I was able to get my parents one of the best Christmas presents ever (actually, she got it early, so I could review it for you)! My mom is not too technologically inclined. She doesn’t know how to work her DVR or turn on their computer. My parents all have dialup, so if I send them pictures, it takes way to long for them to download them. Since we only see them once a month, they miss out on a lot of things. For example, Madison somehow whacked herself in the face the other night with her pumpkin flashlight (and she was in her room suppose to be sleeping). She gave herself two cuts, black and blue marks, and a fat lip. I was able to take a picture, but had no way to show them until now.
Presto has made it super easy to send pictures to people without computers, who have seriously slow internet connections (that would be all of you with dial up), and people who are not technologically inclined. Set up for the printer took around five minutes. I was able to go online and set up the account while my sister was setting up the printer for my mom. Now, you are able to call in the information if you don’t have an internet connection too. To make the Presto Printer work, all you need is an analog phone line, paper, and a print cartridge. The Presto Service includes an @presto.com email address and unlimited incoming email, photos, and other content. You will not get spam either. The only people who can send things to print off have to be included on your friend list! (I wish regular email worked that way. Think how nice that would be!). You also are able to set up five times a day for it to check and see if you have any messages.

Over the last two weeks, I have sent several pictures over to my parents (especially the one I talked about above). It was nice that I could show them. Now, we just visited them this weekend, so I could see the quality of the pictures. I am impressed. My mom could tell that Madison had a fat lip. She could also see when Will got his hair cut. Instead of missing that milestone, she really got to be a part of it!

This is truly the perfect gift for someone who does not have high speed internet, doesn’t have a computer, or is not technologically inclined. If my mom can do, anyone can.

A month or so ago, we decided to change from DirecTV to Dish Network. For the same amount of money, we could get a lot more stations. They also offered some great packages, and you are allowed to change your package at any time without having to renew your contract. It isn’t like buying condos for sale. You are allowed to change your mind. They have some good things and some not so good things I’d love to talk about.

First, the sales people spoke English. I could tell that they were here in the States. That shouldn’t be a big deal, but I want the person I am talking to understand what I am saying. The tech people, well, you can tell they are reading from a script. However, the level 2 tech people are again from here, so no issues here.

Next, we have the top package because that’s what Bill wanted. I don’t think we watch it enough. It has a ton of stations. However, there are some stations that still aren’t covered by the top package. I don’t think that is right. If you have that package, you should get everything.

Next, the sales people conveniently forgot to mention the $10 a month programming fee. I was not happy to see that.

I also didn’t care for the fact that we had to sign up for a 18 month contract.

Its not all complaints though. Their DVR has a huge learning curve (TIVO is easier to use), but is awesome. When the Bears game went into overtime, it still continued taping. My TIVO would have cut out. We have double the space too. We have 4 TVs and only 2 receivers. I love that they can hook it up like that.

Overall, there are definitely more plusses than negatives. I would definitely recommend them. If you decide to try them out, let me know and I can get you a code that will allow you to get some additional discounts!

EDIT:  We no longer have the $10 programming fee added to our bill, so disregard those remarks.