Pogoplug Classic Media Sharing Device in Pink or Black (POGO-B01 or POGO-P21) $15 + Free Shipping

I haven't tried Arch but I know Debian on my E02 fails to boot sometimes after power loss. Really annoying when you have no display option other than netconsole to diagnose the issue. Apparently ext2 (default filesystem used by the Debian installer) has a tendency to corrupt when run off a flash drive.

I need to take it back out of the box and try Arch but I also think people should know that hacking this thing isn't always gumdrops and rainbows. For $15 though, it's an awesome toy.

My thoughts:

1. I wouldn't trust the PogoPlug internet software to be around for the next few months. While I haven't heard anything about the financial state of the company, they are currently peddling an online cloud service with absolutely nothing to distinguish itself from Dropbox, Google Drive, or Microsoft Skydrive. They seem to be desperately searching for another revenue stream now that cloud storage has eliminated the need for a networked physical storage device. I'm highly skeptical of this approach, mainly because the market is already filled with cloud storage options. I wouldn't trust that they will remain in business.

2. That being said, the PogoPlug is basically a miniature computer with easy network access. As such, you can install Archlinux and do lots of things with it - right now, I'm using it as a web server, and you could even install owncloud to get the same functionality as the original PogoPlug without having to worry about eventually losing access to their web client.

So, to sum up . . .

If you're not very tech savvy, I probably would pass on the purchase. If you're willing to play around with it, it's a pretty useful device.

Thanks Gabe23111. I hope this works well. I can't use an external drive at work so this may be the answer I need to access files from home without having to email it to my work.

Quote from eibgrad : Folks, this device is NOT intended for local file access/streaming. It’s targeted for internet access. Yes, it will effectively provide local file access/streaming since every client will probably have access to the internet too. But the way it works is, even if you only want to transfer files locally, it will UPLOAD the files to their website first, then DOWNLOAD it again to your network! The only way to avoid the UPLOAD is to optionally copy your local files to their cloud storage. But even so, you still have to DOWNLOAD it. The only efficiency in the whole process is that each client will cache any previously downloaded files, at least for some period of time (e.g., probably not across a reboot). IOW, PP is targeting this towards REMOTE ACCESS, and as such, it’s not optimized for local file access/streaming. Again, you can do it, but I would never use the PP primarily for those purposes.

The above is nonsense. Local file shareing does not upload/download.

Quote from Bagira : I don't know about B01, but I've got 4 E02s. Once you install ArchLinux and Samba on those, you can have a real NAS for the fraction of what some companies charge for their NAS computers.

I have the E02....awesome so far for the cheapest NAS with 3 USB drives so far.

use puty and batch script to have the unit run automatically after boot up.

Quote from Medic311 : if you think hot pink goes even better with white and blue...you need your eyes checked my friend lol of all of the colors of the rainbow and the colors that result from mixing as well...to go with hot pink on their part is idiotic. proof of my statement can be seen how these never sell and they are forced to sell off excess inventory at a 75% drop in price

Not really stupid. Pink makes sense from a device recognition stand point. (4 letter p words Pink Pogo Plug) It also looks modern and less intimidating, which is a major obstacle for a lot of people when i comes to anything network related.

Also, this was far from the first Pogo device, but it was the first to sell in huge numbers.
It's the first Plug device to sell well at all. I bought a different diy Plug about 7 years ago

Aside from that these have always sold this cheap. I bought mine 3 years ago for $25 directly from Pogo through their partner program

New to linux, servers, and what not but great with following directions
Is there a step by step guide for dummies on what to do and what to install for my needs? Or a good source or forum with people I can badger?

I want to have a drive connected to the pogoplug and load files through my pc on network and remotely if possible. I want to be able to share files to non-techie friends and family. Someone mentioned something called Owncloud?
Streaming is not a must but great if possible.

Some might suggest to use the stock pogoplug but I want to try linux for a couple of reasons (not have pogoplug be the intermediary of my files, not rely on pogoplug if they shut down, etc.)

Thanks!

Can someone tell me what the difference is in the various models (like the B01 vs the P21)?

Do any offer wireless printing out of the box?

I am kinda lost... is this comparable to a NAS?
accessible with AppleTV?

Does it do Wi di?

It's amazing how much the Chinese enjoying making things this color...pink !!

Can this share media to AppleTV?

I primarily want to share/stream over lan, is this the cheaper option? Or is there a better solution for similar price range.

Hi, I was wondering, how many external hard drives can this device take? Looking at the picture, it seems only one? Tyvm in advance.