Just got OpenWRT running on my Linksys WRT54GS access point / router. I can now ssh in, install extra packages.. I’ve got about 4MB of flash left to play with now (after installing tcpdump, strace and a web front end).

It’s all looking pretty cool.

root@OpenWrt:~# cat /proc/cpuinfo
system type : Broadcom BCM947XX
processor : 0
cpu model : BCM3302 V0.7
BogoMIPS : 199.47
wait instruction : no
microsecond timers : yes
tlb_entries : 32
extra interrupt vector : no
hardware watchpoint : no
VCED exceptions : not available
VCEI exceptions : not available
dcache hits : 4294967292
dcache misses : 1543503199
icache hits : 4282384381
icache misses : 4227857535
instructions : 0

I’ve mentioned the Sveasoft firmware for the Linksys WRT54GS access point / wireless router, but now I’ve come across another alternative called OpenWRT which appeals to my UNIX sensitivities.

Rather than give you one big distribution it says:

OpenWrt provides only a minimal firmware with support for add-on packages. For users this means the ability to custom tune features, removing unwanted packages to make room for other packages and for developers this means being able to focus on packages without having to test and release an entire firmware“.

A refreshing application of the UNIX philosophy of joining small tools that do a single task well to firmware – Create a small but easily extendable base system and make many packages available for it. The OpenWRT website is well worth browsing, it’s all out in the open including a CVS repository and forums.

Update: I’m now playing around with a version of the Freifunk Firmware (also based on OpenWRT) that has been customised for Melbourne Wireless – I’ve got two Linksys WRT54GS’s up and linked with it as a test in my back garden.

Groklaw reports that they’ve won the Linux Journals Editors Choice award for "Nontechnical or Community Web Site". Congratulations PJ et al!

Also the GPL’d virus checker ClamAV won the "Security Tool" award. Congrats to the ClamAV team!

Just in from Groklaw, a court has ruled in favour of the GPL in the dispute between the Netfilter team and Sitecom GmbH.

This confirms an earlier preliminary injuction granted by the court.

A pair of Linksys WRT54GS’s turned up today. 🙂

They run Linux internally and you can get replacement firmware from a variety of sources (including SVEASoft) to allow you to do funky things like VLAN the ethernet switch and port all your favourite software to it (including Kismet)!

Personally I think Linksys deserve a lot of credit for doing this, and they certainly seem to be getting a lot of customers down here because they’re so easy to hack about and customise. Nice one folks.

Groklaw is
reporting that SCO lost all but one of its complaints due to the judge accepting DaimlerChrysler’s motion to dismiss.

The only complaint still on the cards is whether or not they breached the agreement by taking longer than 30 days to reply. That’s all that’s left for them to argue about!

Of course that makes me wonder what use of this are the Redhat, AutoZone and IBM lawyers going to make in their own disputes with SCO.

Useful table of options for Linux equivalents for Windows software. Useful for those who aren’t aware of the possibilties for leaving the legacy operating system from Microsoft.

Found courtesy of a link on a story from Groklaw.

Groklaw is reporting that Lindows has

successfully defended itself against Microsofts attempts to prevent them using their "Lindows" name and awarded costs to Lindows!