MxxCon
join:1999-11-19
Brooklyn, NY
clubs:  
1 edit | Reason why it's not opensource
the reason why few routers will have open source firmware is because of »Countdown Begins for Broadband Wiretaps
and since Cisco is a huge supporter of this...
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ff1324
Everybody Goes Home
Premium
join:2002-08-24
On Four Day
| Why would the broadband wiretaps figure into whether or not a router has open-source software? The wiretaps are on the ISP side. By that logic, Linux should not be used anywhere at all.
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The funny thing about firemen...night and day they're always firemen |
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phantom6294
join:2002-02-27
Abingdon, MD
 ·Comcast
| Well... my thoughts would be this...
If the wiretap is at the ISP level, then users could still use routers and use encryption schemes between other users, thus negating the point of the wiretap at the ISP level.
However, if companies built in a wiretap feature into the router itself, then it would potentially be possible to circumvent any encryption being used by a user or even 'hack' into the internal network. If the firmware running on said router is closed-source, it would be very hard to know for sure how that circumvention is being done or IF it is being done.
Thus, an open source firmware would allow the user, or should I say, a group of tech savvy people saying so, to know that there are no backdoors into his own personal and private network. |
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Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02 | I think you're probably right, this was likely a reason. That and the fear of cannibalizing higher-end product sales. Those two alone are solid enough reasons to any hardware exec I'd think.... |
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John Galt
Forward, March
Premium
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp
 ·CenturyLink
| said by Karl Bode  :I think you're probably right, this was likely a reason. That and the fear of cannibalizing higher-end product sales. Those two alone are solid enough reasons to any hardware exec I'd think.... Rhetorical question: why would Cisco buy Linksys in the first place...?
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plat2on1
join:2002-08-21
Hopewell Junction, NY
clubs:
| reply to Karl Bode
said by Karl Bode :I think you're probably right, this was likely a reason. That and the fear of cannibalizing higher-end product sales. Those two alone are solid enough reasons to any hardware exec I'd think.... so then why are they re-releasing it under a different name?(WRT54GL)
it has nothing to do with cannibalising, it had everything to do with NEEDING an even cheaper product to compete with d-link and netgear and the others. |
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Thaler
Premium
join:2004-02-02
Encino, CA
| reply to John Galt
said by John Galt :Rhetorical question: why would Cisco buy Linksys in the first place...? To enter into the SOHO market. Look at Cisco prices, do you think any home or small business would even consider them? Or better yet, please tell me any retail stores that even offer anything Cisco.
Cisco saw an emerging market, and so they bought an established name in it. Now, well, I don't know what the hell Cisco has to do with Linksys anymore. Personally, I just believe they try and see just how much they can crap up the merchandice. |
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phantom6294
join:2002-02-27
Abingdon, MD
·Comcast
| reply to plat2on1
said by plat2on1 :it has nothing to do with cannibalising, it had everything to do with NEEDING an even cheaper product to compete with d-link and netgear and the others. The problem is... it seems obvious that these cheaper products can't truly compete with other offerings. When a router is crippled to a few Megabits on the WAN interface... and ISP speed offerings continually getting faster... they aren't going to sell well.
I wish I had numbers... but I would love to see how many people bought Linksys home routers because a relative/friend who is a computer geek had experience with the WRTs and said... "Buy linksys." I know I've convinced at least 6 or 7 people to buy Linksys. I currently own four Linksys routers; 3 of them WRT54GS. I at one time also owned a WRT54G which my parents now use. So, from me alone Linksys has seen 12 router sells; oh, and my previous job, I recommended a WRT54G for our small office; so 13 sells. In the larger scheme, they could probably care less.
However, I see a good probability that those same geeks (includng myself) are going to find a new solid product line and say... "Don't buy Linksys... buy [some other brand]."
Another point... I suspect the SOHO market is continuing to grow. The problem with that is... Linksys may still see an increase in its router sale volume... but perhaps not as high an increase if they had just left well enough alone. Personally, I don't think the WRT54GL 'peace offering' will be enough to save face.
Just my two cents. |
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plat2on1
join:2002-08-21
Hopewell Junction, NY
clubs:
1 edit | joe sixpack buys the cheapest thing on the shelf. dlink/netgear/belkin are considerably cheaper then linksys right now.
the GL is V4 harware so i dont see what the big fuss is about. |
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