So for people like me, the folks at Stem Innovation have come up with the TimeCommand, which will let you turn your iPod, iPhone or iPad into a Chumby-like device, and charge it at the same time. By itself, the TimeCommand is a perfectly acceptable dual alarm clock with dimmable display. Plug in an iDevice running the free Stem:Connect app, and it can wake you to music or Internet radio, or even turn on a lamp. It has a snooze feature and a battery backup, too, in case the power goes out.

Stem:Connnect won’t show you the latest news, but you can choose your music, adjust the sound, set an alarm, dim the display, and check the weather without leaving the app. The app also includes a graphic equalizer to let you tweak the dock’s sound, which I found performed well, both for playing music and for voice conversations using an app like Bria. The TimeCommand’s round shape is useful for being able to see its clock from various angles, too.

I tried using the TimeCommand with both an iPad and an iPod touch, and found that it interacted well with both. The app has been designed for both screen sizes. Even the dock connector itself can move enough to work without taking your iDevice out of its case (depending on the case’s thickness, of course). It even works with other iPods, like the nano, though obviously you can’t use the iOS app with these.

My only complaint is one that isn’t really the TimeCommand’s fault. It gets its time from the iDevice, and updates itself automatically when docked. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi iPads and iPod touches have no way of maintaining accurate time from an online server, so you’ll need to make sure the device is set correctly.

The TimeCommand is available for $99, which is a little pricey — you could buy a Chumby One for less than that — but if you already have an iDevice, the TimeCommand might be a useful place to park it, by your bed or your easy chair.

Disclaimer: The TimeCommand was provided to us by the manufacturer for the purposes of this review.

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Kerio Workspace has some features in common with collaboration solutions such as Basecamp, but without the project management features. It has more in common with file-sharing solutions such as ShareFile and with enterprise microblogging solutions like Flowr. When I spoke with the developers, they described Kerio Workspace as an email replacement and called it, only half in jest, “SharePoint meets Facebook.”

The idea is that organizations will use Kerio Workspace to organize and track changes to documents and other content files. As one might expect, it has a system for tracking changes, and social elements like a “news feed” where co-workers can post what they’re working on. It also lets users create internal “web pages” to display documents, audio and video, and users can specify if they wish to receive alerts by email.

Workspace 1.1 has added several new features, including:

• A touch-based mobile web interface for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry smartphones.
• The ability for users to create templates by copying existing page layouts and/or content.
• Drag and drop file uploading.
• Enhanced administration and security options.

Kerio Workspace 1.1 can be hosted in-house on your organization’s servers under Windows, Mac, Linux or VMWare. Pricing starts at $150 for a 5-user license. Additional user licenses are $30 each. Hosting is also available from resellers at additional cost.

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At first glance, the K750 looks a lot like the Apple Wireless Keyboard, with the addition of a strip of solar panels above the function keys. It has the standard Apple layout, but adds a numeric keypad, something the Apple keyboard and the diNovo Edge don’t have. Although I don’t use the keypad often, it’s nice to have when I need it.

The keys on the K750 are very comfortable. They have just enough of an indentationthat my fingers know exactly where they are. As always when changing keyboards, it took me a couple of days to get used to the new layout, but I’m now typing as fast as I ever did (which isn’t all that fast).

I found that the keyboard worked right out of the box. It didn’t need any driver software or charging time, even though I placed it in a keyboard drawer away from any direct light source. The free Logitech Solar App for Mac lets you find out how much light the panels are receiving, and how much power the keyboard has in reserve. The app is cute, but it isn’t really necessary.

The K750 doesn’t use Bluetooth. Instead, it’s one of several Logitech products that uses 2.4 GHz wireless and is compatible with the “Unifying” wireless receiver, which allows a keyboard and mouse to share one USB port — handy when using a laptop with a limited number of available ports. I tried sharing the K750 and a Logitech M505 mouse, which generally worked well, although there seemed to be intermittent slowness in mouse scrolling. If you use the receiver with two or more devices, you’ll need to install the Unifying software.

The Logitech keyboard is missing a few features. Unlike the diNovo Edge, it doesn’t beep when you press the Caps Lock key, and there is no indicator light on the key. You can get around this somewhat using the Capster utility, which not only beeps when Caps Lock is pressed, it also displays an on-screen Growl notification. The K750 also doesn’t have illuminated keys, unlike most of Apple’s built-in notebook keyboards.

All in all, I am very happy with the K750. If you want a keyboard with the standard Apple layout, slightly indented, more comfortable keys and a numeric keypad, give it a try. Not having to worry about changing batteries or using a proprietary charger is a huge bonus, too.

The keyboard is available in several colors including silver and black, and is available for $59.99 from the Logitech website.

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The new feature is built into the latest version of the GoToMeeting software, and doesn’t require any fancy equipment — any webcam and microphone will do, although headsets will most likely be needed to keep room noise down, or users can choose to dial into an audio bridge. Each stream can be displayed at a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, for a total maximum resolution of 1920 x 960 pixels.

I attended a demo with four attendees, and found it to be easy to use, and the quality to be very good. If you’ve used GoToMeeting before, you know that the software (available for Windows or Mac) is  quick to download, and doesn’t generally require any fiddling with settings. Audio was perfect, and video quality was quite acceptable for standard “talking head” meetings. The folks at GoToMeeting told me that they decided to limit the service to six simultaneous users in order to maintain video quality — plus, with more users, the video thumbnails for each person would be pretty hard to see.

The program automatically displays a split screen divided into the appropriate number of boxes need to show each participant, and a screen sharing space when desired. GoToMeeting has added some useful touches, like a subtle white outline that shows who’s talking at any given moment, and the ability to resize the viewable area to maximize the shared desktop if desired.

The new service occupies a niche between Skype and some of the higher-end video conferencing options that require sophisticated hardware. For organizations and individuals that won’t use the service often enough to justify GoToMeeting’s cost, similar technology will be available later in the year through Skype, since Citrix will be powering Skype’s upcoming web conferencing service.

HDFaces is available to existing GoToMeeting customers and trial users at no additional cost over the service’s standard pricing, which begins at $49/month or $468/year. A 30-day free online trial is available at the service’s website.

Do you use GoToMeeting? Will the addition of video capabilities make the service more attractive?

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These policies are created and controlled through a new cloud-based service that allows IT managers to provide secure access to corporate computers from employees’ mobile devices. The service is now available as a preview for iOS; other platforms, including desktop computers and Android, are in development.

Policies can be created to grant or restrict user access to individual computers, authorize specific iOS devices for users or groups, and block or discontinue access from any user or device. Specifically, organizations will be able to:

• Enroll individually-owned or company-procured iOS devices into an organization’s mobile inventory.
• Authorize individual iOS devices for remote access to one or more company computers, including access to corporate applications and files.
• Manage remote access rights and permissions by user, computer, and mobile device.
• Control whether files can be remotely transferred from remote computers to individual mobile devices.
• Handle lost or stolen devices by remotely wiping stored credentials.

Individuals interested in trying the preview of the access control service for iOS can sign up at the company’s website. Pricing depends on the number of devices to be controlled.

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So when Seagate sent me a Satellite to try out, I tested it by connecting to a first-generation iPad, a 3rd-gen iPod touch, and an Android phone. Unfortunately, I ran into significant problems. In fact, I ended up trying a second drive after Seagate had to replace the first one, but neither unit was satisfactory.

Hardware

The Satellite features a small 4.72in x 3.46in x 1.26in case that’s almost featureless, and weighs just over half a pound. It has a power button, ports for power and sync cables, and a couple of status lights.

The drive comes with two proprietary USB cables: one for syncing your media library with your computer, and one for power. The door that covers the sync port is removable, and could easily be lost. Seagate rates the non-replaceable lithium-ion battery at up to 5 hours of continuous streaming for one user, and up to 25 hours on standby.

Putting your media collection on the drive

The printed documentation for the GoFlex Satellite directs you to run installation software, which starts by opening a web page with a “getting started” video. Luckily for those of us who dislike video instructions, the page also includes a link to the Seagate website, where you can download a PDF setup guide.

The software then prompts you to install and activate an old version of the Paragon NTFS driver (which I already had, but the software didn’t recognize that). This is because the drive comes formatted as NTFS for Windows, and Seagate warns that the format cannot be changed.

Once you’ve installed the driver (and rebooted your Mac) you can plug in a short proprietary USB cable that lets the Satellite appear as an external drive in the Mac OS X Finder. Now you can either copy files directly from the Finder, or you can use the Seagate Media Sync software (available as a free download from Seagate’s website). I tried both approaches, but ran into several issues. The drive seemed to have a propensity for unmounting itself randomly, causing errors that had to be fixed using Apple’s Drive Utility, and in at least one case, I ended up having to reformat the drive (as NTFS).

Even when the Sync software seemed to be working, it was hard to tell, because the statistics showing the space available on the drive didn’t match what the Finder was showing, and the software doesn’t include a progress bar. So I let the software churn away for a couple of hours, only to discover that nothing had actually been copied. I also got “error code -36″ and even a couple of kernel panics — errors that I hadn’t seen in several years.

I had slightly better luck copying via the Finder. At least that way, I could tell exactly when the drive unmounted, and could start again from there. Of course, this isn’t useful if your media collection changes frequently.

At one point, I tried using the Windows version of the Media Sync software, but it doesn’t recognize network drives, so I wasn’t able to use it to access my media collection.

Wi-Fi connection

The GoFlex Satellite includes a 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi base station, with optional WPA security. In theory, all one has to do to stream files from the drive is select the “GoFlex Satellite” network in your player’s settings. Of course, this means disconnecting from whatever Wi-Fi network you usually use, so you won’t be able to surf the web while listening to music or watching movies.

The first drive that Seagate sent me seemed to be unable to maintain a Wi-Fi signal for more than a couple of minutes. The network name would continue to appear in my player’s Settings list, but when selected, I’d frequently get an “Unable to join the network” error, which could only be resolved by power-cycling the drive. The second drive maintained a signal slightly better, but I never managed to listen to more than a couple of songs before having to reset the drive.

Software

Seagate offers free iPad and iPhone/iPod touch apps for the Satellite — search for “goflex media” in the App Store. These apps, too, need a lot of work. Their layout is good-looking enough, and easy to navigate. But they are slow. Even when I managed to keep a Wi-Fi signal, it took a long time to download the folder structure from the Satellite, and I found that it often timed out.

The apps’ functionality is pretty limited. The Music option displays all your music as one big list. The Folder View option shows your collection in folders, which if you’ve been using iTunes, are probably sorted by artist. The problem is that while you can select multiple items, there doesn’t appear to be any way to play multiple items once they’ve been selected.

Unlike the native iOS Music app, the GoFlex Media app won’t work in the background, and if you pause while playing, your device won’t go to sleep. If you’re not using the apps, you can connect to the GoFlex Satellite through a web interface, but it has the same limitations.

The concept behind the Seagate GoFlex Satellite drive is a good one, and I hope they get the bugs worked out. In the meantime, you may be better off looking at the upcoming G-Connect from Hitachi G-Technology or Kingston Wi-Drive if you’re looking for a personal cloud option.

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ShareFile is worth checking out if you’re looking for a business-oriented file-sharing service, as it offers many features that you’d find in most of the other file sharing services, plus a few that won’t be found with more consumer-oriented solutions:

Security, user and file management

• Files transmitted and stored with encryption
• Tracking and alerts to confirm that clients have received files
• Granular folder-level permissions
• Bulk load client users from Outlook or spreadsheet
• Activity reports showing who uploaded and downloaded files and when

File access and transfer

• Upload individual files up to 10 GB
• FTPS over SSL transfers, compatible with traditional FTP clients
• Map a local drive letter to ShareFile account
• Automatic resume of interrupted transfers
• Access via the web, an Outlook plugin, and through desktop, iOS and Android apps
• API and command-line tools
• File versioning
• Full-text search
• Ability to request file copies on DVD or hard drives
• Ability to send a DVD or hard drive for initial population of files

Customization

• Custom branding
• Tools for your website, including a login widget and an upload form

Not all of the above features are available with all pricing plans.

ShareFile told me how one of its customers, a worldwide restaurant chain, uses the service to make creative materials available to their franchisees. The same customer’s HR department uses ShareFile to send sensitive employment documents.

The company boasts data centers on the U.S. East and West Coasts, as well as in Ireland and Singapore, but provides telephone and email help from a U.S.-based support staff.

ShareFile is available in several pricing plans, ranging from $29.95 a month for two employee accounts and 5GB of storage, to $499.95 per month for 150 accounts and 150GB of storage. All plans include unlimited client users. A 30-day trial is available.

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The survey also found that 67 percent of respondents spend between one to four hours per week just preparing for status meetings, and 59 percent said that preparing for status meetings often takes longer than the meeting itself. In addition, 57 percent of those surveyed indicated that they multitask during status meetings — so maybe there’s more work getting done than one might think!

The survey was conducted online within the United States from June 6–8, among 2,373 information workers. It was undertaken by Harris Interactive on behalf of Clarizen, the project management system that Thursday covered a few months ago. The survey defined a status meeting as one in which team members are updated on progress and completion of tasks. Brainstorming, strategy and planning meetings were not included.

If you’re finding your meetings unproductive, there are a number of tools available to help, including meetin.gs and yaM. Many of the project management apps that we cover are intended, among other things, to help keep team members updated on project status and what their colleagues are doing and so reduce the time spent in meetings. And there are some techniques, like the Google system that Imran reported on last year, for making meetings more productive.

How much time do you spend in meetings? Are they productive?

Photo by stock.xchng user wagg66

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Harmon.ie provides an interface for Microsoft SharePoint directly within Outlook. It simplifies collaboration and document version control by letting users send live links to SharePoint documents, rather than emailing individual docs that are hard to manage. Users can edit, rate, or tag documents, and see and manage previous versions, all directly inside Outlook. According to the developers, enterprises that have large investments in SharePoint have found that using Harmon.ie has increased end-user SharePoint adoption from 30 percent to as high as 80 percent..

Harmon.ie 3.0, being released Tuesday in beta, adds social features that recognize that collaboration is about people as much as documents. The new “people” tab in the Harmon.ie sidebar lets users see colleagues’ profiles and availability. Presence notifications are geared toward work environments, since they can be used to show what project or document an individual is working on. The people tab also displays a multi-threaded activity stream, and lets workers call, chat or video conference using Microsoft Lync/OCS, Lotus Sametime or Cisco UC.

Harmon.ie 3.0 also simplifies the creation of ad-hoc groups centered around a specific task. The “suggested colleagues” feature recommends possible group members based on the frequency of interaction (by email, chat or voice) and by whether they have co-authored or co-edited documents in the past.

Since Simon wrote about Harmon.ie a few months ago, several other apps have added some similar features to the email interface, for the simple reason that many workers in the enterprise spend a lot of their time there. Xobni, for example, offers “gadgets” for such enterprise collaboration tools as SharePoint, and several services, notably Rapportive and Gist, provide social connections directly from the email interface. And for organizations that don’t use SharePoint, Egnyte recently announced tools for file-sharing within Outlook.

Harmon.ie 3.0 is currently available in beta. The free version includes the SharePoint interface, but does not include the social features. The enterprise version of the software, which includes the social components, is priced at $125 per user, or on a subscription basis for $50 per user per year. In addition to the SharePoint version, the developer also offers a version for Lotus Notes, and another for Google Docs, although the latter does not currently include social features.

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The company now offers add-ons for Windows Explorer and the Mac OS X Finder that allow users to right-click (or control-click) on a file and be offered the opportunity to send or share that file directly from the desktop, as part of Version 6.0 of Egnyte’s Personal Local Cloud application. An Outlook plugin with the ability to share files as links or attachments is also available. In addition, Egnyte includes the ability for enterprise IT departments to enforce limits on file sharing and other security policies.

Egnyte positions itself as “Dropbox for the enterprise,” since it provides secure means of allowing workers to access their files while giving IT departments the control and security they need. The Egnyte “Local Cloud” service that synchronizes on-site and cloud storage is also popular in enterprises.

The folks at Egnyte told me that their product is becoming increasingly popular in large, 1,000+ person operations where mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous. In fact, in a recent study, up to 40 percent of the access to Egnyte’s service came from mobile sources, with the iPad being the single most popular device. Egnyte’s mobile apps are proving very popular, with more capabilities and other platforms coming soon.

The “Dropbox for the enterprise” space is getting more crowded, with the likes of Accellion and Box.net also offering enterprise-friendly secure file sharing and backup features. Egnyte will be hoping these updates help to keep it up with the pack.

The service is available at several price levels, and a 15-day free trial is available.

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Clearvale is a cloud-based, Software-as-a-Service, enterprise, social networking solution that includes interconnected internal and external social networks. It allows customers and employees to collaborate and communicate directly for customer support, idea management, and other needs. Both the internal and external interfaces have familiar components: activity streams, project management tools, communities, discussions, blogs, profiles, embedded media and links.

While there are many  tools to meet these needs individually, Clearvale’s strength is in its ease of use, and in the systems it offers to manage and integrate the internal and external communities. Businesses can create separate social networks for each of these groups, but manage them as a whole. Employees can access the networks using existing tools such as Active Directory, Google Apps, and OpenID; Clearvale has tools to let external partners and customers use various authentication systems. Clearvale can even integrate with e-commerce websites.

The company says that the Clearvale solution gives organizations greater control, with the appropriate levels of access and security, while still enabling deeper customer engagement, and providing the means to integrate with existing social networks.

When I spoke with Richard Hughes, director of product strategy at BroadVision, he told me that after 18 years of experience with developing e-commerce portals, and their recent experiences with enterprise social marketing, the company feels that there is a market for a solution that allows businesses to manage internal collaboration and CRM in one platform.

He feels such a solution will be more effective than trying to use separate social networks for each activity: “At BroadVision we don’t agree that Social CRM is about tightly controlling customer interaction or that it’s primarily about social media monitoring. It should be about integrating all of a company’s customer engagement channels to enable better communication among customers and employees.”

Clearvale is mainly aimed at medium to large businesses of 100+ employees. More information, including a video demo of a Clearvale ecosystem and a more detailed product demo, is available from the Clearvale website.

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SocialBase “is a team collaboration, tools integration and task management system to bring your social media workflow into one central dashboard.” Tasks related to social media can be managed through the dashboard, and team members assigned to specific tasks. The interface also includes a “tools” pane where users can log in to social media directly.

The developer has some interesting suggestions for how to use SocialBase, but I’m not sure what sorts of businesses it will appeal to. I doubt that those already using one of the many project management tools that we’ve covered will want to pay a hefty monthly fee for another system to manage (and another login to remember). Organizations that aren’t using a project management system will probably be better off looking at other enterprise-oriented social media solutions like HootSuite and CoTweet.

SocialBase has three pricing plans: a “Solo” plan for $50/month, a “Team” plan for up to 10 users for $200/month, and an “On Call” plan with unlimited users for $2,000/month. A 30-day trial, a video tutorial, and more information is available at oneforty’s website. You’ll need to log in with Twitter.

How do you monitor and manage your organization’s social media presence?

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The Seattle area already has a number of coworking spaces, including Office Nomads, just a few blocks away, and various other members of Coworking Seattle. So I asked Keith and Jana how they differentiate their offerings from the other spaces in the area. The Harpers are creative professionals themselves — Keith is a graphic designer and Jana is a web application developer — so their primary goal for the new space was to attract a group of like-minded and compatible creative people. While there is one “drop-in” desk available, The Mill’s major focus is on “dedicated desks.” They told me that they are looking to create something more than just a space where workers come and go; they hope to create a compatible group of creative professionals who can generate ideas, help each other and enjoy shared lunches and events. They even envision that the group could conduct design reviews and debug code.

One thing that The Mill is not: corporate. The Harpers made a conscious decision to create a low-key space, so just about everything is recycled, including surplus furniture from the University of Washington and rugs and knickknacks from the local thrift store. About the only new item in the space is the whiteboard wall, which was so new that the paint was still drying when I visited. The artwork that covers the walls is borrowed from artist friends, and the coffee beans will come from another friend. The vibe is so informal, in fact, that Keith and Jana kidded about needing to start “corporate Mondays,” when everyone would dress up.

However, the Broadway Building, where the coworking space is located, is new, and The Mill has access to a shared conference room and kitchen (although the building and the neighborhood have many restaurants). It is centrally located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, across the street from Seattle Central Community College and next door to the landmark sculpture of Jimi Hendrix. The Harpers point out that while parking is available, there are several bus lines serving the location, and a new streetcar and light-rail line are under construction, meaning that their colleagues might well walk or take transit to The Mill.

The Harpers’ vision seems to be gaining momentum, as they have already filled half of the eight desks available, and they have been talking to other startups and creative people that they think will be a good match.

More information about the space is available at The Mill’s website, and you can also find out more at an open house that will be held on Friday evening in the space.

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Grace Digital Audio Eco Extreme

If you want something rugged for taking on a bike or to the beach, you might like the Eco Extreme. The manufacturer claims it is both waterproof and shock-resistant. It seems to seal pretty tightly, but I haven’t tested it in watery conditions yet.

The Eco Extreme is designed to stand upright when desired, includes a carabiner for attaching to backpacks, and a pouch for storing cards and other small items in addition to your music player. It requires 3 AA batteries (not included), but the Eco Extreme will not charge your iDevice, since it uses the headphone jack to connect. This is a bonus if you ever want to use the Eco Extreme with something other than an Apple product.

The 3-inch speaker is pretty small, and is rated at 3 watts and a frequency range of 200Hz – 10KHz. It puts out decent sound for its size, but don’t expect high fidelity. However, the Eco Extreme might be a good way for the kids to listen to music while at the pool or the beach.

The Eco Extreme comes in several colors, retails for $49.99, and is available from the Grace Audio website.

iMainGo X

If you want better sound quality, and don’t mind doing without the shock- and water-resistance of the Eco Extreme,the iMainGo X, which also has a number of additional features.

It connects to your music player using a standard headphone jack, and it has a flexible, clear plastic cover on one side so that you can access your player’s controls without taking it out of the case. You can use the iMainGo X with iPhones as well as iPods and iPod touches, and with other MP3 players. Since it has both an aux and mic in jacks, it can even be used with iPads, Kindles, tablets, and laptops — even gaming consoles and guitars! Unlike the Eco Extreme, the iMainGo X has an external headphone jack if you want to keep your music to yourself — in fact, it has two, so your kids can share in the backseat without disrupting your peace and quiet.

The design is kind of cute — it looks a bit like an old-style cassette Walkman. The holes where the reels would be are actually the speakers, and their fidelity is much better than the Eco Extreme. I was quite impressed with the quality, frequency range, and volume that can be produced by the two 37mm (about 1-1/2″) speakers. You can even daisy-chain more than one iMainGo X if you want more sound.

The iMainGo X uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery rated for 12 hours of playback time, and it comes with an AC adapter, a travel bag, and a carrying strap. It retails for $69.95, and is available through the iMainGo website and other online retailers.

SuperTooth Disco

The SuperTooth Disco is the 800-pound gorilla of portable sound. With a rating of 28 watts, this speaker can put out an amazing amount of high-fidelity sound, with excellent frequency response. In fact, I’ve found that it’s a bit difficult to set the levels low enough to not blast out the neighbors, which is hardly surprising since the SuperTooth Disco has specs that include two standard speakers rated at 8 watts each, plus a 12-watt subwoofer.

As you might guess from the name, ths SuperTooth Disco connects to your player using Bluetooth A2DP, so it can be used with Macs, iPods, iPhones, iPads, and many other devices. It also has a standard audio line-in jack, so you can use a cable if you wish. I’ve been using Bluetooth, and playing music from my MacBook Pro has never sounded so good. I’ve heard interference on rare occasions, but never often enough to be a problem.

The Disco includes a NiMH battery pack rated at 10 hours of playback time, and an AC adapter. At 89 x 315 x 70mm (3.5 x 12.5 x 2.75 inches) and weighing 1140 grams (2.5 pounds), this is definitely a speaker that you won’t want to put in a backpack or on a bike, although it does come with a carrying case. But if you really want to share your music with a crowd at your next summer party, the SuperTooth Disco can handle it.

The Disco retails for $149.00 and is available in the U.S. at department, specialty and mobile phone stores; the manufacturer’s online shop seems to be only for European orders.

The Speakal iPig

This one’s a bit ridiculous, and could be a relative of the Swoop, but I have three friends with kids who said they want one after taking one look at it.

The iPig actually has very good sound. It comes with five speakers, including a 15 watt subwoofer. The iPig puts out 25 watts, and it has adjustable bass and treble, so it’s not far behind the SuperTooth Disco in sound capabilities.

You can control the volume by touching the pig’s ears, which is a nice touch. To make other changes, you’ll need the included remote, which works fine, but is tiny and will probably get lost quickly. The iPig can be operated with an included rechargeable lithium-ion battery rated at 6 hours of operation, or using the included AC adapter. It will even recharge your iDevice through the dock connector in the pig’s head. It’s portable, but its shape isn’t conducive to carrying, and it’s surprisingly heavy, so I’m not sure kids are going to want to lug it around.

The iPig comes in regular and “cool” versions; the regular version has round eyes, and the cool version looks like it’s wearing shades. Oh, and if you don’t like white, it comes in yellow, pink and black, and the same manufacturer makes the iPanda, the vaguely apple-shaped iPom, the miSoccer soccer ball, and the ghostly iBoo.

The iPig retails for $139.99 and is available from the Speakal website.

Disclaimer: All speaker systems tested for this review were provided by the manufacturers.

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Our growth has been steady, and we’ve definitely had our share of growing pains. However, we have not been able to gain enough traction in the market to sustain long term operations. . . . Access to Convos services and your groups will be unavailable on the cutoff date, so please be sure to download any files and photos that you need, along with an exported member list.

As I said in my original post, “Convos occupies a middle ground between basic group communication systems like listservs and Google Groups, and full-fledged project management apps.” Organizations that have been using Convos have several alternatives, although none of them have the exact feature set that Convos does. If you don’t need Convos’ project management features, here are some other group communications options to consider:

• Tgethr. When I looked at it a couple of years ago, I liked its simple interface but noted that it has a more limited feature set.
• Wiggio. Samuel liked its beta back in 2008.
• Groupsite.
• GroupSpaces.
• Discuss This.
• OnlineGroups.net.

Of course, you may also want to look at Google Groups, Yahoo Groups, listservs, and Facebook Groups, which were recently upgraded.

Are you a Convos user? What service will you use instead?

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Anyone having an active MobileMe account as of today will have their service extended at no charge through June 30, 2012. If you let your account expire recently (as I did), you’re out of luck, since if you try to log into the old MobileMe website at me.com, you are told that your account has expired and that it cannot be renewed.

Apple says that the new iCloud service:

will be available this fall and free for iOS 5 and OS X Lion users. When you sign up for iCloud, you’ll be able to keep your me.com or mac.com email address and move your MobileMe mail, contacts, calendars, and bookmarks to the new service.

It is no longer possible to create new MobileMe 60-day trial accounts, use codes from unused MobileMe boxes, upgrade from an individual account to a Family Pack, or purchase additional storage. You can, however, create accounts if you have an existing Family Pack membership.

If you have a MobileMe activation code that is unused or was used for 45 days or less, you can get a full refund. If your activation code has been used for 46 days or more, you will get a pro-rated refund based on the date of your request.

Unopened boxes can be returned to Apple Stores or to authorized dealers if they were purchased within the last 14 days; otherwise, you’ll need to go through the refund procedure, which can take 4-6 weeks. If you wish to cancel your current MobileMe service and get a refund, you may do so by going to the Cancellation Request Form.

There is no mention of getting credit for the new iTunes Match service, so if you aren’t using MobileMe, you should probably cancel as soon as possible to get the maximum refund, and wait a few months to sign up for Apple’s new services.

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