Knocking around Fry's Electronics, I came upon some white boxes (actual white cardboard boxes, not "white box" components that now come in full color packaging--passing stacks of power supplies feels like a trip down the cereal aisle) among needlessly pricey wireless routers. The boxes contained reconditioned D-Link wireless routers for $25 each. Holding that box in my hand, I smirked and knew exactly what to expect from such a thing.
I bought it, carried it to my lab, plugged it in, spent about five minutes in its browser-based configuration and had it on the air. The router is fast as all hell and less sensitive to interference than the (nameless) $250 unit it replaced.
In the time since I purchased my last 802.11b/g router, that class of equipment has become fully commoditized, meaning that all manufacturers have equal access to quality, inexpensive parts. Commodity parts typically enable only majority-case features, but mid-tier manufacturers like D-Link and Netgear still find ways to differentiate. D-Link's router does standard 802.11b and g, but with D-Link clients, the router creates two-channel connections to boost throughput. It isn't a feature I'll use much, but it shows that D-Link has the smarts to innovate beyond commodity capabilities. Add that to an open, frequently-updated support site and you've got a product and vendor worth looking at.
Working in IT, I have encountered resistence to my tendency to prefer lesser names when purchasing commodity equipment. The common argument was, "if it breaks, we can't get a (brand) field tech out here the same day to fix it." My answer was always the same: Buy a spare.
There are cases where the major brand is the best or only choice. The brand device may have desirable proprietary features. Maybe you already fell for some lock-in scheme and can't drift from forced loyalties. But a bargain like the one I ran into is the perfect opportunity to put skepticism to the test. If you're that sure less expensive equipment can't play with the big boys, put some petty cash on the line and prove it. Maybe you'll win the day; it's always possible. You're more likely to learn that mid-tier manufacturers can fulfill typical requirements well enough that you won't dare look back at prior POs to see how much you've wasted.
--------Posted by Tom Yager on June 25, 2005 04:44 PM
