Pogoplug only supports USB 2.0

pogoplug

Pogoplug was a PCMag Editors’ Choice in its first version. Now CloudEngine’s latest iteration of its multimedia sharing device has been updated with several new features including a lurid purple-pink cable stand. It does what it did before: give you fast access, locally or remotely, to your USB storage devices—up to four of them, instead of just one. There are multimedia enhancements: you can stream almost any video file, do automatic media synching, and perform improved contact management. All of which helps make up for the $30 price increase from the original.

Although it does have more USB ports as well as a 1 GB Ethernet port, this little, Linux-based device isn’t significantly larger than the first-generation. Its presence certainly wouldn’t overwhelm a small, home office. Maybe the sheer number of external devices you can connect to it will. Also nice: the price includes the fee for cloud-based sharing service for the life of the device.

Already own the first generation Pogoplug? No worries, as you can get the new software features as a free upgrade. You’re just stuck with the 1 USB port.Pogoplug doesn’t do anything much differently than other NAS devices except it doesn’t come with on-board storage.However, it does allow you to easily setup content and device sharing. A reader asked how Pogoplug differs from a service like LogMeIn Hamachi which provides hosted VPN and requires no specialized hardware. Both PogoPlug and LogMeIn can achieve remote access to your computer. However, for non-IT folks and home users, the idea of a VPN can be daunting. PogoPlug is effortless sharing, and is ideal for a home or small business where there is no IT presence.

Pogoplug only supports USB 2.0 and older devices and the following disk drive file systems: NTFS, FAT32, Mac OS Extended Journaled and Non-Journaled (HFS+) and EXT-2/EXT-3. The Web-based management console can be accessed via any modern browser.

Setup
The folks at Pogoplug tout how fast it is to get the device setup and they are not joking. The time to connect the device to a router, then to a 150 GB USB Verbatim external drive, powering it all up, to seeing my drive’s files on mypoloplug.com (the device’s Web-based console) took a scant 2 minutes and 19 seconds. The longest part of the setup was getting up off my chair and walking to the router.

What’s New
There really aren’t any noticeable changes in the Web-based interface since the last version. There is improved contact management. Anytime you type in an email address to send an invite to share a file, that name is automatically remembered. Such addresses make up your address book within the system. There’s no way currently to import contacts, like from Hotmail or Gmail, but perhaps that will be on Pogoplug’s roadmap.

Pogoplug next gen supports a wider range of video file types that can be streamed to other users as well as to iPhones and Android phones. Blackberry isn’t supported but Pogoplug says it’s in the works.

Pogoplug now supports automatic medic synch. You can setup one-way synch from any media source to folders on the storage devices attached to Pogoplug. It offers location independent, global search; search across any drives connected to any of your Pogoplugs—that’s right, you can run multiples Pogoplugs on your network, so you could have more than four USB storage devices to access.

A new fun, feature is the ability to create slideshows. You don’t get the bells and whistles of Microsoft PowerPoint, but creating business presentations isn’t the purpose. I quickly put together a slideshow of pictures and a video by dragging and dropping them into the slideshow creation screen and added accompanying music. Note—Pogoplug doesn’t support all media files. I had no problem with .MP3s, but could not drag and drop a Windows Media Audio (.WMA) file into my slideshow. There’s also no way to control slideshow speed.

You can opt to use the free, downloadable client to access Pogoplug rather than a Web browser. The client treats the Pogoplug as another local hard drive on your machine, accessed via Windows Explorer, even when remote. Clients are available for Windows 32- and 64-bit desktops, Mac OS X and there’s a beta version available for Linux. Of course, as mentioned in the last review, there’s a terrific client for accessing files (not just video) from your iPhone.

Security
One thing I was concerned about was security. It was a bit disconcerting to fire a device up and see my personal files pop up via the Internet, even though I had to login to the Web-based client first. There is under-the-hood security, though. Both the Web-based and desktop clients use 256-AES encryption—security that is very difficult to crack. To ensure the highest security, it’s a good idea to access the web client using https://my.pogoplug.com rather than through HTTP.

Testing
This device is really peppy. Of course, much of the performance relies on Internet connection speed, but if this were sloppily-engineered, it could slow even the fastest broadband. When I disconnected the Verbatim drive and added a USB stick, I saw the contents of the memory stick online in under 3 minutes. I got this while connected to a DSL line that’s not the fastest broadband available, either.

I reconnected the Verbatim drive and three USB memory sticks to the Pogoplug simultaneously. The device does a nice job of scanning each newly connected device and I nimbly switched back and forth between each device’s libraries in the Web client.

Big warning—make sure you eject any drive you want to physically disconnect from Pogoplug using the eject command in the interface (it’s the same eject symbol you see on DVD and Blu-Ray Players.) I pulled the Verbatim drive while “hot,” that is, without clicking the eject button and the drive got hosed. It was inaccessible through Pogoplug and through Windows Explorer. No big loss for my test equipment, and this isn’t the norm for USB devices, of course, so your mileage may vary. But consider yourself warned.

Bottom Line
This really is a neat little device. It innovates by harnessing the power and flexibility of the cloud, without having your data actually reside in the cloud. With Pogoplug, you can access and share files over the Internet but the actual data remains in your control on your storage devices. The second-generation Pogoplug performs even better than the first, and the multimedia enhancements make it of even greater value, especially if you want to share. This version is as heartily recommended as the previous, despite the ghastly colored cable stand.

antitrust regulators are taking a closer look at Google Inc.'s

Google

SAN FRANCISCO  U.S. antitrust regulators are taking a closer look at Google Inc.’s proposed $750 million purchase of mobile phone marketer AdMob, the latest sign of greater government vigilance as Google tries to expand its advertising empire.The Federal Trade Commission sought more information about the deal this week, according to a Wednesday post on Google’s blog.This so-called “second request” doesn’t mean regulators intend to block Google’s AdMob deal. Most other acquisitions that go through this stage end up getting approved.But the FTC’s action shows regulators are watching Google more carefully as the company tries to build upon its dominance of the Internet’s lucrative search advertising market. Google is expected to pull in more than $22 billion in revenue this year, mostly from ads shown alongside search results and other Web content.

“We know that closer scrutiny has been one consequence of Google’s success,” Paul Feng, a Google product manager, wrote in Wednesday’s blog posting. Echoing previous management comments, Feng said the company remains confident its AdMob purchase, announced last month, will be approved.Google’s huge lead in Internet search triggered a 2008 government investigation that scuttled its plans to enter into an advertising partnership with rival Yahoo Inc., which runs the second most-popular search engine. Yahoo plans to work with Microsoft Corp. instead, beginning next year if those two companies can gain regulatory approval.

Since its inception nearly four years ago, AdMob has built a thriving network that sells and delivers ads on applications and Web sites designed for the iPhone and other mobile devices. It’s still relatively small with estimated annual revenue of $45 million to $60 million, but regulators apparently want to understand whether its technology and advertising contacts would give Google an unfair advantage in its quest to sell more mobile phone ads.

Google management has indicated that it believes mobile marketing eventually may become bigger than advertising on Internet-connected computers. That tipping point still appears to be many years away, with U.S. mobile advertising expected to total $416 million this year, about 2 percent of overall Internet ad spending in the country.

The FTC’s decision to take more time digging into the AdMob deal means Google probably won’t be able to take over the company for several more months, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast wrote in a Wednesday research note. It took a year for the FTC to approve Google’s $3.2 billion acquisition of Internet ad service DoubleClick Inc., which was completed in March 2008.

Google’s first big deal, a $1.76 billion acquisition of the video site YouTube, was cleared by regulators in a month in 2006.
Separately, Google ran into another potential roadblock Wednesday after another takeover target, On2 Technologies Inc., said that it still hadn’t collected enough shareholder support to close its deal. On2, based in Clifton, N.J., adjourned a shareholder meeting to approve its $106 million sale to Google until Feb. 17 in hopes of getting the necessary support.Google, which is based in Mountain View, agreed to buy On2 in August to help improve YouTube’s video technology.

BlackBerry service in less than a week frustrated people

BlackBerry

TORONTO  The second outage of BlackBerry service in less than a week frustrated people who depend on the messaging device and comes at a bad time for its maker, which faces increasing competition in the market it helped pioneer.BlackBerry subscribers often are so reliant on the devices that they peck at their keyboards all day and keep them on their night stands while they sleep. When e-mail and Web service on the devices went out Tuesday night, Twitter and other online forums were peppered with complaints.

BlackBerry service was restored Wednesday morning, and the company behind the service, Canada’s Research in Motion Ltd., blamed a software upgrade for the problem. The glitch, which comes after another outage last Thursday, could damage the company’s reputation.

“One of RIM’s big advantages is that it’s perceived as a reliable device,” said Duncan Stewart, director of research and analysis at DSam Consulting. “To lose the advantage of reliability would in fact be a very big deal for this company.”

Herbert Sexton, 34, said his BlackBerry service has been spotty all week where he lives near Atlanta. One day no messages come in at all and the next, 130 e-mails flood his inbox. Messages he’s already replied to pop up again. He said the disruption could push him to a different phone.

“I like to have something constant,” he said. “If service keeps going out, you never know what to expect.”

RIM has sold more than 75 million BlackBerrys worldwide since the gadget debuted at the start of this decade and became part of popular culture. It earned the nickname “CrackBerry” among people who became addicted to using it to stay productive or in touch with others while on the go. Frequent users of its compact keyboard have been known to complain of suffering from “BlackBerry Thumb.”

RIM counts more than 36 million subscribers, including 500,000 in the U.S. government. President Barack Obama has been a BlackBerry devotee.

After originally focusing on corporate or government customers, RIM has expanded into the consumer market in recent years with touch-screen models as the BlackBerry Storm. The consumer market, however, can be more fickle. And there RIM faces tough competition from devices such as Apple’s iPhone, Palm’s Pre and the Motorola Droid. RIM’s stock has dropped 23 percent since September.

The iPhone in particular stole much of RIM’s thunder because of its design cachet and the seemingly limitless supply of programs, known as “apps,” that users can download to customize their phones. Yet the iPhone also has not been as reliable as many users would like. AT&T, the sole carrier of the device in the U.S., has been upgrading its network to reduce the dropped connections and long waits people have encountered when trying to run programs.

Although RIM’s service is sold by wireless carriers, RIM manages its messaging network itself. That can improve reliability, but the centralized structure also means that any problems can affect millions of users. BlackBerry service went out at least three times in 2008.

This week’s outage apparently stemmed from a flaw in recently released versions of RIM’s instant messaging software, known as BlackBerry Messenger. On Wednesday, RIM released a new version that resolves the program and encouraged anyone who downloaded or upgraded BlackBerry Messenger since Dec. 14 to upgrade to this latest version.

RIM, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, apologized for any inconvenience experienced by customers.

Apple countersues Nokia over phone patents

Apple's iPhone.

Apple Inc. is suing cell phone maker Nokia Corp. for patent infringement, a countermove to Nokia’s earlier suit against technologies used in Apple’s iPhone.
Apple’s lawsuit claims Nokia is infringing on 13 of Apple’s patents, and says the Finland-based company chose to “copy the iPhone,” especially its user interface, to make up for its declining share of the high-end phone market.
Nokia’s lawsuit, filed in October, claims that Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple infringes on 10 of its patents covering both phone calls and Wi-Fi access.

The patents Apple alleges Nokia is infringing deal with, among other things: connecting a phone to a computer, teleconferencing, menus on a touch screen, power conservation in chips, and “pattern and color abstraction in a graphical user interface.” The company also denies Nokia’s claims of patent infringement.

In a statement, Nokia said it will review the claims and respond “in due course.”Apple said Nokia fell behind in the smart phone market because it chose to focus on old-fashioned cell phones with conventional user interfaces at a time when “smart” phones were growing increasingly popular.

Countersuits are a staple of patent litigation, which often ends in cross-licensing agreements. Nokia said in October that 40 phone manufacturers – but not Apple – have licensed the patents in its lawsuit.

Both suits were filed in federal court in Delaware.U.S.-traded shares of Nokia rose 25 cents, or 2 percent, to close at $12.81, and Apple’s shares fell $1.76, to $194.67.

Mark the Spot on the iPhone3GS and iPhone 3G

iPhone 3GS

Would you like to let AT&T know when your iPhone has dropped a call? Well, now there is an app for that.AT&T on Monday released a new application called “Mark the Spot,” which lets iPhone users submit complaints about dropped calls, poor service coverage, and less-than-perfect voice quality.

The application is free and available in the iTunes App Store. It uses GPS technology in the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS to pin point where the user is when experiencing the problems. For first generation iPhones, it uses cell tower-triangulation to get a fix on problem areas.Once the application is launched, users have several complaint options. They will see a screen that has buttons that let them report a dropped call, poor voice quality, or poor service coverage.

iPhone 3GS ( mark the spot )

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said AT&T plans to use the data collected to identify trends and prioritize the company’s network investments.
“We think this is a great way to get customer feedback to improve our network,” Siegel said. “We are always looking for ways to make it easy for customers to share their experiences. And this app lets customers report issues. It logs the time and location and automatically forwards the information to our network planning team.”

iPhone owners have been complaining about AT&T’s network since the Apple iPhone went on sale in the summer of 2007. Complaints mounted after the 3G version of the phone was released a year later in 2008.

And as more iPhone users come onto the network, more people, particularly in densely populated urban areas, such as New York City and San Francisco, have experienced problems with dropped calls and congested data networks.

AT&T executives have not said that AT&T has a problem with its network. But executives, such as AT&T Chief Technology Officer John Donovan, have said that the company has seen a surge in data traffic attributed to iPhone users, who typically consume more wireless bandwidth than other AT&T wireless customers.AT&T has been upgrading its network to keep up with demand. But problems persist. And AT&T’s network recently got a poor ranking in terms of customer satisfaction in a Consumer Reports survey.

Verizon Wireless, AT&T’s chief rival, has taken advantage of AT&T’s struggles with a series of advertisements that point out AT&T’s lack of 3G network coverage in certain parts of the country. Verizon is running advertisements that mock the Apple “There’s an app for that,” catch phrase with one that says, “There’s a map for that.”AT&T fired back with a lawsuit and an advertisements of its own featuring actor Luke Wilson, who points out AT&T’s strengths while taking a few shots at Verizon Wireless.

AT&T recently dropped its lawsuit against Verizon. And Verizon, which had been suing AT&T over claims that it has the fastest 3G wireless network, also dropped its lawsuit against AT&T.

Siegel said that the new “Mark the Spot” application was not prompted by the bad publicity around its network issues nor was it prompted by the current ad wars going on between AT&T and Verizon.

Instead, he said that the application was simply a part of AT&T’s ongoing commitment to listening to customers.”We are always looking at ways to get customer feedback in as timely a manner as possible,” he said. “That’s why we pay attention to Twitter, Facebook and blog. One of the great values of these social networking tools is that it’s a great way to get instant feedback. And it helps us identify problems.”

The “Mark the Spot” application can be downloaded onto all iPhones running version 3.0 or later of Apple’s operating system or it can be access using iTunes and synchronized to the iPhone via a PC or Mac.

Siegel said that AT&T is testing the “Mark the Spot” app for other devices. And he said AT&T hopes to offer applications on other smartphones in the future. No date has been announced yet. And Siegel didn’t specify which devices might get the new application, but considering that AT&T sells a lot of Research in Motion’s BlackBerry devices, it’s likely it will create an application for that device. The app could be offered through AT&T’s own application storefront or through RIM’s BlackBerry App World.

Gear 4 CRG200W the iPhone charger and multifunction

Gear 4 CRG200W

Reasons to buy As the iPhone edges ever closer to complete ubiquity, more and more couples are finding themselves squabbling over chargers or docks. If the Gear 4 were just a dual-dock iPhone/iPod recharger, it would be impressive enough. That it is also a creditable clock radio with a video out port for iPod movies and a line in for non-Apple sources makes it practically indispensable for two-iPhone families.

Reasons not to It’s a minor quibble but sound quality is reasonable, rather than spectacular. Also, while this may be a selling point for some, the alarm beeper is fearsomely loud.

Price £79.99

Verdict The unit really shines in the kitchen where it can charge multiple phones overnight and even stream iPlayer radio content for evenings when you’re in there washing up and all the BBC stations are broadcasting peculiar music you can’t quite understand. A worthwhile, potentially marriage-saving product.

Mobile apps help people track H1N1, prevent flu

Rumors of a disease outbreak a century ago probably would have left the general populace feeling frightened, wondering whether their town would be the next to be hit.Now the well but worried can download a flu-tracking application and find out where in their state an H1N1 outbreak has occurred and learn the best ways to avoid it. They also can learn when vaccines will be available nearby and get news on how some of the afflicted are doing.

Outbreaks Near Me, a new, free application developed by non-profit HealthMap, is among a slew of flu-themed applications available on the iTunes App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch owners.A couple of dozen other flu-related apps have been created recently, including HMSMobile Swine Flu Center, by Harvard Medical School, which offers medical advice with animations. Others include flu games and jokes such as Swine Scan, which supposedly scans your body to detect infection.Outbreaks Near Me works like a GPS. It finds your location and tells you where H1N1 and other infectious outbreaks are occurring nearby with a display of pushpins on a map. Click on a pushpin and you can read news reports as well as personal accounts submitted by users. It also lets you set up an alert system, so if H1N1 arrives in your area, you’ll get a heads-up.

“Our app is all about giving people real-time alerts. We didn’t develop this to increase fear. It’s about helping people arm themselves,” says John Brownstein, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, who developed the app with colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab.H1N1, popularly known as swine flu, has infected an estimated 22 million Americans this year from April to October, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has reported that the outbreak is linked to almost 4,000 deaths, including 540 children.

Since Outbreaks Near Me launched Sept. 1, about 100,000 people have downloaded it, Brownstein says. Though the app also reports recent E. coli, malaria and other outbreaks, H1N1 has by far been the most-searched disease, he says.Brownstein says the app has received more than 2,000 submissions. “People take photos of themselves in bed sick, or e-mail in to say their school is closed, or that there’s a vaccine shortage in their area,” he says.Outbreaks Near Me co-developer Clark Freifeld, a graduate student in media art and sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says developers are analyzing submissions now and say the information appears to correlate with CDC data. It suggests the iPhone may be a sensitive tool for monitoring early outbreak trends, Freifeld says.

For big-picture influenza news, most people probably get information the traditional way, from CDC reports, says influenza expert William Schaffner, chair of the department of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. Apps may be best when you want more focused information, he says. “Like what is happening in grandma’s town, where you’re going for Thanksgiving.”The CDC does not comment on products such as apps, spokeswoman Karen Hunter says. Hunter says the agency is in the prototype stage of several new flu apps for iPhone and the Google Android, and they’re already using mobile text messaging (to sign up, text HEALTH to 87000) and a mobile website (http://m.cdc.gov) to distribute flu updates to tens of thousands of subscribers.