pogoplug
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Dockstar FreeAgent hacked into inexpensive emulation masterpiece (video)
Hello, multipurpose! Seagate's Pogoplug-based FreeAgent DockStar -- at least at a glance -- isn't much good to those who aren't buying up DockStar HDDs. But if you dig a little deeper, you'll realize that this minuscule adapter packs a 1.2GHz Marvell processor, 128MB of RAM and 256MB of ROM. There's also a smattering of USB ports and an Ethernet socket; add that all up, and you've got a hacker's playground. One Hunter Davis decided to see just how much he could squeeze out of this here peripheral, which can be widely found for as little as $25 nowadays. Thanks to a copy of Debian Linux, a good bit of programming know-how, a DisplayLink USB-to-VGA adapter and a USB sound adapter, he was able to concoct a homegrown emulation console that could handle nearly everything he threw at it. 'Course, you'll have to spring for those other parts if you don't have a house full of random doodads, but once he figures out how to install a battery and make the entire setup portable... look out! Head on past the break for an in-action video.
Pogoplug Pro enables remote access to four USB hard drives, adds inbuilt WiFi
Hey, Cloud Engines -- don't say we never told you pink was a bad idea. The next generation Pogoplug has launched this afternoon, bringing with it a refreshing color change and a badly-needed WiFi module within. For all intents and purposes, the Pogoplug Pro (which, oddly enough, is a consumer device) has four USB ports and allows all four of 'em to be accessed remotely so long as your ISP provides a suitable upload speed. Users can even access content on a variety of smartphones, with apps for the iPhone, Android, iPad, BlackBerry, and webOS being readily available. The inclusion of WiFi enables users to set this up wherever their hard drives are (rather than where their router is), and if you're sold already, you can snag one today at Best Buy (in-store or online) for $99. %Gallery-104662%
Pogoplug adds printing support, wireless adapter and Biz start shipping
Neat little update for Pogoplug owners today: the latest firmware update adds printing support, allowing iPhones, Android devices, and anything else that can hit the diminutive home server's web interface to print files. Any HP or Epson printer from 2005 or later is supported over USB -- network printers just need to be on the same network -- and the firmware is rolling out now. Pogoplug is also shipping that 802.11 b/g/n wireless adapter it announced earlier this month today, as well as the more enterprise-focused Pogoplug Biz. We're also told the new firmware will enable some other features, but there's no breakdown yet -- we'll let you know when we find out. PR after the break.
Pogoplug Wireless Adapter enables cord-free access, comes free to existing owners
Oftentimes in this business, loyal customers simply get left in the dust when the latest and greatest hits the scene. Not so with Pogoplug, which just busted out an impossible-to-resist new offer concerning an impossible-to-resist new device. The simply titled Pogoplug Wireless Adapter is a USB dongle that plays nice with 802.11b/g/n networks, and for all intents and purposes, finally lets you place your Pogoplug somewhere other than next door to your router. Just plug this guy in, and your Pogoplug is instantly WiFi-enabled. The device is available for pre-order now at $29 (ships in "3 to 4 weeks"), but in a glaring act of awesomeness, the company's handing 'em out for free to existing Pogoplug owners. Details of the offer are parked in the source link, and if you're looking to buy in for the first time, the Pogoplug unit itself has been reduced $30 to just $99. Try beating that with a stick... we dare you.
Pogoplug Biz adds corporate skinning, usage stats and other metrics
Remember that second generation Pogoplug we unboxed last December? Meet its corporate cousin, fresh out of LinkedIn and ready for that 40 hour work week. For all intents and purposes, the Pogoplug Biz is really a Pogoplug with just a few extra features that business owners may appreciate, such as enabling said owners to use their own domain name(s) and customize (or "skin") the user interface and email templates. The device -- which can connect up to four external HDDs to the internet -- also keeps track of how many visits, streams and downloads your files rack up, and you can even claim your own custom email addresses to let clients email files directly to the Pogoplug. The full list of extras awaits you past the break, and you can pre-order one for $299 (with lifetime Pogoplug service) down in the source link. %Gallery-97836%
4Home, Marvell partner for energy monitoring plug computer
If you asked Intel what this is, the company would tell you it's an experimental power sensor; if you asked a storage guru, they'd ID it as the PogoPlug. Truth be told, it's a miniature Linux computer designed by Marvell -- who's apparently decided to beat Intel at the former function. Through a partnership with 4Home, Marvell's latest 2GHz SheevaPlug will become a smart meter that measures power consumption right from the outlet, ostensibly allowing you to figure out which blasted light the kids left on this time without shoving a pricey home automation kit into your walls. No word on how much it'll cost to keep tabs on your energy bill or when you'll be able to do it, but we'll ask those important questions and more when we see the device for ourselves later this week. PR after the break.
Pogoplug now streaming to Xbox 360 and PS3, handling offsite backups
It's been a long and painful four months since Pogoplug introduced its second generation NAS-ifier, but those who've been holding out for additional functionality can finally buy in. In an effort to cater to these so-called "gamers," the company has enabled its device to stream multimedia content directly to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game consoles; users will be able to access, share and stream media directly to their console from any local or remotely located Pogoplug, and if all goes well, your console should actually see the drives connected to the Pogoplug and the contents of other shared Pogoplugs automatically. In related news, the unit is also now capable of pushing out offsite backups through a new version of Active Copy (shown above), so all that's left to do is hop online and suck down that tasty firmware update that should be waiting. Enjoy! %Gallery-88335%
Pogoplug second generation unboxing
We hope you like pink. Cloud Engines' new iteration of Pogoplug just landed on our doorstep, oddly enough packed with an unopened pack of microwavable popcorn (something tells us we're missing a joke here). We're still in the plugging-in-and-testing phase, but no point in depriving you of the unboxing fun while we do that, right? Right. Enjoy the gallery below. %Gallery-79946%
Sharkoon USB LANPort gets your isolated USB drives on your local network
Pogoplug may have been the first to make this type of contraption popular, but now it's time for the no-names to sneak in and offer up comparable devices for a bit less cheddar. Sharkoon has evidently taken a break from punching out SATA HDD Docks in order to develop its USB LANPort, which effectively puts any piece of USB storage (flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) on one's local network -- though it seems this is mainly for making multiple drives available to a variety of machines via customized permissions. The USB LANPort 100 converts a single drive into a device that can be streamed from locally, while the USB LANPort 400 handles up to four USB devices. Unfortunately it looks as if these weren't designed to link USB drives to the internet at large, but we're sure the hacker in you could figure it out. Both boxes support automatic and manual IP address contacts, and they're both available now across the pond for €22.99 ($34) / €36.99 ($56) in order of mention. As for a US release? Your guess is as good as ours.
Pogoplug second generation debuts, coming this holiday with enhanced web interface
Well, well, looks like Cloud Engines, Inc. is doing what it can to poise Pogoplug as a much more consumer-friendly device, both in hardware design and expanded web interface. The second generation Pogoplug solves one of our chief complaints of the first -- namely, four USB ports instead of just one -- while at the same time still sticking with ethernet as its sole internet connection of choice. It's also much more stylish in design, with an elongated clear casing and a pink strip of plastic serving as the faceplate, stand, and the cable organizer. A bit bulkier, sure, but it's certainly something we don't mind being seen on our desk. As far as the new UI goes, it's a simple drag-and-drop interface, multimedia slide shows (worth it if you have good taste in music, but the statistics aren't in your favor), and options for instant sharing to Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, via links to the specifically selected pogoplug content. It can autosync with popular multimedia apps like iTunes, Windows Media Player, and iPhoto. One nice bonus is direct playback of video from the interface -- works on iPhone, too, but in both cases it's a pretty low res presentation. At $129, it's a little costlier than the old model, but the company's promising no additional service fees. It's coming out in time for this holiday season. Fan of the first generation hardware? The good news is that it'll be updated with all the new features, giving you the same experience minus the new style and extra USB ports. The bad news is, the older model's on the outs -- from now on, it's a second generation world. We're looking forward to some serious sit-down time here, but in the meantime, please check out images from our brief hands-on at an event earlier this week -- press release is after the break, too, if you're interested.
Seagate gets NASty with Pogoplug-based FreeAgent DockStar: hands-on
Hard to believe this is Seagate's first consumer NAS offering (keyword being "consumer"), but sure enough, the FreeAgent DockStar is the company's first major effort to get its own line of FreeAgent Go hard drives onto your network. Without getting into too much detail, this simple dock is essentially a Pogoplug with a built-in cradle for one's FreeAgent Go USB (read: not FireWire) HDD. Thankfully, a trifecta of USB 2.0 sockets are littered about the edges, ensuring that at least three standard USB drives can also be connected and accessed over the web. We've yet to have a chance to put this bugger through its paces, but since we know all about the underlying technology, you can probably learn everything you need to know from our Pogoplug review. For those who'd rather opt for a Seagate'd version of an already available product, this DockStar is shipping today for $99.99. Oh, and we should mention that it comes with a year of the Pogoplug service, but after that, you'll be shelling out $29.99 per year for unlimited sharing and remote access.In related news, Seagate is also introducing three new capacities for its FreeAgent Go family. In addition to the 250GB, 320GB, 500GB and 640GB versions already out there, the range will now include a 750GB, 880GB and 1TB version. Too bad no pricing or release details are available on those, but we'll be keeping an eye out.%Gallery-73065%%Gallery-73143%
Pogoplug adds journaled HFS+ support
When I wrote about Pogoplug earlier this month, journaled HFS+ support was missing in action. That was a shame, since it's the most common drive format for Mac users. Pogoplug is a network drive adapter coupled with a web service that allows you to access a personal drive from anywhere on the Internet without having to worry about firewalls and other security issues. You plug a drive into the Pogoplug, connect the unit to power, and you can securely access that data no matter where you are, from your laptop, another computer, or from an iPhone.Today, Pogoplug has announced support for journaled HFS+ formatted drives. You can now plug in almost any drive formatted for use on the Mac and it'll work with Pogoplug.That's great, because the last few times I dredged up Disk Utility (from /Applications/Utilities), it was to re-format drives to use with the Pogoplug system. (You can also turn off journaling from the Terminal, if you're so inclined, via the 'diskutil' command.) What's particularly cool is that Pogoplug is currently working on developing remote backup assistance. They don't support Time Capsule yet, but the Pogoplug developers say they're working on having "the Pogoplug play nice with [Time Capsule and other remote storage devices] and allow our users to back up to their home drives automatically and regularly." Being able to set up off-site backup drives with just a simple plug-and-go sounds like an awesome business opportunity for anyone with a central router and a whole bunch of USB hubs. But even if you're setting up your off-site backup at your sister-in-law's ("Sure, go ahead and plug in that...um...thing. Can I take it out if I need to vacuum?"), that's a fine way to keep your backups physically remote from your primary computing space. At just $99 plus the cost of a hard drive (the lifetime service is included free), a bargain.
Pogoplug: Your data, wherever you are
When word about the Pogoplug hit TUAW central, we debated to see who would luck out and and cover the device. Apart from a few cuts and bruises, nearly all of which will mend in a matter of weeks if the doctors are to be believed, I won. The past few days, I've had the pleasure of road testing a unit. And it's awesome. The Pogoplug offers a USB NAS adapter, i.e. a network-attached storage system, that gives you network access to your data from home and on the road. With NAS you can use common protocols like AFP and SMB to connect to a remote disk. And you can do so easily. That's a big win, because choosing and setting up these remote devices has been a deal killer for many otherwise interested people. As Brad Dietrich, Pogoplug's CTO, told TUAW, "[Until now], the state of home networking has been too complicated and geeky for most people." Pogoplug provides a simple solution. What Pogoplug brings to the party is a remarkable ease of use that crosses past any issues of firewalls and port setup and delivers remote storage to normal (i.e. read "non-geek") humans. It transforms remote file access into a consumer device. And best of all, it provides this for just $99.
Pogoplug iPhone app makes its way into the world
Just in case you've been trying to worm your way into your network-connected hard drive via your phone, the folks at Pogoplug have made their iPhone application available, free of charge. After you're done Skype'ing, you can check out some family photos. C'mon -- you know you need those files.
Pogoplug review
When we first caught wind of the Pogoplug -- a small box that essentially lets you turn any USB hard drive (and drives only) into a network device -- we were pretty darn excited. Having a house full of disparate storage boxes and no easy way to connect to them made the prospect of the 'plug seem very enticing. Not only does the Pogoplug make your drive accessible via your PC (with accompanying software), but it -- we think more importantly -- makes the drive accessible via a web front-end and an iPhone app. We finally had a chance to break one of these out and see how it performs, and our findings are below.
Marvell's SheevaPlug Linux PC fits in its power adapter
Marvell has the technology and the vision, and if the company gets its way the world will soon be overrun by lilliputian Linux machines. Hiding in wall warts and the like, these guys will begin quietly taking over tasks that we once relegated to servers and desktop machines. To this end, the company has just announced that they'll be making the SheevaPlug dev kit available. This is the platform that PogoPlug is based on, consisting of a 1.2GHz Kirkwood processor, 512MB flash storage, 512MB DRAM, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and USB 2.0. This bad boy supports many standard Linux 2.6 kernel distributions, and the whole thing plugs directly into a standard wall socket, drawing "less than one tenth of the power of a typical PC" while in use. Currently available for $99, the company says that it anticipates a price drop to $49 "in the near future."
Pogoplug hands-on
The Pogoplug USB to NAS adapter is really in a class of its own. Not only does it do the obvious -- allow you to turn any USB hard drive into a NAS -- but it is also has a built in web server. But no, they didn't stop there, for $79 you also get (in our best Billy Mays voice) a web service accessible at Pogoplug.com that gives you the same convenient access to your files anywhere on the internet via either a web browser or the file manager of your choice. There is also a slick little iPhone app available for free.%Gallery-41194%
PogoPlug makes all your external USB HDDs network accessible
Look out Addonics -- PogoPlug is looking to steal your thunder here at CES by introducing a USB-to-NAS adapter of its own. Put as simply as possible, the device connects your USB hard drive to your internet router, and after a "simple" software setup, the files within said drive can be accessed from any internet-connected PC. As for pricing? Try $99 MSRP, or $79 if you buy in early. Full release, as usual, is after the break.
