Re: User rant

[Jeffrey Osier-Mixon <jefro -at- jefro -dot- net>]

[This is actually related to technical writing---the operational side, 
for those of us who work from home and must build and maintain our own 
networks.]

I have gone through a couple of Linksys routers and found them to be 
problematic.  The docs were fine, the product support was useless.  Last 
time I had a standard router and was trying to create a VPN tunnel to 
use for work.  Nothing doing.  And setting up networks is something I do 
as a side business. 

After several calls to their tech support and doing some online 
research, I discovered that there are registers in the thing that are 
not addressible by the firmware tools, but can be set in operation.  
Moreover, they are permanent registers---meaning that resetting the 
device or flashing a new firmware does not help.  Linksys did not 
confirm this, but it is the only reasonable explanation that fits my 
experience.  I was offered a factory reset if I paid shipping. 

I took the money and purchased a $25 D-Link router, and have been 
happily tunneling with VPN ever since.  I can't testify to their 
customer service, as I have not needed it in over a year of operation, 
but the documentation and firmware tools worked just fine for me.

As with all rants, your mileage may vary quite widely from mine.