PogoPlug Overview:

PogoPlug is a paid service which allows the connection of USB storage to the internet. This would allow anybody (that you permit) in the world to access the files connected through your DockStar without the need to upload them to another site. Also, if you have an iPhone, you can send new pictures directly to your USB storage device through the service.

For those that are concerned about unauthorized access to your files, PogoPlug states:

"None of your personal data is stored in our servers other than your email address. All of the data on your drives attached to your Pogoplug remain only on your Pogoplug in your house. While it is being accessed, the data may be forwarded through our servers, but no copies are retained during this process. Removing any or all of the content from access is as simple as unplugging the Pogoplug, the drive, or deleting the file off the drive.

Pogoplug offers fully encrypted access to your files through the HTTPS protocol. This protocol is the same encryption security that your online banking system uses to protect your account access."

While we will not be covering all aspects of the PogoPlug service, we will briefly provide an overview of the installation procedure. At every step of the installation procedure, PogoPlug provides videos to ensure the user knows exactly what needs to be done. While this is great, the video relates to the PogoPlug hardware, not the Seagate DockStar (although the procedure is very similar).

During the installation procedure you will need to provide basic information such as an email address, name, screen name, and a password. An email is immediately sent to the address you provide with a link to complete the activation. Click on the link and the DockStar is fully configured and ready to be used.

If you use the social sites Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace, you can now configure the DockStar to provide updates directly to those sites. You can also configure PogoPlug to publish updates using RSS and to automatically send an email update when the shared folder is updated.

There is no password needed to access your files through PogoPlug. If somebody is given access, they receive an email stating that they have access to the files. An optional message can be attached to the invitation, and it would be nice if this was a little more obvious to the average user. Also, I would like to see some form of authentication just to provide a little additional security.

Jon Van Bronkhorst, Seagate's Executive Director of Product Marketing, has a very good video of the DockStar and PogoPlug located on Facebook.



Testing:

Data transfer using the PogoPlug service is going to vary depending on your internet connection. While the Seagate DockStar was being tested, I was able to get close to my maximize my upload speed of 1Mbps. This is slow if you utilize a web server, however for the typical user it may be much easier to put your data here than a web server.

Using the new Seagate FreeAgent Go 1TB drive with the DockStar, the local network traffic was also monitored while data was being pushed to the drive over Ethernet. The test transfer consisted of four video files, totaling approximately 9GB, and the transfer was completed in just under 6 minutes.