Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Cisco to Acquire Linksys

Posted by michael on from the firesale dept.

forged writes "The Boston Globe is reporting that networking giant Cisco Systems plans to acquire Linksys later this year for $500M, thus entering the consumer market. Linksys also has a press release. The good news is that those who bought a Linksys access point now have a Cisco access point for 1/2 of the price ;)"

7 of 256 comments (clear)

  1. Is Cisco the new Microsoft? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I mean, they (seem to me to) have a virtual monopoly on the business router market, and are now seem to be trying to extend it to the consumer market.

    What do you guys think of Cisco, as a corporation? I remember seeing an article on Wired years ago about how happy the employees were about working there.

    Things may have changed now, though.

    tmegapscm

    1. Re:Is Cisco the new Microsoft? by netdistortion · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Cisco was a GREAT place to work at. I enjoyed working there for about 2 months (contract job). They give their employees IBM thinkpads for work. Great cafeterias, gyms, and discounts on cisco products. There's other benefits, but as a contract employee of theirs I didn't get all of them. http://www.netdistortion.com

  2. Expect a price hike for Linksys equipment by yerricde · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The good news is that those who bought a Linksys access point now have a Cisco access point for 1/2 of the price

    That is, until Cisco raises the price on all the devices sold under its Linksys brand by oh, about 50 percent so that it doesn't compete with Cisco brand devices.

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  3. Maybe Lynksys can support another platform! by teamhasnoi · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Sure the Lynksys router I have works with my Mac/Unix/Windows network, but you'd think by their website you have herpes if you run anything other than Windows.

    Hey, why'd you all get quiet all of a sudden?

    Uh, I have to go...

  4. Re:This Sucks!!! by binaryDigit · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I guess Cisco is getting scared of the competition, and decided to crush them...

    Huh? How is Linksys competition to Cisco. Linksys stuff is primarily aimed at the home/small office. Cisco stuff is targeted towards corps/isps/large installs. I've never heard an IT guy for a large install saying "Gee should I go with Aironet or the WAP11" or Joe Bob saying, "I wonder if it's worth it to pay 10x more for an Aironet wap vs the Linksys". Cisco apparently wants into the lowend market. Where you do have a point is to see how long Cisco keeps the Linksys name. Do you lose consumer familiarity with Linksys to push the "prestige" of the Cisco name?

  5. Re:1/2 the price, sure... by kawika · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Amen, brother. I just spent two hours on the phone with a friend who was trying to find the working Windows XP driver for a Linksys 802.11 card. The card was poorly labeled and their list at http://www.linksys.com/download/ is only easy to search if you do a view/source on the HTML.

    Finally, I gave up and told him to email tech support. Turns out that particular card shares a plug and play ID with a card that takes totally different drivers. You have to determine the driver you need by looking at markings on the card! For those of you who have dealt with PnP you know this is a horrible sin. The whole idea of PnP was to let the computer figure this stuff out.

  6. VoIP by m0i · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Maybe Cisco will push IP phones to consumers thru Linksys, at an affordable price.. Big market there!

    --
    have you been defaced today?