You may have read my other article on the various cloud storage services that are available. While that is a fine solution for most people, some want to have a little more control and flexibility over their files and what they can do with them. Well, it turns out that a couple of companies thought the same thing, and they’ve built products that allow you to create your own cloud that is hosted in your own home with your own hardware.

The two devices being looked at in this article are the PogoPlug and the TonidoPlug. The “plug” in the name comes from the fact that these devices were derived from plugPCs, a small PC that plugs into and hangs off the outlet like a big DC adapter.

Both of these devices are fairly similar in specs including embedded processors, a healthy amount of RAM, Ethernet, USB to connect external hard drives (which is where most of the storage of your cloud will ultimately come from), and they each cost around $100. These devices purposely use very little power so that leaving them on 24/7 is not a problem. Once set up, accessing them is extremely easy whether it be though any web browser or from your smartphone from the apps provided.

The main difference between the PogoPlug and the TonidoPlug is the extra tinkering that you can do with the TonidoPlug. The TonidoPlug is extremely customizable and for advanced users, can do more than either stock plug can do. The PogoPlug on the other hand is more geared toward plug and play for the average person, not to say that TonidoPlug isn’t easy to use. To best describe them, I would compare them to the iPhone and Android phones. Both can be easy to use, but one is more customizable and would be better for advanced technical users. With that in mind, the rest of this article will be about the PogoPlug, but a future article might be about some of the extremely powerful things you can accomplish with the TonidoPlug.

Setting up PogoPlug is extremely easy. I think even my mother could do it without having too much trouble. I think this graphic from their website explains it better than I ever could.

After taking the all of 15 minutes it takes to set this thing up, what can you do with it? Plenty. Access any of the files stored on your PogoPlug from anywhere either using a standard web browser or using a smartphone via the PogoPlug app or share them with friends or coworkers by simply sending them a link to that file.

Keep in mind that because this is being self-hosted, you are going to be limited by your upload speed. So if you’re trying to download a high definition video on a connection with 512kbps of upload, you’re going to be waiting for quite a while. However, if you’re one of the chosen few who happen to live in an area with fiber and you have 20,30 or even 100mbps upload, you’ll be fine and most likely only limited by the downstream connection at the site you’re trying to access your files.

This device will also let you stream all of you media, music, videos, and photos. In fact, the device will create a database of your files and sort them into sections like Music or Photos. Then you can stream them from a browser or your smartphone, assuming that the file is compatible with your phone (i.e. you won’t be able to stream an MKV file to your iPhone). PogoPlug also lets you share photos or videos to social networks such as Twitter or Facebook, if you are so inclined.

Overall, the PogoPlug as well as the TonidoPlug are amazing devices, especially for the price. The only thing you’re really limited by is your upload speed, but if you’re only planning on hosting or sharing small files like photos, music, or documents, most upload speeds shouldn’t pose too much of a problem.

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