Synology to release Ubuntu-like Disk Station Manager 3.0 for its NAS range

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Posted on 9 Aug 2010 at 12:11

There's great news in store for Synology Disk Station owners, in the form of a major update to the firmware. Although the current version - 2.3 - is well designed, Synology has clearly been busy completely redesigning the interface to its NAS products yet again.

We've managed to get our hands on some exclusive screenshots of the upcoming beta release which show that the firmware is now more like a complete Windows-like operating system. As before, it runs entirely in a web browser, but now allows even more customisation - including wallpapers, just like Windows.

Similar to before, you'll be able to create shortcuts to your most-used applications, but now they'll reside on a 'desktop', over which other windows can sit. Rather than a website-like menu on the left, though, there's now a 'taskbar' at the top, which makes DSM 3.0 look a lot like Ubuntu Linux. In fact, there's more than a passing resemblence to Ubuntu in these screenshots. Given that the Disk Stations are Linux-based devices, this is no huge surprise.

Given the number of applications on offer - Media Server, Photo Station, Audio Station, Download Station, Surveillance Station and others - it makes sense to move to a Linux-like OS. The screenshots also show a Control Panel, which should make it easier to navigate the plethora of settings. You'll also be able to easily monitor your NAS's performance via the Resource Monitor.

We've also heard rumours of Android support for Synology's mobile apps. Currently DS photo, DS audio and DS cam are supported only by the iPhone and iPod Touch, but we expect these to be offered on the Android Market as well.

We'll bring you more details, including any application updates or new apps, as soon as we get more information. For now, check out the screenshots in the gallery to see their full detail.

Author: Jim Martin