Wi-Fi Planet: The Open Source WRT54G Story

“The story of the Linksys Wireless-G Router (model WRT54G) and
how you can turn a $60 router into a $600 router is a little bit
CSI and a little bit Freaks & Geeks. It’s also the story of how
the open source movement can produce a win-win scenario for both
consumers and commercial vendors. What’s especially exciting is
that tricking out this router doesn’t require any eBay sleuthing or
other hunt for some off-the-wall piece of hardware. Instead, grab
it off-the-shelf. The WRT54G is stacked high in every Best Buy and
Circuit City across the country and, of course, most online
retailers–Amazon.com sells it for $55. It’s ubiquitous and, some
would say, a diamond in the rough. Or a wolf in sheep’s
clothing.

“While routers used to be the domain of networking specialists,
they’ve gone mainstream along with residential broadband. Commodity
routers can be had for as little as–well, ‘free after rebate’ in
some cases, and often not much more. To keep them cheap,
consumer-grade vendors like Linksys repackage designs from OEM
vendors rather than design the hardware and software
in-house…”

Complete
Story