The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada yesterday issued a formal voluntary recall notice for Cloud Engines' Pogoplug Video media streaming device.

CNET originally reported the problem in mid-June after the San Francisco-based company sent an e-mail to media outlets and wrote a blog entry detailing an overheating issue with Pogo-11, -12, -13, and -14 devices. The CPSC has fully detailed the extent of the issue, indicating that 11,000 Pogoplug products are suspect, affecting 9,500 units in the United States and 1,500 in Canada.

Cloud Engines received three reports of the device overheating, prompting … Read more

Cloud Engines, makers of the Pogoplug series of products, announced a recall of its most recent Pogoplug Video--a device we've been testing here at CNET. According to an e-mail sent last night, all Pogoplug Video units (Pogo-11, -12, -13, and -14) are susceptible to overheating and, in at least one reported case, erupting in actual flames.

Owners of the Pogoplug Video are urged to unplug any hard drives and turn off the devices immediately. (Update/correction: Cloud Engines is currently asking that owners collect proof of purchase and await further instructions on the return process.)

The recall is only … Read more

With Apple's iCloud coming next week, hot on the heels of Amazon and Google's cloud services for music, it seems like the years-old dream of cloud media streaming is coming to greater fruition than ever before. That's promising news to me, a person who cut the cord on his cable TV over a year and a half ago. I live off the Internet and my various devices--my laptop, game consoles, iPhone, and iPad--to get my media, be it TV shows, movies, music or books.

So far, it looks like 2011 will be more the year of Cloud Music than that of Cloud Video. And that's a shame, because I'm getting fed up with my half-baked digital-video life.

I've spent the last week with a product called Pogoplug Video, which attempts to do what no one's currently offering yet: the ability to stream multiformat video files easily across multiple platforms, be they gaming console, computer, or phone/tablet, even across the Internet or 3G.

I held high hopes for the Pogoplug Video. The $199 device is much like the Pogoplug Pro we reviewed last year, equipped with a more powerful processor. And, it does what it promises, to a point: video files stored on hard drives or USB sticks plugged into the Pogoplug do indeed technically play back on iPhones, iPads, laptops, or even via DLNA on an Xbox 360 or PS3.… Read more

During the hands-on with Marvell's first plug-in network storage product, the SheevaPlug computer, which later on became the engine of the Pogoplug service, I was wishing that the device were more of a full-featured NAS server, instead of just a tiny device that worked with a USB external hard drive. And the wish came true when Buffalo announced the CloudStor Pro at CES 2011.

But, as they say, maybe I should have been more careful what I wished for.

We've reviewed several iterations of the Pogoplug, a unique and pretty easy-to-set-up device that turns any available home hard drive or USB flash drive into cloud-sharable networked storage. While Pogoplug's features are extensive--existing versions can stream music, movies, and photos to computers, mobile devices, and even the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360--we found the performance of video streaming to be a mixed bag. Some video files required lengthy transcoding, and others got pretty choppy when played back.

The $199 Pogoplug Video, now available, clearly aims to fix those problems. While it looks the same as any other Pogoplug, … Read more

Sure, the iPad's fun. It's thin, it's addictive, it can handle a wide variety of apps and media files. There's only one problem: it still needs to sync to a PC.

If "magical" was the catchphrase most repeated at last year's iPad unveiling, "post-PC" was this year's equivalent for the iPad 2. I had hoped that, along with the iPad 2, Apple would find a way access media libraries wirelessly. They have, in a way, with iOS 4.3's new Home Sharing capability--but it needs a Mac or PC … Read more

Sometimes names can be deceiving. In the case of the Pogoplug Pro, "Pro" really means a very useful added feature for no extra money at all. Cloud Engines' plug-and-play device turns any form of USB storage into a networked drive; it previously required hardwiring via Ethernet, but the Pro version adds 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi for even easier use in a home or office. As before, the Pogoplug Pro retains 4 USB ports for hard drives/flash drives as well as an Ethernet port for those who prefer speed.

Available exclusively at Best Buy, the $99 … Read more

If you've been looking for a way to print from your iPad or iPhone without too many headaches, your prayers might have been answered--provided you've already invested in a Cloud Engines Pogoplug.

The plug-and-play device, which we've already reviewed in two different iterations, is a versatile box. It already turns USB hard drives into online-sharable volumes; streams music and photos to phones and the iPad; and can send video, music, and photos to an Xbox 360 or PS3.

Pogoplug cloud printing, available in a software update that hits later this summer, should work with all HP and … Read more

A huge and often untapped advantage of any Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 console is its capability to stream media from a nearby computer or media server. It's untapped because, in the case of many home users, setting up a nearby PC might be one step too many for people looking for convenience.

Popgoplug's new software update just might change the equation, however.

When we first experienced using Cloud Engines' Pogoplug (read our full review), we remarked on its ease of use and its affordably simple method of turning any available USB thumb drive into a wireless server. … Read more