I am considering to buy a 250GB LaCie HDD (USB 2.0, 250GB, FAT32). I use Oleg's firmware and want to use it as a "fileserver" for media files (MP3, AVI) and backup for my laptop. The drive is already formatted as FAT32, so it should be easy to hook it up to the Asus WL-500g deluxe, but I do have some questions.

FAT32 efficiency with 250GB partition
What is the blocksize with a 250GB FAT32 partition? I don't like the idea of very large blocks, because it is a waste of diskspace. Using EXT2/3 is not an option, because I want to be able to take the drive with me and hook it up to an ordinary Windows XP box.

Transmission speed using Samba
I think Samba would be the best way to access the harddisk, because it is easy to configure and is easy to use (compared to FTP server). What kind of datarate can I expect on the wired 100Mbit network or wireless 54Mbit network (without afterburner)?

HDD Powersafe
I will only use the HDD 1-2 hours per day, so it is idle the rest of the time. Is it possible to spin down the HDD and put it in some kind of powersafe mode when it is idle for a while and let it spin up when it is being used again?