External hard drives provide a convenient way to add large amounts of storage to a PC, but accessing the storage when you travel means setting up an FTP server or remote access software (or lugging the drive around with you). The $99 Pogoplug from CloudEngines represents a much more attractive option for getting at your data on the road by easily making any USB storage device Internet-accessible.
The $99 Pogoplug is a chunky (4 x 2.5 x 2 HWD) wall wart-style device that’s based on Marvell’s SheevaPlug integrated “plug computer”. The Pogoplug’s ostensibly designed to plug directly into a wall AC outlet, but if your outlet or power strip is short on real estate, you can alternately plug it in using a conventional power cord that’s included with the device (popping off the Pogoplug’s prongs reveals a hidden power connector).
At the bottom of the Pogoplug you’ll find a Gigabit Ethernet and a USB 2.0 port. The latter works with hard drives or flash memory drives formatted for Windows, Mac, or Linux. Supported formats are FAT32, NTFS, HFS+, ext2, and ext3. Although the PogoPlug provides only one built-in USB port, you can attach a USB hub to accommodate additional storage devices.
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