For $99 why not jsut go to goodwill, craiglist, or garage sale, and pick up any old computer from the last 8 years for $40 and put your drive in there? Duh...
Well, for one, because that would mean an ugly metal box will be taking extra space up wherever it is you put it. It will produce unnecessary heat, noise and draw power. Not to mention the fact that you would have to spend time maintaining it's operating system and any components that will die off.
The PogoPlug Series 4 has a critical file bug in both PC and Mac formatted drives: It loses meta data such as the creation date. This is crucially lost information when storing video or photos. It still hasn't been fixed by PogoPlug since June 2012. I have had to retire my PogoPlugs because of this bug. This bug makes them useless for back-ups.
The best solution is to get PogoPlugPC - their software - which turns a PC or Mac into a PogoPlug. When you couple this with a Mac Mini or Inexpensive PC Laptop - which cost $300 these days or less - then you have a very effective backup system, which draws little power, doesn't cause much noise or heat. And it is much faster in use than the PogoPlug device. Realize that the PogoPlug device is a mini Linux PC with a slow CPU. The PogoPlugPC solution is the best solution overall - with unlimited storage that you control, that is not somewhere in the cloud where hackers can break into or PogoPlug can lose.
That would involve adding a SATA controller, and that would add cost. You can assume that as costs for certain controllers go down, the respective ports will find homes in these types of devices. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if we someday see TB make an appearance.
The Series 4 does have a SATA port... It's on top under the removable cap, along with a USB 2.0 port.
I'm not really sure how 3 USB ports, 1 SATA port and an SD card slot allow for the advertised "infinite storage expansion", unless you consider connecting it to the internet via Ethernet the same as connecting it to the "infinite" resources of "the cloud".
No amount of SATA, USB and SD card slots would allow INFINITE storage, since the amount of matter in the universe (and, more relevantly, on planet Earth) is decidedly finite in nature.
However, with USB3 connectors you can attach as much fast storage as you're ever likely to need/want, so there's no practical difference really as far as normal people are concerned.
You can potentially use a USB 3.0 Hub to add more USB 3.0 ports.
However, the PogoPlug is essentially a small Linux computer with a slow CPU. After a while, it simply cannot handle the amount of data in multiple terrabyte hard drives. It would take forever for it to add previews for the photos and convert the videos for streaming.
There is also the risk of the PogoPlug destroying data on the hard drives in a multiple-hard drive setup.
Thus I would recommend only one hard drive attached per PogoPlug. You can buy several PogoPlugs if that suits your needs since they are inexpensive.
Let me add one other thing... right now this thing is one sale for $60. That's, what? -- the cost of a major video game? It's a great deal if you just want something to plug in and have it "work."
They don't. Buffalo sells a the CloudStor which is a NAS with pogoplug built-in. But like most of these consumer grade products, hackability is limited. They want you to run it stock, and operate it with their tools. That said, the original DeskStar was hacked into quite the emulation box, believe it or not.
The HW spec looks good for the price. But the real issue is the software. If there is no internet connection you cannot access your pogoplug even if it sits on your desk How good it is for a personal cloud?
TonidoPlug (www.tonidoplug.com) has the right architecture for personal cloud.
Does the PogoPlug use more or fewer watts than the (released but not available in a retail package) Atom n2600? For a frame of reference, page 112 of the n2600 Datasheet (v. 1/2) lists an average power requirement of 1.09 watts. Looking at the $99 price the PogoPlug should compete with the Atom and the petite form factor has appeal.
I prefer using one of my old MacBook Pros as a network storage device.
For one thing, I can turn it into a PogoPlug with the PogoPlug software. This allows me to use it like any PogoPlug device - but faster and more reliable.
Another, I can directly connect to it via my local network from other computers. Thus, the transfer rate is at gigabit ethernet speeds or high speed WiFi. And the data doesn't have to go through 3rd party servers. Since it is much more powerful than a PogoPlug, connections to it from through the internet are FAR FASTER.
I can even monitor what is going on in the office via the MacBook's camera.
Another, I can use several cloud services simultaneously when using a MacBook Pro - PogoPlug, iCloud, VPN, iTeleport, Air Video, ShareTool, Hamachi, etc. I am not limited in connecting to my data like with specialized services.
Another, I can back up to several hard drives attached to the MacBook Pro. Each drive can be formatted as I want - such as the Mac HFS file system or a Windows file system. Thus, files can be stored without losing metadata - unlike other network attached devices.
Additionally, the storage is very stable. Macs hardly crash. And they don't destroy drives. PogoPlugs are notorious for destroying drives.
The biggest advantage: the full power of a computer server. Of course, a PC can also be used this way.
Since I am using a Laptop, the energy requirements are very low compared to a desktop.
Used laptops are CHEAP. They (and Macs in particular) will cause far fewer headaches than using a PogoPlug.
Actually, for the *average user*, a PC, Mac, or Linux box will cause far *MORE* headaches if you're trying to set up a machine that's readily accessible, *by name*, *behind a firewall*, has *clients for all major desktop and mobile OSes*, and still locates the primary storage with "you" rather than somewhere in the cloud (ala DropBox).
I have a Linux box that does these sorts of things, and it's great -- as with your MacBook scenario, you get a lot of extra benefits. But even with the Mac OS, I guarantee you someone like my *mother* could never set it up properly, whereas she'd have no problem getting a Pogoplug device to work. That's really what you're paying for here -- a Plug-and-Play type of device that pretty much *anyone* can use.
Essentially... anyone who has the ask the question of whether they'd be better off with a Pogoplug or a traditional PC to perform these functions is almost always going to have a much easier time going the Pogoplug route -- I wouldn't recommend the traditional PC route to them unless I knew they were "technies" who'd enjoy the substantial learning curve involved.
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IBM650 - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
They have a history of destroying NTFS drives, hopefully they have fixed this.jameskatt - Sunday, March 10, 2013 - link
They still do.Shadowmaster625 - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
For $99 why not jsut go to goodwill, craiglist, or garage sale, and pick up any old computer from the last 8 years for $40 and put your drive in there? Duh...MeesterNid - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
Well, for one, because that would mean an ugly metal box will be taking extra space up wherever it is you put it. It will produce unnecessary heat, noise and draw power. Not to mention the fact that you would have to spend time maintaining it's operating system and any components that will die off.JasonInofuentes - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
+1blueeyesm - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
1) Power consumption - older systems will consume more power than a unit like this, esp. mechanical drives2) Unknown working condition - You don't want to buy a flaky system
3) Warranty - even if you bought it for 20 bucks, if you have to spend money 2 weeks later to fix, then the investment was not worth it
4) Time to set up and configure - too many people don't have that kind of time
5) Older units tend to be noisier
It's admirable to try to re-purpose a used system, but it's far more worthwhile to have the materials in that older system be recycled.
JasonInofuentes - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
+1JasonInofuentes - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
And you still aren't going to get the benefits of the PogoPlug cloud services.jameskatt - Sunday, March 10, 2013 - link
The PogoPlug Series 4 has a critical file bug in both PC and Mac formatted drives: It loses meta data such as the creation date. This is crucially lost information when storing video or photos. It still hasn't been fixed by PogoPlug since June 2012. I have had to retire my PogoPlugs because of this bug. This bug makes them useless for back-ups.The best solution is to get PogoPlugPC - their software - which turns a PC or Mac into a PogoPlug. When you couple this with a Mac Mini or Inexpensive PC Laptop - which cost $300 these days or less - then you have a very effective backup system, which draws little power, doesn't cause much noise or heat. And it is much faster in use than the PogoPlug device. Realize that the PogoPlug device is a mini Linux PC with a slow CPU. The PogoPlugPC solution is the best solution overall - with unlimited storage that you control, that is not somewhere in the cloud where hackers can break into or PogoPlug can lose.
ant6n - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
If they added 4..6 sata ports, it would be much more interesting.JasonInofuentes - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
That would involve adding a SATA controller, and that would add cost. You can assume that as costs for certain controllers go down, the respective ports will find homes in these types of devices. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if we someday see TB make an appearance.repoman27 - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
The Series 4 does have a SATA port... It's on top under the removable cap, along with a USB 2.0 port.I'm not really sure how 3 USB ports, 1 SATA port and an SD card slot allow for the advertised "infinite storage expansion", unless you consider connecting it to the internet via Ethernet the same as connecting it to the "infinite" resources of "the cloud".
FaaR - Thursday, December 15, 2011 - link
No amount of SATA, USB and SD card slots would allow INFINITE storage, since the amount of matter in the universe (and, more relevantly, on planet Earth) is decidedly finite in nature.However, with USB3 connectors you can attach as much fast storage as you're ever likely to need/want, so there's no practical difference really as far as normal people are concerned.
jameskatt - Sunday, March 10, 2013 - link
You can potentially use a USB 3.0 Hub to add more USB 3.0 ports.However, the PogoPlug is essentially a small Linux computer with a slow CPU. After a while, it simply cannot handle the amount of data in multiple terrabyte hard drives. It would take forever for it to add previews for the photos and convert the videos for streaming.
There is also the risk of the PogoPlug destroying data on the hard drives in a multiple-hard drive setup.
Thus I would recommend only one hard drive attached per PogoPlug. You can buy several PogoPlugs if that suits your needs since they are inexpensive.
JKolstad - Friday, December 23, 2011 - link
Let me add one other thing... right now this thing is one sale for $60. That's, what? -- the cost of a major video game? It's a great deal if you just want something to plug in and have it "work."JKolstad - Friday, December 23, 2011 - link
Sorry, I hit "reply" to the wrong comment here; please ignore this post!MySchizoBuddy - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
Do they sell a complete solution with NAS compatible linux OS installed. Everything configured and working out of the box.JasonInofuentes - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
They don't. Buffalo sells a the CloudStor which is a NAS with pogoplug built-in. But like most of these consumer grade products, hackability is limited. They want you to run it stock, and operate it with their tools. That said, the original DeskStar was hacked into quite the emulation box, believe it or not.mcary - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
The HW spec looks good for the price. But the real issue is the software.If there is no internet connection you cannot access your pogoplug even if it sits on your desk How good it is for a personal cloud?
TonidoPlug (www.tonidoplug.com) has the right architecture for personal cloud.
dealcorn - Thursday, December 15, 2011 - link
Does the PogoPlug use more or fewer watts than the (released but not available in a retail package) Atom n2600? For a frame of reference, page 112 of the n2600 Datasheet (v. 1/2) lists an average power requirement of 1.09 watts. Looking at the $99 price the PogoPlug should compete with the Atom and the petite form factor has appeal.MadMacMan - Thursday, December 15, 2011 - link
USB 3.0 AND Gigabit Ethernet? Most NAS/DAS devices don't have both. It's usually one or the other. hmmm......fashionbook - Tuesday, December 20, 2011 - link
Our Website: ===== www fashion-long-4biz com ====Our main product list is as follows:
jameskatt - Friday, December 23, 2011 - link
I prefer using one of my old MacBook Pros as a network storage device.For one thing, I can turn it into a PogoPlug with the PogoPlug software. This allows me to use it like any PogoPlug device - but faster and more reliable.
Another, I can directly connect to it via my local network from other computers. Thus, the transfer rate is at gigabit ethernet speeds or high speed WiFi. And the data doesn't have to go through 3rd party servers. Since it is much more powerful than a PogoPlug, connections to it from through the internet are FAR FASTER.
I can even monitor what is going on in the office via the MacBook's camera.
Another, I can use several cloud services simultaneously when using a MacBook Pro - PogoPlug, iCloud, VPN, iTeleport, Air Video, ShareTool, Hamachi, etc. I am not limited in connecting to my data like with specialized services.
Another, I can back up to several hard drives attached to the MacBook Pro. Each drive can be formatted as I want - such as the Mac HFS file system or a Windows file system. Thus, files can be stored without losing metadata - unlike other network attached devices.
Additionally, the storage is very stable. Macs hardly crash. And they don't destroy drives. PogoPlugs are notorious for destroying drives.
The biggest advantage: the full power of a computer server. Of course, a PC can also be used this way.
Since I am using a Laptop, the energy requirements are very low compared to a desktop.
Used laptops are CHEAP. They (and Macs in particular) will cause far fewer headaches than using a PogoPlug.
JKolstad - Friday, December 23, 2011 - link
Actually, for the *average user*, a PC, Mac, or Linux box will cause far *MORE* headaches if you're trying to set up a machine that's readily accessible, *by name*, *behind a firewall*, has *clients for all major desktop and mobile OSes*, and still locates the primary storage with "you" rather than somewhere in the cloud (ala DropBox).I have a Linux box that does these sorts of things, and it's great -- as with your MacBook scenario, you get a lot of extra benefits. But even with the Mac OS, I guarantee you someone like my *mother* could never set it up properly, whereas she'd have no problem getting a Pogoplug device to work. That's really what you're paying for here -- a Plug-and-Play type of device that pretty much *anyone* can use.
Essentially... anyone who has the ask the question of whether they'd be better off with a Pogoplug or a traditional PC to perform these functions is almost always going to have a much easier time going the Pogoplug route -- I wouldn't recommend the traditional PC route to them unless I knew they were "technies" who'd enjoy the substantial learning curve involved.