[geeks] Cheap wireless APs

[Lionel Peterson]

On May 21, 2009, at 8:20 PM, Shannon Hendrix <shannon at widomaker.com>  
wrote:

> On May 21, 2009, at 19:35 , Lionel Peterson wrote:
>
>
>> Shannon, if they did that, they wouldn't sell any router/AP  
>> devices, just the soon-to-be-hacked crippled AP devices.
>
> Other products that have done that for decades seem to have sold  
> quite well, why wouldn't a Linksys router?
>
> Only a tiny number of people know how or are willing to do what is  
> necessary to enable all their features.

The Linksys router is an unusual case - the more feature-full version  
costs less - if prices were reversed I suspect many would buy the  
cheaper AP and hack it into a more valuable Router/AP.

Hacker rehab crippled hardware all the time.

>
> Besides: they are most likely doing exactly that.  I have opened a  
> couple of different Linksys products where the board inside was  
> identical, except one was crippled.  They didn't even remove the  
> unused chips in one case.
>
>>> Therefore, it seems to me it must be one of those things they do  
>>> because they can, not because of some technical reason.
>>
>> Who says they aren't doing this? They have to make special packing,  
>> manuals, etc. specific to each model. They need to price them to  
>> cover additional packaging/production costs.
>
> I'm saying that there is no reason for the huge price differences:  
> they can make the same device and do different things with it.  They  
> do it all the time and have been for a long time.
>
> As far as additional costs go: there almost are none.  Companies  
> like Apple and Atari solved this problem with far more complicated  
> and differentiated designs in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
>
> As far as packaging and documentation goes: most produces use the  
> same packaging and have very little documentation, and that's  
> generally so heavily automated the cost is pretty much the same.
>
>> The Linksys hardware I use is fine, suited my needs for 5+ years...
>
> I found it underpowered and under featured when it came out, but  
> keep it around by offloading some of the work to an SME550 set  
> before it.
>
> If not for that, it would be dying under load daily.
>
> The device is now ancient for this industry, and it was underpowered  
> and under featured when it first came out.
>
> Today it sells for not much less than it did in the beginning, and  
> has not gained much in features or power in that time.
>
> Just about everything else in the market is now markedly faster and  
> better, or a hell of a lot cheaper.
>
> It's interesting that they've managed to get away with that.
>
> I think the reason is not lack of need, it's lack of ability for  
> most people to express what is wrong with their setup enough to  
> demand better.

Replacing the firmware satisfies many users needs, I dare say most.

Lionel