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I haven't posted in here in quite awhile, but I have been spending way too much time thinking/dreaming about what to buy next to improve my home computing/multimedia/networking setup.  So maybe some of you here can help guide me and help silence the Apple voices in my head. 

I will start by saying I am a big fan of convergence, and do not want to buy multiple products that overlap each other in their abilities (where possible).

In the next year I plan to get my next new Mac, maybe a Mac Mini, or maybe a MacBook, depending on the next product revisions.  Lately, I have also had a Time Capsule and Apple TV pop up on my radar as possible purchases. 

Time Capsule
About a year ago I bought an external hard drive (for backups) and an AirPort Extreme 802.11N basestation (my LinkSys died).  If Apple had just come out with Time Capsule a year earlier I would have been set being able to buy one device instead of two.  The hard drive (an Acomdata MiniPal) has turned out to be less than desirable as it will not function as an airport disk.  Apparently this drive cannot be mounted as a USB Hard Drive.  The AEBS of course is working great.  It blows my old LinkSys out of the water in every way. 

1.  So, I am wondering, is there any advantage to adding a TimeCapsule to my AEBS setup and basically have two routers/access points?  Obviously it would solve my data backup issue, but I don't know if there are other benefits I am not aware of.  Our house is small (about 1400 sq ft) so we always get pretty good signal with the single AEBS. 

2.  Would it be smarter to just sell my AEBS instead of having 2 devices to maintain?  Or is there some slick configuration I can have with both?

Apple TV
I want some sort of front row experience on my new HDTV in the living room, whether it is a Mac Mini or Apple TV, and being able to surf the internet on my plasma would be icing on the cake (but not required).  And if I could get rid of my sluggish TiVo altogether I would be very happy.  I am not completely blown away by Apple TV in its current form.  It has alot of features, but I don't see it being completely worth it for me until Apple adds DVR (if ever).  On the other hand, if I added a Mac Mini to the living room, I could see the everyday use being a little less seemless than Apple TV, and I don't know if my wife would like this.  Where it becomes foggy for me is the actual usage of the Apple TV. 

1.  Is the Apple TV menu accessible while watching TV and just pressing the menu button on the Apple remote?  Or do you have to switch TV/Video inputs to see it?  Similarly, I am guessing for the MacMini hookup, you would definitely have to switch AV inputs to see the iTunes Content/desktop/internet, etc., correct?

Any advice on these questions, or just general clarification of how these devices could work together would be great.

Thanks~