On Fri, 11 Mar 2016, Alan Jenkins wrote:
On 11/03/2016, Jonathan Morton <[email protected]> wrote:
On 11 Mar, 2016, at 20:22, Luis E. Garcia <[email protected]> wrote:
Time to start building our own.
A big project in itself - but perhaps a worthwhile one. We wouldn’t be able
to compete on price against the Taiwanese horde, but price is not the only
market force on the table. Firmware quality is a bit abstract and nebulous
to sell to ordinary consumers, but there is one thing that might just get
their attention.
Making the damned thing easier to configure.
Almost every router now on the market is a blank box with some ports on the
back, some antennas on top and some lights on the front. If you’re lucky,
there’ll be a button for WPS (which most consumers would still need to read
the manual to figure out how to use, and most tinkerers would turn right
off) and maybe one or two “feature switches”; my Buffalo device has one
which does “something” to the QoS setup in the stock firmware, and nothing
at all in OpenWRT.
The lights only tell you that “something is happening” and occasionally
“something is wrong”, and are invariably cryptic. For example, a green
flashing light can mean “it’s setting up but not working yet” or “it’s
working and passing traffic right now”, often on the same light! A critical
error, such as a cable not plugged in, is often signified only by the
*absence* of one of the several normal lights, which is invisible to the
untrained eye.
To actually configure it, you must first connect a computer to it and point
a Web browser at the right (usually numeric) URL. This URL varies between
vendors and models, and sometimes even between firmware revisions; the only
infallible way to determine it is to delve into the configuration that DHCP
handed out.
Also, many routers setup a 'standard' name you can go to, so you don't have to
do it by IP.
But this can be dealt with by adding a QR code or NFC method to get at a basic
configuration.
You and I can cope with that, but we want something better, and
less-technical people *need* something better if they are to trust their
equipment enough to start actually learning about it.
I don't know if you really can simplify the configuration the way you are
wanting to, but I'd say give it a try. Take OpenWRT and make a configuration
program that you think is better. You even have a nice browser based tool to
start with (luci). If you can make a browser based tool work well, then if your
tool is better/easier, it can be widely used, or you can then try hardware
versions of it.
As a starting point, suppose we build a small display into the case, and
invite the user to temporarily plug a keyboard, console controller or even a
mouse directly into the USB port (which most routers now have) to do the
setup? No Web browser required, and no potentially-vulnerable web server on
the device either.
There are very good reasons why browser setups have replaced built-in displays.
There's a limit to how much you can show on a built-in display, and you have to
be able to see the display. Not everyone positions their wifi where they can
easily see it, let alone plug it into a TV. The best place for a router to sit
is usually not the easiest place to see or get at it.
You have a much larger display, which gives you room for help text and images,
not just a handful of characters.
A display is nicer than just LEDs, but it's also a lot more expensive.
I also don't like large glowing displays on devices. I frequently put tape over
the LEDs to tone things down as well (especially in bedrooms)
David Lang
When not in config mode, the input device can be disconnected and returned
to its primary role, and the display can offer status information in a
human-readable format; an RGB-controlled backlight would be sufficient for
at-a-glance is-everything-okay checks (which is all Apple gives you without
firing up their proprietary config software on a connected computer). Some
high-end router models provide just this, without leveraging the possibility
of easier setup.
- Jonathan Morton
IMO they already glow quite enough. Better to invest in the software :P.
Alan
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