前幾天跟同事聊到 Android 刷機的事情,而最近剛好看到介紹這台無線分享器裡的名機,Linksys 的 WRT54GL:「
The WRT54GL: A 54Mbps router from 2005 still makes millions for Linksys」,第一款被廣泛應用在各種客製化硬體的機器。
取自維基百科的「File:Linksys WRT54G.jpg」
從 2005 年開始賣,到現在 2016 年還是繼續在賣,而且這東西支援的無線規格很舊,還比其他的無線分享器貴不少:
Witness the Linksys WRT54GL, the famous wireless router that came out in 2005 and is still for sale. At first glance, there seems to be little reason to buy the WRT54GL in the year 2016. It uses the 802.11g Wi-Fi standard, which has been surpassed by 802.11n and 802.11ac. It delivers data over the crowded 2.4GHz frequency band and is limited to speeds of 54Mbps. You can buy a new router—for less money—and get the benefit of modern standards, expansion into the 5GHz band, and data rates more than 20 times higher.
但不只能賣,還賣的很好:
Despite all that, people still buy the WRT54GL in large enough numbers that Linksys continues to earn millions of dollars per year selling an 11-year-old product without ever changing its specs or design.
量大到 Broadcom 還是繼續支援,然後產品 PM 就抱怨他搞不懂:
"To be honest, it somewhat baffles my mind," Linksys Global Product Manager Vince La Duca told Ars. But production won't stop any time soon as long as Linksys' suppliers, including chipmaker Broadcom, keep selling the parts needed to build the WRT54GL. "We'll keep building it because people keep buying it," La Duca said.
只能說,施主您多保重...