-PogoPlug (Co & Customers) 1/2/2011

After experiencing some disappointing results with Pogoplug (Forum comment at bottom), I have done some research on the PogoPlug Units & Company (exerpts following) and concluded that I will continue to actively support PogoPlug & Community.

The Idea is Great.  The Execution is sometimes Great. The effort is well worth supporting. I will hope and work for the best, and may invest, depending on how that opportunity comes.

In the meantime, the existing customers can be better served by a better sharing of solutions.  - Please make available known combinations of equipment that work.  Most of us would be happy to limp along for a time with something that works reliably.  What has been learned should be shared.  The more open you are about it, the sooner a substantial final solution will be found.   

Help us, your customers. If you do, it will come back as benefit to you.

[article exerpts:]

(CNNMoney.com) By Jennifer Alsever, contributing writer June 25, 2010: 5:05 AM ET
-- Daniel Putterman [pogoplug founder] is ...
But when Putterman decided to take the risk, capital followed. He launched Cloud Engines in 2007 and quickly landed $2 million in seed funding from influential investors, including PeopleSoft executive Peggy Taylor, Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia and early Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) investor Ron Conway. When Pogoplug was ready to hit shelves in the summer of 2009, Cloud Engines landed another $7 million from Boulder venture capital firm Foundry Group and $1 million in bank financing.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/25/smallbusiness/pogoplug/index.htm

Dec 21, 2010 09:30 ET
Cloud Engines, Inc. Receives $15 Million in Financing
New Investors Softbank Capital and Morgan Stanley Join Foundry Group
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - December 21, 2010) - Cloud Engines, Inc. today announced that it has received $15 million in financing from new investors Softbank Capital and Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners (AIP) and existing investor Foundry Group. The capital will be used to continue to expand the global distribution of the Pogoplug service and devices.
"Pogoplug is positioned to become the de facto way that consumers and businesses connect to their home and office storage," said Ron Fisher, General Partner at Softbank Capital. "Pogoplug's capabilities are perfectly suited for integration with offerings from Internet service providers as part of a monthly fee. "--http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Cloud-Engines-Inc-Receives-15-Million...

To PogoPlug 1.1.1011.rtf [Forum Comment]
Hi,  -Similar Problem.
I'm new to Pogoplug and thrilled with its potential, but these bugs need to be fixed by PogoPlug for all users on all supported OSs with all equipment if PogoPlug is to flourish.

On Win Xp, 32 & 64 vista, 32 and 64 Win7 machines the only drives I can get to reliably reawaken, and not drop out of "PogoPlug" without a taskbar PogoPlug reset are older thumb drives and Memory Chips directly attached to the PogoPlug unit through a non-powered converter to USB.

Drives that have dropped off of PhotoPlug (disappeared from Pogoplug without a reset, reboot, reinitialization, alternate USB slot replugin, or some other extrodinary operator assisted process that could not be done easily from a  remote system) are:
flash drives: sandisk cruzer 4G (mfg.2010), sandisk cruzer 8G ('09 mfg)
External HDDs: Seagate FreeAgent Pro 750G (2009), WD My Book Essential 2Tb (2010)
drives using HD adapters/enclosures: Seagate BaraCuda 7200  325G (2009)

Router: AT&T U-verse 2Wire (2009)

It is not a good indicator that such a large unreliability issue is so well masked behind a facade dedicated to indicating unfailing ease, convience, & reliability.   I am furthur left unsettled that the comments listed here on this forum by obviously supportive, caring, and capable customers have drawn no official help from PogoPlug.

I am wondering if the solution PogoPlug offers to easily sharing Stored Files across a NW & the Internet only works for some combinations of OS & equipment.
I would expect an honorable company to somewhat forthcoming in working with its customers toward the solving of a common problem. To offer no response is second only to offering an untruthful response as a poor option .

I've seen and experienced the tragedy of the implosion of good companies in this business that have quit meeting the needs of its customers. Its so sad, and so unnecessary. A strength of Capitalism is that the market votes with its feet, and customers will move to solutions that work.

A product either works or it dosen't. If it works, it will develop a following. If it dosen't, customers will move to a product that does.

to quote another viewpoint:
 Market share is a by-product of getting a lot of other things right, most notably customer satisfaction, which in turn is a by-product of getting the user experience right. ...The by-product of getting all this right is profits..."    -Graham Ellison  12/21/2010 in response to a Steve Botts piece on Ms selling 1.5m win 7 phones in 6 mo.

So, PogoPlug, I hear your customers.  Where R U?

 (if you need help, ask for it. There is a braintrust out there that wants you to succeed; we share a common interest and need.  If you don't need help, then help us. We need answers)