Over the holidays, Mom and Dad at Thought Ensemble bought a few new toys for the Davis kids that I absolutely have to share with you.

First, and certainly the most incredible, is a brand new Asus RT-AC68U Dual-band Wireless Router. This thing is amazing, especially compared to the decade old router I had been using. With the 2.4 GHz frequency it more than septupled (7x) my download speeds from 8 Mbps to 57 Mbps and that’s only using the slow frequency. Sadly my Vaio’s Intel Wireless-N 7260 uses the 2.4 GHz frequency only, but my current and next phone, Note 2 and 4 respectively, do use the 5 GHz frequency. Besides a huge performance improvement the new router has a ton of really nice features such as:

• Dual-core processor
• 4 Gigabit wired Ethernet connections, one of which you can switch to be an input from a secondary router for redundant internet service providers
• Multiple USB ports, one of which is USB 3.0, for network printers, shared hard drives or 3G/4G cellular modem for yet another redundant internet service provider
• Quality of Service (QoS) that allows you to manage traffic and optimize by type or device
• Capability to intelligently strengthen wireless connectivity using beamforming technology and high power amplification so your wireless signal strength improves where you need it
• Three guest networks each with their own passwords and usage limits
• Parental controls and internal firewall including stateful packet inspection (SPI) intrusion detection and denial of service (DoS) protection
• FTP server for storing home IP camera recordings
• And lots more, check out this product review
• Also, the router’s administration interface is very simple to use as you can see below

Next up, we received the Google Chromecast. If you aren’t familiar with it, the Chromecast is a thumb-sized media streaming device that plugs into the HDMI port on your TV that allows you to use an Android phone, tablet, iPhone®, iPad®, Mac or Windows laptop, or Chromebook to cast your favorite entertainment and apps right to your big screen. We’ll most likely be casting our Google play purchased movies, IP camera feeds or whatever app Casey wants to see on the TV like Pinterest.

Then we received a Mpow presentation/pointer/fly air mouse to use during client presentations or couch-mousing. What amazes me about this thing is that you can use it in mid-air as a fully functioning mouse. It even has a laser for distracting the cats I don’t have.

Lastly, I’m hoping to get the new and currently sold-out Microsoft Band.

Thank you Thought Ensemble! The Davis family is very appreciative of such generous gifts and even more so for the giving hearts behind them.