Musenki's Linux-Based AP Ships To Beta Customers

An Anonymous Coward writes: "Austin, TX based Musenki ('musenki' means 'small wireless gadget' in Japanese) is poised to ship beta units of its first product -- the M-1 wireless access point that uses Linux. Pretty cool device that has open architecture and can be modified to accomodate growing 802.11 standards. Says they could have not have done it without open source community."

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[Macblaster]

('musenki' means 'small wireless gadget' in Japanese)

Excellent example of why the Japanese language kicks ass - they have a single word that means small wireless gadget. If only english was that cool...

Re:Price seems high...

[NetJunkie]

Good access points cost a lot. Sure, you can get a Linksys for $150, but a Cisco AP is still $500. They have features a "plain" AP doesn't have. In the case of Cisco, better security and good key management.

"Small wireless device" ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Musenki means wireless device.

mu = not
sen = wire
ki = device

I don't see 'small' in there..

Re:"Small wireless device" ?

[Angst Badger]

Oh, thank god. I'd hate to think any language actually had a word for "small wireless device".

Soekris

[Jeffrey Baker]

Musenski must have better PR people, but don't forget about Soekris. They make network computers that include two slots for radios and one slot for hardware encryption, running *BSD or Linux.

Re:By the way...

[ethereal]

What's funny is that I pay more attention to topics that I consider threatening - for example, Microsoft, infringements on civil liberties, etc. Whether or not open source is really a danger to you, do you really think burying your head in the sand is the appropriate response? Besides, you might learn something :)

Support is going to be a challenge

[elflet]

They reasoned that there would soon be a significant opportunity to supply devices to public access "hot-spot" providers, wireless ISP/infrastructure providers (WISPs), and various value added resellers (VARs).

I love that they've done this on a shoestring, but the demands of deploying and supporting an end-user-device-cum-platform can crush a company. At a minimum, they'll need to issue patches in a form that can be installed without comprimising uptime, and VARs will demand "development kits" which are workable, documented, and supported.

Both of these are crucial. If even a few devices are hacked, you can kiss commercial adoption goodbye. If development requires too much time, the VARs will look for other platforms -- they tend to be small outfits without much time for puzzling out the source code. (I used to build development kits for well-funded OEMs, and even they rode us mercilessly for better documentation, support, and frequent updates.)

I hope they find a stable funding source and the best people they can. This is a worthy idea that deserves to work.

Re:Price seems high...

[baptiste]

Cisco does not offer any better security than anybody else in the 802.11 space. In fact their stuff isn't that great, they just bought out some other company and slapped their sticker on it.

True, Cisco bought Aironet. However, they do have additional features that enterprise customers demand. Imagine having hundreds of APs using MAC authentication - gonna put each new MAC in each AP? Will a Linksys accept 1000's of Mac entries? Not likely. We use Avaya (Lucent) APs where I work that cost about $800 (though I've seen them for $400 at one place recently) Why? They support use of an external RADIUS server for authenticaton.

Trust me, I've got a Cisco/Aironet AP and a Linksys. The Cisco has a numerous of features aimed towards the enterprise including a web browser and telnet interface)

But for a small business/home user, the Linksys can't be beat. They've made huge improvment in firmware and clients over the past couple years.

As for the M-1, I'd say their price point is justified for the market they target - people who want an AP they can add custom features to with ease.