DIY cloud box Pogoplug gets integrated wireless
Shares disks over Wi-Fi, internet
Build-your-own-cloud company, Cloud Engines, has introduced an updated version of its disk sharing box, the Pogoplug.
Dubbed the Pogoplug Pro, the new - now black rather than fluoro pink - box adds 802.11n Wi-Fi to the package. The standard version only supports Gigabit Ethernet or lesser-speed wired links to a router.
Both boxes have four USB 2.0 ports to hook up hard drives that can then be shared locally and across the internet, through browsers; iOS, BlackBerry, WebOS and Android mobile apps; and file-system native desktops tools for Windows and Mac.
The Pro is currently only available in the US through an exclusive deal with retailer Best Buy. It costs $99, which is what Cloud Engines and other retailers are charging for the standard versions. You'll pay £99 over here. ®
Review Cloud Engines Pogoplug 2
COMMENTS
Can we stop with the cloud stuff please?
It's basically just a small linux server. You could even call it a NAS.
To use the term 'cloud' for this shows just how meaningless the term 'cloud' has become.
is 'the cloud' limitless remote storage? Is it SaaS? Is it processing power on demand like EC2? Is it webapps? Or is it now just anything with a network port?
getting sick of this nonsense.
Is this it?
Have you come across the GuruPlug Display? It sounds like what you are talking about. However it's not available yet.
What I wish for
I really wish that they'd ship one of these beasties, or something like it, with SVGA graphics and a decent chunk of RAM. Then as well as being a home fileserver, it could be an always-on web-access point, meaning that a lot of the time you'd not need to boot the "real" computer at all.
And/or give it an ADSL port or a second Ethernet port, because Linux is quite capable of being your router. Or the other way around, add USB2 ports and VGA to a Linux-based wireless router so no-one needs a PogoPlug.
If I understand this correctly....
.... it's a NAS adapter with external storage (via multiple USB connectors) and a WiFi link (if wanted) to your router. It also has built in file serving/streaming utilities. Er,.... I've had one for six years now, except that mine (Plextor PX-EH 250) has built in storage of 250GB already, has only two USB connectors for external storage and can only run an FTP server, not file streaming.
If I wanted my own 'cloud' (i.e. local network file storage, accessible over LAN from my home network and with file transfer/streaming over the internet), I'd get a Synology DS110-J for £112, and fit it with a SATA hard drive. Then I'd have a big and fast network drive with much more than just file transfer/streaming.
They seem to be using the word 'cloud' as a modern, with it, cool, fairy-dust word, to sell a relatively cheap NAS adapter.
@Pen-y-gors
Yes you missed the point entirely, it's not stored in the cloud, it's never stored in the cloud.
Basically it's a box that gives your USB key a URL that people somewhere else can then login to and view the content.
Basically it's a hardware version of Opera Unite.
