Pogoplug: Puts your hard drive on the Web

Cloud Engines' Pogoplug is a simple and relatively cheap box that plugs into an external hard drive or flash drive via USB, and also into your home's Internet connection.

The Pogoplug then puts the hard drive on the Web, as well as on your local network. Any computer in your home can access it as a shared drive, and people outside can also connect to it over the Web. It sounds like a very quick and simple way to put files online for friends to see.

It's no great feat for a geek to wire up a PC or a network-attached storage drive for Internet access. What the Pogoplug does is not utterly unique, but the company is aiming for ease of use.

Instead of having to open ports on your router, or configure a NAS for Web access, with Pogoplug you just go to the company's Web site, enter the identifying code from your device (presumably, it's stamped on it somewhere), and then the Pogoplug servers will set up the routing for you and give you your device's Web address.

You could also upload your files to a sharing service like Flickr or YouTube. In comparison, Pogoplug will make the upload faster (it's local), and should also give you more control over your files (if you want to remove them, for example) and who can see them.

Many home broadband connections, however, are much slower on the upload than download. People who want to download their raw AVI home movie files from their drive may be limited by the speed that their Pogoplug-attached drive can upload to the Net. If the device streams video, this should not be a big issue.

Other promised features include an iPhone interface (for upload as well as viewing), and an open API for developers.

The Pogoplug is not out yet, so we haven't tried it and we don't know if it's as easy to use as it should be, or if the security is appropriate for its target use. But the US price is right for this utility: $99 (£65). The first units are expected to be made available in February. UK availability and pricing for the Pogoplug are yet to be announced.