Hi all.
>> Why would this be a 'cheap' router?
> Why wouldn't it be?
Put it in context, it's cheap or expensive depending on what one is
used to, so neither term can readily be applied on a global scale like
the Internet...
>> I quote from the web site: "We are working on a small module (a
>> 1 inch tall 30 pin SIMM) with 4Meg of FLASH and 8Meg of DRAM,
>> 10Base-T ethernet and LCD panel driver that will cost
>> approximately $150US using a 68EZ328"
>> $150! Why is that cheap. By the time a box was put round it and
>> it was powered etc I guess it would be about $225.
>> At a computer fair recently I bought a P120 with 32mb RAM and an
>> ne2000 card for $50. Thats a cheap router!!
I'm in Scotland, so a different environment again from either of you.
I've picked old 386 and 486 computers out of skips before now, taken
them home, renovated them with my trusty vacuum cleaner inside and
out, installed Linux on them and installed them as routers at various
customer's premises. Also, when I'm going to a customer to set up
their network, one of my first questions is whether they have and old
386's and 486's lying around.
The specification I ask for to use them as a router is as follows:
Q> 386sx/20 or later CPU.
Q> 6M RAM or better.
Q> 250M Hard drive or better.
Q> Floppy drive, keyboard and monitor NOT required.
Most companies have at least one such machine lying around, and it
doesn't take long to set it up under Linux either...
> Apparently those kind of prices don't happen out here on the
> prairie, as I've never found them.
Are there any amateur radio rallies out your way? If not, there's not
likely to be any computer fairs either...both are often a good source
of low cost computer equipment nowadays...
>> I can see how in a professional environment this would be a
>> cheap/compact solution but lets be serious. For our needs space
>> is usually not an issue. If we use a PC we are using a 'known'
>> device and, love it or hate it' we understand its peculiarities.
> Well, excuse me for dropping this short note to the list. I
> promise to never again mention anything that might be useful,
> but breaks the current paradigm.
In my honest opinion, there's nothing wrong with emails advising of
the location of possibly useful equipment, and I have to admit that I
would be very interested in the product mentioned. However, the cost
of importing it into the UK would more than double what I would have
to pay for it...
Basically, I believe your use of the word "cheap" was what caused that
reply, and I believe the reply to have been misguided as a result
since neither "cheap" nor "expensive" have any real meaning in a
global sense.
Best wishes from Riley.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| There is something frustrating about the quality and speed of Linux |
| development, ie., the quality is too high and the speed is too high, |
| in other words, I can implement this XXXX feature, but I bet someone |
| else has already done so and is just about to release their patch. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* ftp://ftp.MemAlpha.cx/pub/rhw/Linux
* http://www.MemAlpha.cx/kernel.versions.html
