A while ago I purchased a pogoplug as a means of sharing photos with my family but its use never really happened because the interface they provided is clunky for hi-res pictures/video.. and some of the family failed to consistently download things.. so it was not a success.
The pogoplug device should have allowed me to view my pictures on my dnla enabled samsung tv but it failed too…
So much for a personal cloud solution!
After this I started to use the device as a backup device/synchronisation store after enabling ssh and building a rsync executable. This worked well… but seems liked a waste of a device that is always on.
I then formulated a plan:
- the pogoplug software uses linux, so if I replace it with something more open I can make better use of it, Arch Linux for arm is a good fit for me.
- after installing Arch linux I need some software to make it useful:
- mdns, so I can easily find the pogoplug
- rsync for backup’s
- git for private source repository
- minidnla server for viewing the pictures
- personal dropbox solution, the two that look hopeful are:
- DVCS-AutoSync – uses git, simpler model, python based
- SparkleShare – uses git, Mac/Linux clients but no Windows
So far, I have installed Arch Linux, setup rsync, setup a small private git repository and the minidnla server and to my surprise it is working out much better than the pogoplug solution provided by them.. perhaps not for the inexperience but it works well and feels more future proof!
So what have I now got? Well I have a open source based solution that is always online, visible to the TV, used as a backup device and low-powered… I’m happy..