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Your Own Linux Wireless Access Point

Posted by michael on from the learning-experience dept.

prostoalex writes "Peter Seebach decided to build his own Linux-based 802.11b wireless access point. The article on IBM DeveloperWorks talks about the hardware and software requirements, implementing the operating system on the CompactFlash card, loading Apache and Perl onto the server. The build-it-yourself wireless point is not going to be cheaper than commercially available products, but its educational value is immense." And HaeMaker writes "We have all seen the 802.11b/g booster made from a Pringles can. Well, these guys have taken the idea, put some math behind it to find the optimal can size and have turned it in to a cool product."

2 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. It's not about cost or utility here -- by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The comments have so far been dumb. Let me point out that the real strength in this tutorial is the idea that you can construct a sort of mini-appliance with ease using Linux. Before you downplay this man's efforts, consider that what he is doing is demonstrating one of the key strong points of Linux that will keep Linux around for a long time: Its use in appliances and specialized embedded devices. In fact, this is such a critical area that Microsoft has become more lenient and more "open" (I use the term loosely) with their competing WinCE product.

    It's not hard to take some of the author's ideas and twist them around for other custom networking applications, or even make cheap wireless appliances based on the concepts he's presented. Hats off to the man for providing us with a bit of education.

  2. Re:Okay... by wwest4 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In much the same way reading the article is better than trolling.

    1) you can get more out of the box. (near-endless possibilities for customization) - similarly, the article probably contains more than your average slashbot response (like this one, for instance:))

    2) it's fun and rewarding to do things for yourself. much like actually reading the article and drawing your own conclusions is fulfilling, while buying off-the-shelf solutions leaves you feeling empty and purposeless - the same way you should feel after posting trollish first posts.