Re: build a hack box of choice?

Scott Serr wrote:
> With all the talk about which new box might be hackable, it seems 
> obvious that there is a need for something cheap but with the 
> capabilities of the expensive Soekris boards.

You know. . . The soekris isn't *that* expensive, and it really is
perfect for the application.

> My question is...  what needs to be in a box to not just make it 
> hackable, but be made to hack and put Linux on it?  Also, is there 
> current hardware (WRT54?) that may have an OEM much like all the vendors 
> that used the WL11000 based boards?

The problem with any standard industry board is, it's a moving target,
and has a very short life expectancy.  So if you work up something for
a custom XYZ board using an ARM or other odd custom or embedded CPU
it's history at the end of life cycle.

The only feasable way to maintain anything is something like Soekris
that runs on PC compatable hardware using FLASH and an x86 CPU.  soekris
is not the only player, there are a couple of others, similar in pricing.

You can also run Mini-ITX stuff, albeit a tad larger in form-factor.  Yes,
it takes cost from around $100 to around $200, but if you invest time in
it you'd like to be able to leverage it for more than a year or two.

--Keith