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Get a Pogoplug network storage adapter for $44

This is the lowest price I've seen yet for this ingenious gizmo, which connects up to four USB hard drives to your network and makes your files available anywhere.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
2 min read
The Pogoplug puts those extra external hard drives to good use, turning them into network- and Web-accessible storage.
The Pogoplug puts those extra external hard drives to good use, turning them into network- and Web-accessible storage. CloudEngines

This is an update of a deal I posted a couple months back.

The CloudEngines Pogoplug is a nifty little gizmo that turns ordinary USB hard drives into network-attached storage. And not just network-attached, but also Web-accessible. And phone-accessible. The key word here is "accessible."

It originally sold for $129, but the second-generation Pogoplug is on sale at Buy.com for just $43.99 shipped. Thankfully, it's the gray model, not that eye-burning pink one I originally wrote about.

Here's how it works: you connect up to four USB hard drives to the Pogoplug, then plug the latter into your router. This arrangement allows for super-easy file sharing between PCs, remote access to your files (it doubles as a Web server), media streaming to devices like iPhones and iPads, and so on.

If you already have a drive or two (or three or four) to devote to the device, great. If not, extra storage is as cheap as ever: here's the ever-popular 1TB Fantom USB drive for $49.99 shipped (after a pair of mail-in rebates).

You can find out more about the Pogoplug in my original writeup for Business Hacks, or at the Pogoplug site. Bottom line: I did think the gadget was overpriced at $129, but at $44, it's mighty hard to pass up.

Bonus deal: Today's Giveaway of the Day is Aplus DVD Ripper and Video Converter. I haven't tried this one myself, but if you're in need of either capability (i.e. the ripping or converting), you can't beat the price.