How one GPL lawsuit accidentally created the homelab router that changed networking forever
“No company sets out to make a product that exceeds its purpose and becomes a legend. In some cases when it happens, the company might even regret it. I recall a few NVIDIA GPUs, like the 8800GT and 1080 Ti that were so good for the money that people didn't upgrade their cards for a decade. That's great for PR, but not so great for shareholders. Well, among network routers, the Linksys WRT54G was a cheap, unassuming Wi-Fi router that ended up becoming a cult classic for a very weird reason, that had little if anything to do with the actual hardware.”
I still have my WRT54G, and actually the reason I originally bought it, was because I could reflash it with Tomato. So, in actual fact, the sale of the hardware was made because I could open source firmware on it. That is surely a win for a hardware company.
It was interesting to read this linked article to get the backstory on how it actually came to be.
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How one GPL lawsuit accidentally created the homelab router that changed networking forever
A legal accident turned this $60 router into the most legendary homelab device of the 2000s
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