Pogoplug review
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted April 6th 2009 12:27PM
posted April 6th 2009 12:27PM
Setup
The setup for a Pogoplug seems straightforward enough: just plug in any NTFS, FAT32, non-journaled HFS+, ext2, or ext3 drive into the box, plug the box into a router, follow a quick setup guide, and away you go. Easy enough, right? Yes -- but not without a few minor hitches. Our first problem was a basic one -- why do we need to physically plug this into a router? Not only did it make finding a spot for the box and the drive that much harder, but in an age where everything is going wireless, this seems like a bit of a step backwards. Secondly, when it came time to input the access code for the Pogoplug -- inconveniently located on the side of the adapter -- we had to run over to where our router was situated and copy it down. Kind of a pain, given how many other ways there are to handle something like this.
Regardless, once that code went in and we created an account on the company's "My Pogoplug" page, we were all set.
In use
The Pogoplug definitely works as advertised. In fact, we can't think of another box that makes it this easy to get web access to your data. Once you log into your account, you're presented with your drive just as if you're browsing to it on your desktop (though obviously via a web interface). The layout of the site is clean and simple, and makes navigating your content fairly simple. From the portal, you can browse files, view some video or image files, listen to audio, and download those files to your local drive. If you have write access, you can also do basic management like deleting, renaming, or moving files.
You can also pick specific folders and share them with others, providing a quick way to give access to files for viewing or downloading. The app sends a link to the people you choose to share with, and you can also create an RSS feed of particular folders.
Additionally, you can download a small piece of software that lets you mount the networked drive as you would anything else on your computer, and there's an iPhone app that lets you get at those files in almost exactly the same way you would via the web. The iPhone app doesn't seem to be bug free; it didn't display entire lists of files properly, though on the upside, it allows you to listen to some audio in the background (of the Pogoplug app that is), view compatible image and video files, and download files locally to the phone (though they're only viewable in the app).
Wrap-up
All-in-all, we like the Pogoplug a lot, but we do have a couple of quibbles. Mainly, we wish this were a WiFi enabled device, which would spare some cables and setup pain. Additionally, it would be nice to see a device of this nature with multiple USB ports instead of just the one -- yes, you can attach a hub, but you're already dealing with a mess of lines as it is. Still, for $99, the ability to turn a random drive into not only a network-accessible device, but a remotely-accessible device is huge, and we plan on putting it into heavy rotation around here.
Interesting, there is also a pogoplug and another similar devices in your link, actually...
The PogoPlug is pretty much a SheevaPlug with 3rd party software.
Do any of you really get it?
Sure, you can use this the way they advertise it, using the Pogoplug web interface, bla bla. I'm sure that will be worth the $99 for many people.
But what this REALLY represents is a low-cost, low-power, linux server with gigabit ethernet, and it can be plugged in nearly anywhere (any power outlet that can also be reached by an ethernet cable from a hub or router). The thing has gigabit ethernet, USB, and 512MB of RAM! In a month, this thing will have a hacker community that will rival the NSLU2 community.
So ... buy a USB key on the cheap and put a web-server nearly anywhere. Have a seedbox/torrent server nearly anywhere. Stream music and video from nearly anywhere.
I mean, really ... does no one see the opportunities here? This is just like a Linksys NSLU2 device, but faster processor, faster networking, much more RAM ... and $99!
pogoplug is a SheevaPlug, genius. Your own link says as much.
Pros: Allows anyone to set up file sharing without having to know how to port forward, etc. This would be good for the non-tech savy people, and sounds like it is almost PnP. You have their website to make accessing easier. No DNS service needed.
Cons: You have to go through their website. They go under and you end up with a doorstop. No mention of security for your files. No mention of any encryption to protect your files from hackers.
Nons: There are better ways to set up a share that takes a bit more tech and savy but why involve a middle man unless you want to go PnP and accept the risk. There are external harddrives with network ports that can be accessed from their own internal web server. You can also get a real NAS if you want to go to the expense.
Pogoplug is a SheevaPlug implementation, with their own software to make it user-friendly out of the box. I don't think it's a particularly powerful example of what the plug can do though, particularly when you can get the SheevaPlug development kit (with the debug port and HW to easily reflash over USB) for... $99!
I agree with wise up about the hardware, but I don't see a pogoplug hacker community growing up so much as a SheevaPlug community.
In ubuntu (and probably most other distros)....
Places > Connect to server
Select ssh. Fill in...
server > your.free.noip.com:22
folder > /path/to/dir
user/password
There you go. You need to open port 22 on your router, leave your [ssh enabled] computer on, and have a noip account (takes about 2 minutes to get one, use it the rest of your life) This "Connect to server" wizard is just an Ubuntu frontend for sftp. sftp should would on Macs and Windows with puTTY.
Pros: Free. Mounts files locally, no stupid web interface. (mounts in ~/.gvfs/)
Cons: Only serve from linux or mac (afaik) which most people do not use. need to leave the whole server on as opposed to just a harddrive.
Works for me. Just throwing it out there.
I agree, and there are plenty of other ways to achieve similar effect with a small amount of home-rolled linux. The SheevaPlug (the base platform for this device) is kinda neat because it holds a moderately powerful machine inside of a large wall-wart. You can drop a linux install onto it, customized as you see fit, and then plug it into AC + network + storage device(s). The appeal over a full-size machine to me, other than size, is the fact that it draws something like 5-10W continuous.
I'm curious about how it compares to the NSLU boxes though.
wiseup's handle is apt.
I preordered 2 of these. Why? Cuz there Linux servers. Someone will release a "patch" a.k.a. mod that will open up it's full potential. I want one to do a webcam. Cheaper than a dedicated Thinkpad like I've been using. I also want a mini-server to host my RSS feeds on.
For $79 more you can get the Apple Wireless router that has dual antennas for 802.11n and the other for g,b and a. You can attach drives and printers to the USB.
Or many other brands, exactly, good point, people are in fact enthusiastic about apple's wireless products though, even non-apple types, so you don't even need others, but still, my point is that this pogo product is madness IMHO as you indicate with your simple statement.
Waste of money...
Just buy the Linksys NSLU2, patch it with 'Debian' and you can do a lot more!
windows homeserver is not an option. it only had file transfer over the internet. if you were lucky to keep the darn thing working without constantly rebooting. it didn't have playback.
while wireless would be nice. it'll never compare to the speed of a hardwire. and when your transfering 4 gig files.
i would like to know the transfer speed over the internet of the pogo. i've seen lots of http programs that throttle speeds. although if your doing more then one file. you can take full advantage of whatever speed you have. split between files.
i looked at the nas deal. said it requires ftp client software. even though its cheaper. lot of people i transfer with aren't that bright with computers. or don't want to be bothered with software.
while i would be interested in checking out this pogo someday. i've found 3 ftp programs that are free. using a usb drive i've had for awhile now. there are also free http programs. but like i said. they limit your speed per file. for playback, i use orb. which is also free. none of which require software installed for the receiving user.
two advantages i can see from pogo would be not having forwarded ports open to pc. and not having to leave pc on for someone to download a file. but if it uses http. my dad can pull down at 300kbps using ftp. but only gets 50kbps using http. PER file. he has to pull down 6 http files to match 1 ftp file speed. and some http programs i've tried aren't as fast as others.
I'm interested on this HARDWARE (I don't care about the software, who wants to give file access to someone else's site... err, ok, there is dumb people out there, cloud computing is gonna be a hit).
But the hardware... pretty sweet for a hundred bucks. You just install debian for arm on it and you can have a web server, a home file server, an automated backup server... anything you can think of. For a plug that stays behind your desk consuming less than 10 watts.
Props!
Im definitely buying this......
I think the lack of wifi is a good thing; it would make things unecessarily slow, decrease reliability, and since you have to stow your USB drive, the pogoplug, and the USB drive somewhere, it might as well all be together. Saves space and increases reliability and speed to not bother with wifi for something like the pogoplug.
I would just say again that if you are interested in the Hardware, which I think many people are, you should really check out the SheevaPlug dev kit. It's the reference hardware upon which this was built, and includes the flash/debug interface. I think I actually learned about it on wired, maybe somewhere else, but here it is:
http://www.marvell.com/products/embedded_processors/developer/kirkwood/sheevaplug.jsp
Personally, I don't see any reason to buy this as a product if you're interested in the hardware. The hardware is available as a platform for developers for the same price!
Hum, seems to me that if you are the kind of person that wants access your own files through the Internet, that there are plenty of options doing the same thing w/o an additional device and even by just using the existing hardware that the Pogo needs. And if you are not that kind of person, another device probably won't do it for you; if anything it will scare you away. This would be interesting if it had WiFi (as pointed out by the article) and if it already had storage on board (in addition to multiple USB connectors); or even better: if it also ran Apache.
1) This is the Sheva device with additional system support. http://www.marvell.com/
2) The Adonics device is not the same as this, other network drive systems are not the same. The Linksys Network storage device is not te same. I happen to have a networked Maxtor drive, and it's great for the LAN, but if I want to share it on the WAN, I would have to configure port forwarding on my router, get a godady account, leave my power hungry PC running 24/7... The software they are packaging with the Shiva device is the pogoplug keeps in contact with the POGO server in case your ISP changes your IP address. If this happens, they recognize that & reestablish the link. Those devices could be modified so they could provide this same service, but those vendors don't offer it. BTW, I paid about $250 for my MAXTRO 500GB networked drive - a bit pricy, and it f's up all the time... I have to reinstall drivers about every 4 months. The entire purpose of bundling the Sheva device with the POGO software IS IS IS WAN access thru any internet connection.
3) yes, you can plug in a USB hub & add multiple hard drives. I do not know the limits though.
4) if your worried about security, you had better encrypt files before trusting them to a $99 appliance. If your sharing pictures with Grandma, I think this device has enough security. Why the heck do some of you crazy's think POGO wants to look at the pictures where you got naked & chased the neighbors dog anyway? YES, worry about security, don't put sensitive informaton on this thing w/o protecting it. There isn't enough information on this yet to make anone think it has a strong encryption mechanism (although I expect the web interface does).
5) In addition to the power consumed by your hard drive, this device uses only 4-5 W.
This is much better than a 300W computer. So even if you wanted to go thru the hassles of other methods, and likely spend more on hardware, this makes since with an energy star hard drive.
6) I agree that the reviewer was in LA LA land when they wanted a wireless device. Adding wireless would cost at least $20, and most people would never want to use it. Just go buy a Buffaloe Wireless Bridge, or linksys game adaptor if you want a wireless access point. Next thing, he will want a wireless 120 V power supply. ZAP!
7) I don't think the Dell Optoplex (ALONE) resolves the dynamic IP addressing provided by your ISP.
8) A dual NIC device that would allow setting up a VPN thru a website (preferably a big co like CISCO) would be killer. Also, seems like the hardware would not be that different. For now, this device puts your drive on the internet until you & Granma can be on the same VPN across 6 states.
9) The person who asked about SPEED should get the $64,000 because I think anone considering buying this wants to know if the speed is similar to a networked drive when on the LAN. I understand it might be slow on the WAN, but if I go to copy last week's Gilligan's Island to the drive... I don't want to spend a half hour doing it.
Also See:
http://www.eyecontechnologies.com/
http://www.axentra.com/en/
http://www.ctera.com/home/ctera-cloudplug.html