have an external harddrive enclosure now – get yourself a TB drive and put it in, and use it as your external backup. Backup once a week, or once a month, whatever suits your needs. Encrypt the drive (we use a free product called truecrypt at home, easy to install and use), and store it somewhere else when you’re not backing up.

I agree with Karan that a NAS server is more involved in setting up, but after it’s set up, it’s virtually maintenance free (at least mine is).

Additionally, it’s IP addressable, has a built-in FTP server and you can administrate it over the internet. Easy, breezy, not Microsoft cheesy.
Mine, a Buffalo TeraStation, is Linux based, I believe.

Not a Microsoft hater, but I’ll avoid it whenever I can.

Roger’s last blog post..I Wanna Fly a Choppa

2 recommendations going forward:
1. Buy WD Green hard drives. Awesome drives, low power, low heat, fast and reliable. I just bought 2 1GB drives to use in my second recommendation …

2. Buy a Windows Home Server (it is me after all) or if you’re a M$FT h@ter go with a Drobo. I love my WHS. You just drop drives in and it just adds space and duplicates your data with next to no config. You install the utility on your PC’s and it just backs up your entire PC without any hassle. “just set it and forget it” as the infommercial goes.
The new HP Media Smart ex485 WHS also supports Macs via Time Machine for back-up which is really cool.
Oh, and it gives you a nice web interface to invite family/friends to look at pics, share files, etc.

Drobo is pretty similar and there’s a ton of apps out there that enhance functionality (WHS has add-ins though the community is nowhere as big). The backup stuff is OK, but not as good as WHS IMNSHO.

Rog’s recommendation of a NAS is also good, but they’re usually not as simple and require more tinkering to add drives and make sure backups are complete. The geek in me leans to the NAS but I LOVE the simplicity and efficiency of WHS.

Oh yeah, and any of these is fine and dandy, but if a thief breaks in and steals the box, it’s useless (don’t think it can happen – ask my buddy at EA who had his apt. broken in to. He lost 5 years of his portfolio work!). So get a good off-site backup like Mozy or Carbonite for the most important pieces – well worth the $50-60 / year.