Friday, January 11, 2008

What's on tap for 2008

2007 marked another exciting year here at Rokland, as we continue to see our company grow. We look forward to many new things in 2008, including the addition of new technologies to our primary web site, Rokland.com. When it comes to e-commerce, flashy new technologies aren't always the best, because sometimes they can get in the way of a customer's ultimate goal- ordering what they need quickly and easily. So we like to keep things simple, however we do have some new features we will be unveiling which will not only make purchases quicker and easier, but will make finding what you need easier too.

One of the main concerns customers have noted over the year is that as UPS continues to raise their rates and hike up their fuel surcharges, in some destination zip codes it can now cost upward of $10.00 to ship a small Ground package. We want to reiterate that we do not inflate UPS rates, we charge the exact amount plus a 50 cent handling fee on all web orders. The 50 cents is primarily because UPS fuel surcharge increases aren't reflected in the rate calculator right away, so generally you end up paying the actual shipping cost. What we will be doing toward the end of the first quarter this year is offering US Postal Service options on our web site, in addition to existing UPS options. Many smaller items can be sent through the US Postal Service much cheaper, and will arrive just as fast. We will post more details on that soon, but please keep in mind that if you currently wish to have an order go via the US Postal Service, even though our web site is currently set to only offer UPS options, you can email us for a rate quote for US Postal options on any item, and if you wish to select one of those options, we can manually adjust the shipping charge and method in the system.

In regards to product offerings, in 2007 we saw some major new additions to our product line, including a series of wireless adapters for Apple Macintosh computers- both general connectivity and long range setups. In November we officially launched our RokAir wireless adapter, which, as I like to say, is the "King of Compatibility". In addition to working with Mac OS 10.3 and 10.4, it also works on all Windows operating systems from Windows 98SE up through Vista, as well as Linux (kernel 2.6.6 and later). Its built-in heatsink and 100mw output power make it, in my opinion, superior to any of the usual suspect pen-style USB adapters you can buy in stores. We'd like to thank MacNN.com for writing about this adapter, you helped many of your readers find out about this low-cost Airport alternative, and we have had many happy emails from customers who purchased.

In 2008 we look forward to more additions to our product line, including a larger selection of 802.11n devices, as well as more options for Macintosh users including a wireless adapter that is Kismac compatible, and some that are Leopard compatible as well.

We'd like to thank all of our customers, suppliers, and contractors for making 2007 a great year, and we hope we helped make it a great year for you too. We look forward to continued relationships for the year to come, and if you have any questions, concerns, or would like more information on any of our current or planned offerings always remember to check here on our blog or email us.

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