Do you have wireless internet in your home? If not, I want to encourage you to start saving up some money to get a wireless router. Being able to watch instant Netflix downloads on my iPad while taking a bath is a game changer in life, people! 🙂 If you do, have you ever given much thought to your router? If you are like me, the answer is no. Tim is in charge of the technology in our home (I know that sounds like some seriously stereotypical gender roles being played out, but it is what it is…I’m just not that interested in how stuff works, as long as it works!). I never really thought about our router at all….until it DIED. Just up and died, people. Didn’t give us any advanced warning. It just bit the dust one morning and there I was, without wireless internet service. I’m embarrassed to admit how hard that day was, but it was BAD!
So, the time came to shop for a new router. What does it matter? Aren’t they all more or less the same? NO, NO, NO, MY FRIEND! I learned about a wireless router called Cisco Valet, and I totally dig it (which is saying something for someone who usually couldn’t care less!).
Tim installed this for us, as he is our resident tech geek. Honestly, I wish I had just done it myself, because it was designed for people like me, who are usually very intimidated by this type of thing, to be able to do.
In fact, just a few minutes after Tim got started with the process, I heard him say to himself, “It cannot be this easy.” I went in the room to check on him, and he turned to me and said, “It’s installed! That was ridiculously easy. I’m shocked!”
The Cisco Valet comes with a USB that you plug into your computer. There are a few steps that you follow, and the program just walks you through them. Tim said it was a piece of cake, and unlike anything he has ever seen before in the world of routers. It basically blew his mind!
So other than the rock awesome set up, there are a few other features that make this router stand out from the crowd. For example, there are enhanced parental controls on this website. You can block certain websites for certain devices in your house. Let’s say that you don’t want your 12 year old to be able to watch Netflix instant movies unsupervised in his room. So you block that site from his computer without having to also block it from your own. Or, let’s say that your child LOVES to play games online…maybe a little too much. You can set limits for computer time each day so that when the time is up on a certain computer, access to the internet if blocked for the rest of the day. Pretty sweet, right?
There’s also a separate guest network available, which means that when you have company, you don’t have to give them your network password to log in. This makes getting online less of a hassle.
Last but certainly not least, it has a sleek design. Our old router was dark, bulky and just ugly. This little puppy seamlessly blends in with its surroundings. So nice!
Buy it!: The Cisco Valet Wireless Router is every bit as easy to use as it claims, and it has added value with its specific features for guests and computer time monitoring. I think this is an EXCELLENT router and very highly recommend it! The Cisco Valet is available for $89.99 (right in line with what other routers that aren’t nearly as awesome cost) and comes with free shipping and 90 days to make a return just in case you don’t think it is that awesome (but you will, promise).
Disclosure I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
Margherita Pizza (4 out of 5 stars). The pizza tasted fabulous. I will say that the amount of sauce on the pizza was almost laughable (see how it is just dotted on in the picture?). But, the taste was great, so maybe the lesson here is that you really don’t need very much sauce to achieve a great flavor.
