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The biggest positive about a company like google releasing a router is the security updates. Most consumer routers out there are left to rot and you're forced t

by wnevets 11y ago

The biggest positive about a company like google releasing a router is the security updates. Most consumer routers out there are left to rot and you're forced to buy a one when its exploited.

noja 11y ago
https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin
- therealmarv 11y ago
  well... I use this and it definitely not auto updates! Also keep in mind this is a one man show. https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin/wiki/Questions-&-Answers https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin/wiki/Questions-&-Ans... I even set a alarm on http://watchthatpage.com/ http://watchthatpage.com/ to track changes of that router software.
busterarm 11y ago
You mean like phones locked on old versions of Android once Google moves on to new ones?
- shawn-furyan 11y ago
  And don't they have Brillo? Having this without Brillo duplicates (particularly security related) effort and signals that Google doesn't consider Brillo to be acceptable for use in its own products. I imagine going w/ Brillo would have set back the release schedule, but Brillo, if their vision for both products were to come to pass, is by far the more consequential product. Also... The wireless router market isn't exactly teaming with competitive one-upsmanship. They could have waited 0.5-2+ years without losing significant ground. Note: Brillo is the stripped down variant of Android aimed at IoT (internet of things) devices that Google announced at the last Google I/O. This is an ideal early device for Brillo, since it's relatively powerful and isn't battery powered, so constraints aren't quite as high as they are in many IoT devices, yet it shares much of the problem space. https://developers.google.com/brillo/?hl=en https://developers.google.com/brillo/?hl=en [edited 6:39PM UTC to add the Note]
  - Shooti 11y ago
    http://nextmarket.co/blogs/smarthomeweekly/29309313-google-iot-os-brillo-effort-reports-to-barratt-targeting-home-routers http://nextmarket.co/blogs/smarthomeweekly/29309313-google-i... Going by how closely this matches the leaks, I think the onHub actually is running Brillo. They've just chosen not to mention it just yet.
    - shawn-furyan 11y ago
      Well, if that's the case then that's good. I had a line originally that had a parenthetical like "(or if they are using it, they should be announcing so with much fanfare, at least in the technical sections of the page)", but it got cut due to how cumbersome it made the sentence. Thanks for the heads up. I genuinely hope that are using Brillo and using the experience to improve the OS. I think that Google is biting off a LOT with Brillo, and I don't think that they can afford to fragment their IoT efforts.
  - mynameisvlad 11y ago
    I mean, Brillo just seems to be a software stack. That could easily be added in later, especially since they tout lots of software updates.
- wnevets 11y ago
  Smartphones have a very different upgrade cycle than a SOHO router. Customers have been trained to upgrade their phone every two years by the cell phone carriers.
  - busterarm 11y ago
    Given the substantial drop-off in build quality that I've seen over the years since the first G routers until maybe _very_ recently, I'm not so sure about this statement. I've got v1-4 WRT54Gs that are still going strong while I've seen several dozen newer routers shit themselves over the years. Also, why do we NEED to upgrade phones every 2 years?
    - wnevets 11y ago
      >Given the substantial drop-off in build quality that I've seen over the years since the first G routers until maybe _very_ recently, I'm not so sure about this statement. This is just another reason for more competition from a company like google. The only reason most people know their router exist is because they have to turn it off and on when their wifi gets slow or it dies. Its not a status symbol like an iphone for example. >Also, why do we NEED to upgrade phones every 2 years? Because everyone wants the new hotness. Can you imagine trying to use the first iphone in 2015?
      - busterarm 11y ago
        No, but I can imagine comfortably using a 4S. The 6 is going to have even longer usability.
        wnevets 11y ago
        and you're on hacker news and not the typical consumer. An out of style status symbol isn't a very good one. No one is buying beats headphones because of the amazing sound quality.
- loudmax 11y ago
  Fair point, but the carriers deserve a lot of the blame for old versions of Android on those phones. Google is likely to keep software on their own routers up to date. At least until they lose interest in the product line entirely.
anujdeshpande 11y ago
Amen.

by wnevets 11y ago

The biggest positive about a company like google releasing a router is the security updates. Most consumer routers out there are left to rot and you're forced to buy a one when its exploited.

noja 11y ago

https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin

therealmarv 11y ago
well... I use this and it definitely not auto updates! Also keep in mind this is a one man show. https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin/wiki/Questions-&-Answers https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin/wiki/Questions-&-Ans... I even set a alarm on http://watchthatpage.com/ http://watchthatpage.com/ to track changes of that router software.

busterarm 11y ago

You mean like phones locked on old versions of Android once Google moves on to new ones?

shawn-furyan 11y ago
And don't they have Brillo? Having this without Brillo duplicates (particularly security related) effort and signals that Google doesn't consider Brillo to be acceptable for use in its own products. I imagine going w/ Brillo would have set back the release schedule, but Brillo, if their vision for both products were to come to pass, is by far the more consequential product. Also... The wireless router market isn't exactly teaming with competitive one-upsmanship. They could have waited 0.5-2+ years without losing significant ground. Note: Brillo is the stripped down variant of Android aimed at IoT (internet of things) devices that Google announced at the last Google I/O. This is an ideal early device for Brillo, since it's relatively powerful and isn't battery powered, so constraints aren't quite as high as they are in many IoT devices, yet it shares much of the problem space. https://developers.google.com/brillo/?hl=en https://developers.google.com/brillo/?hl=en [edited 6:39PM UTC to add the Note]
- Shooti 11y ago
  http://nextmarket.co/blogs/smarthomeweekly/29309313-google-iot-os-brillo-effort-reports-to-barratt-targeting-home-routers http://nextmarket.co/blogs/smarthomeweekly/29309313-google-i... Going by how closely this matches the leaks, I think the onHub actually is running Brillo. They've just chosen not to mention it just yet.
  - shawn-furyan 11y ago
    Well, if that's the case then that's good. I had a line originally that had a parenthetical like "(or if they are using it, they should be announcing so with much fanfare, at least in the technical sections of the page)", but it got cut due to how cumbersome it made the sentence. Thanks for the heads up. I genuinely hope that are using Brillo and using the experience to improve the OS. I think that Google is biting off a LOT with Brillo, and I don't think that they can afford to fragment their IoT efforts.
- mynameisvlad 11y ago
  I mean, Brillo just seems to be a software stack. That could easily be added in later, especially since they tout lots of software updates.
wnevets 11y ago
Smartphones have a very different upgrade cycle than a SOHO router. Customers have been trained to upgrade their phone every two years by the cell phone carriers.
- busterarm 11y ago
  Given the substantial drop-off in build quality that I've seen over the years since the first G routers until maybe _very_ recently, I'm not so sure about this statement. I've got v1-4 WRT54Gs that are still going strong while I've seen several dozen newer routers shit themselves over the years. Also, why do we NEED to upgrade phones every 2 years?
  - wnevets 11y ago
    >Given the substantial drop-off in build quality that I've seen over the years since the first G routers until maybe _very_ recently, I'm not so sure about this statement. This is just another reason for more competition from a company like google. The only reason most people know their router exist is because they have to turn it off and on when their wifi gets slow or it dies. Its not a status symbol like an iphone for example. >Also, why do we NEED to upgrade phones every 2 years? Because everyone wants the new hotness. Can you imagine trying to use the first iphone in 2015?
    - busterarm 11y ago
      No, but I can imagine comfortably using a 4S. The 6 is going to have even longer usability.
      - wnevets 11y ago
        and you're on hacker news and not the typical consumer. An out of style status symbol isn't a very good one. No one is buying beats headphones because of the amazing sound quality.
loudmax 11y ago
Fair point, but the carriers deserve a lot of the blame for old versions of Android on those phones. Google is likely to keep software on their own routers up to date. At least until they lose interest in the product line entirely.

anujdeshpande 11y ago

Amen.