Netgear has released the WGR614L Open Source Router which is a real shift in the hardware world, isn’t it? What does this mean? Well, it looks like open source is going to start changing the way that hardware is produced in the future, which is going to be interesting to say the least.
What with the Nokia move to shift Symbian to open source and the new OpenMoko Neo Freerunner Linux based mobile phone, things are really hotting up in the open hardware space (as the marketing suits say). Hopefully we’ll benefit from more bug-free equipment, better and more ubiquitous maintenance services and faster feature development and security updating. Very interesting.
In addition to an external 2 dBi antenna, the WGR614L integrates a second internal diversity antenna to provide enhanced performance and range. The router supports free open source Linux-based Tomato and DD-WRT firmware and will soon support OpenWRT. The WGR614L is supported by a dedicated open source router community, www.myopenrouter.com, which provides open source firmware downloads, forums, blogs, articles, source code, and user guides, and provides users with dedicated and responsive support by open source experts.
