New product- LONG RANGE 600 mW PCI Wireless-G Desktop Card Engenius EPS-3601S

If it seems like it has been too long since we have added a new product to our lineup, don't worry, we've got a great one today and quite a few others coming down the pipeline.

Today I'm writing about a new offering we have from Engenius, a manufacturer you've come to trust for long range wireless products in large part because of their 200mw EL-2511CD PLUS EXT2 wireless card (also available as model numbers SL and EL-2511CD PLUS EXT2 from their overseas company name "Senao"). You may have read on our blog about our very high-powered 500mw Alfa USB adapter, well this PCI card from Engenius has a max output of 600mw. This card is a PCI card so it is exclusively for use in desktop computers. If you are looking for a high-powered solution for laptops, we do strongly recommend the Alfa 500mw adapter (AWUS036H).

But for the desktop, this model EPS-3601S is an excellent solution, not only because of its extremely high output power, but because of its sensitive chipset and LOW LOW price! We put this head to head with the Linksys WMP54G wireless PCI card, which is a pretty good quality adapter that sells for about $40 or so at your brick-and-mortar electronics store, and as you can see on the product page for the Engenius card, it was no comparison at all.

If you are in the market for a long range solution for a desktop computer, I have never seen a better performer. The stunning 600mw of output power means you'll have no problem running this to an outdoor antenna and being able to take full advantage of said antenna (perfect if you have a desktop PC on your boat or in your RV!

Cleaning the new Mac keyboard

Apple launched a new keyboard a short while back, you can see it here:

http://www.apple.com/keyboard/

I decided to buy several for our office here after checking them out at a local retailer. They are very comfortable to type on, and the $49 price tag for the wired version is extremely reasonable (was the second cheapest keyboard at the store not factoring in the $9.99 entry level generic ones).

It dawned on me after buying it that the white keys would become brown and dirty over time- it is bound to happen no matter how clean your hands are when you type. Heck, it should have dawned on me when using the floor model at the store since many of the keys were brown and marked up.

Well, we've been using the keyboards for several weeks now and none of them have gotten dirty. Except yours truly dropped a pen on one, which managed to put ink lines on several of the keys. I went to wipe them off with regular electronic cleaner, it didn't even lighten the ink color. I then tried a basic all purpose cleaner, and still the ink marks were as dark as always. Before giving up I decided to try applying some Expo white board cleaner, recalling how I had once accidentally used a permanent marker on our white board and was able to remove it with the same cleaner. What do you know- it worked like a charm on the Mac keyboard. It took the ink off in seconds, the affected keys look just like new.

I am not cleaner savvy, so to some of you this may be obvious based on solvents or something. But for those of you like me, if you mark up your new Apple Mac keyboard, try putting some white board cleaner on a cloth and applying it to the keys. I have only done it one time and it did not affect the letters on the keys. However I should note again I am not cleaner savvy, so who knows, maybe the white board cleaner could have some adverse affect like rubbing off the letters if used to often. So be cautious. But it definitely removes ink stains!

Easy way to get POP3 email on a BlackBerry using T-Zones

We have a couple of smartphones here we use when traveling, just so we can stay in touch with our inboxes. We have used T-Mobiles T-Zones service for this which is $5.99 a month as it allows for POP3 mail access.

We recently upgraded to some BlackBerrys and found out that you cannot get email on them with T-Zones, you have to pay for their $20.00 monthly BlackBerry service. We were just going to switch to another model smartphone that allowed POP3 access through T-Zones because the extra expense was not worth it to us, then we figured out how to use POP3 on the BlackBerrys. This is not a hack or anything like that, nor does it allow for push email like the regular BlackBerry service.

Basically all you need to do is (assuming you already have T-Zones) open a browser and click the scroll button and select Go To. Then input this link:

http://logicmail.sourceforge.net/ota/

This will allow you to download the LogicMail POP3 and IMAP client for BlackBerry. Once the install is complete, the LogicMail icon will appear in the Applications folder of your BlackBerry. Again, this does not allow for regular push email (won't notify you of new incoming messages), it is just a mail client where you can view your inbox and send/receive mail. But this is exactly what we want to be able to do- just check our inboxes from the road. Mission accomplished!

***note: this was done on some BlackBerry 7105t phones but should work on other BlackBerry models we assume***

Is Steve Jobs doing a 180 about iTunes subscriptions?

Just under a year ago I wrote this article about Realplayer Rhapsody's subscription model which allows customers to listen to an unlimited number of tracks in the Rhapsody library for a low monthly fee. In the article I discussed how Steve Jobs shrugged off that model, saying it was not something that "consumers wanted", even though a cost-per-track evaluation shows it would be a lot cheaper for consumers who listened to more than just five or ten songs a month.

So it was surprising to read this article from FT.com today which suggests that Apple is attempting to negotiate a subscription model with major music labels. The plan would charge a premium for the music players (much in the same way a Rhapsody-equipped Sansa MP3 player costs quite a bit more than an identical Sansa player that cannot play Rhapsody songs) but allow customers to pay a low monthly fee to listen to unlimited songs, or pay an even heftier charge for the device up front but get unlimited songs for the life of the device (this is a model being used by TiVo for their DVR consoles).

What struck me the most was this statement in the FT.com article:

"Detailed market research has shown strong appetite among consumers for deals bundling music in with the cost of the device, or in exchange for a monthly subscription, executives said."

Maybe this is Jobs' "duh" moment, because it seemed evident even a year ago that there was consumer demand for these things even though Jobs said otherwise. Either that, or Jobs thought the iPod's "hip" factor would fend off less-hip competitors (like RealPlayer) and simply miscalculated.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. One thing is for sure though. I titled last year's article on RealPlayer Rhapsody "The iPod Killer?". If Jobs does take iTunes to a subscription model, that might well make the service the Rhapsody killer, as Realplayer would have a very hard time competing against Apple if both were offering the same service model.

Check out all of our Apple Mac Leopard compatible wireless USB adapters

As you may know, we carry a number of wireless (WiFi) USB adapters for Apple Macintosh computers. These devices have been compatible with Mac OS 10.3 and 10.4, and now we are excited that they are all Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) compatible thanks to new driver releases. We decided to promote this by doing a brief write-up below about each adapter and also linking to the new Leopard-compatible drivers for each one. If you buy one of these after the date of this post, it will ship with Leopard drivers. If you already own one of these devices and you have upgraded your operating system to Leopard, you can download the Leopard drivers for each device right here in this post.

The first adapter we want to mention is our RokAir wireless USB adapter. This is a really cool adapter because it has a built-in heat sink and also 100mw of output power (that's more than 3x the popular Orinoco series of wireless adapters!). This is a great adapter for in-home use and is very portable in case you go on the road a lot. You can download Leopard drivers for it here.

The second adapter we want to mention is our Apple Mac Wardriving kit, now nicknamed the RokOn (as in "rock on", just in case you missed it). The RokOn is the next step up from the RokAir because it features an external SMA antenna connector. This is great for folks with longer range wireless needs. It allows you to upgrade the antenna to whatever strength you require. It also includes two high gain external antennas so you can get a very good range right out of the box. You can download the Leopard drivers for the RokOn here.

The third adapter we want to mention is the RokIt (as in "rock it", or "rocket", take your pick). The RokIt has a slightly lesser range than the RokAir, but weighs in at a slightly lesser price. The RokIt is also ultra-portable and is a nice basic wireless adapter. Leopard drivers for the RokIt can be downloaded here.

Keep in mind that all three of these offerings are also compatible with Mac OS 10.3 and 10.4 (Panther and Tiger), and they also work with Windows operating systems from Windows 98SE all the way up through Windows Vista, as well as Linux (kernel 2.6.6 and later).

10.5 Leopard Drivers for RokAIR Released!

We now have Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) drivers for our RokAir wireless USB adapter. Effective Monday, March 17th, we will ship these drivers with every RokAir sale. If you already have the RokAir, or the item is currently in transit to you, you may download the Leopard drivers by clicking here. (**The manufacturer changed the driver URL recently, this link has been modified with the new location- if you attempt to download and the link does not work, please contact our support department at www.rokland.com).

Wireless for Apple Mac Leopard (10.5) is Here!

We are excited to announce the offering of Apple Mac Leopard compatible wireless WIFI USB adapters. We have fully tested these on several 10.5 systems, and they work great. They come with drivers and instructions. They do work with OS 10.3 and 10.4 as well, and are also Windows and Linux compatible.

In the coming days we will be launching a new Rokland-branded in-house USB device that is Leopard compatible and features an SMA antenna jack. The price point on that will be about $44.99 or so. This particular device we are offering starting today is $24.99. It has a built-in antenna but no SMA jack.

Immigration and Business

I don't like to get political here, so I am not going to. But for those interested in immigration policy and how it impacts businesses and the economy, I would highly recommend this podcast from Jack Welch. I'm not claiming everything he says is right, but he addresses some points that I think are sometimes missed in wider discussion of this subject.

It's one of those things where we can listen to it and make up our own minds about what he discusses- but the more information we have, the better decisions we can make.

Location, Location, Location

When it comes to buying online, even though the Internet brings companies far away right into your home, the location of the merchant is still important. This is especially true when it comes to the purchase of computer and technology items.

We strongly recommend buying from a merchant in the USA when you can. Not just because it helps our nation's economy, but because it also helps you- the consumer. Some things to keep in mind about location when buying online:

1. Transit time- Merchants overseas may sometimes have an item a couple of dollars cheaper. But it may take a lot longer to receive the item as International Post tends to take a lot longer than regular domestic shipments. Check to see what method of shipping the merchant uses and go to the shipping company's web site to check time in transit. Also find out if there will be a tracking number or if you just have to check your mailbox each day.

2. Customer service/language- Some US companies can give poor customer service too, I know that from experience, so always check any seller's online feedback before buying. Keep in mind that in some countries where English is not the primary language, you may have difficulty getting the customer service you need. This could result in some headaches for you. Also take note when buying from a US company that outsources their customer support to overseas contractors who don't speak English well.

3. Return policies- often times products from outside the USA do not have the typical 14 or 30 day return policy many US companies have. If they do, check the fine print to make sure you aren't responsible for the shipping costs both ways. While many US merchants, including Rokland, don't refund shipping costs on returns unless due to merchant error, merchants overseas with the same policy may mean that you pay a high price if you need to return an item. It also means if you do have to return due to a defect, because of long transit times there and back, it could be several weeks before you have a working product. Also, on more expensive purchases, remember that when buying in the USA you can take actions against the merchant if there is an error on their part they do not resolve (consumer affairs, or a BBB report for example). With overseas merchants, unless they also have locations here in the USA, generally these outlets are not available.

3. Piracy and fraud- while many overseas vendors are good companies, products that come from some areas of the world may not be legitimate, or the sale may be fraudulent. This can be the case with some companies in the US too, so always do a background check on any company before buying, but again as noted in point #3, there are outlets available if you encounter an issue with a purchase made in the USA that are not available to you when you buy from other countries.

Sometimes buying outside of the USA might be the best way to go. More often than not though, a US company is more attractive for consumers living in the USA.

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.