] One of the cheapest Linux computers you can buy brand new
] (not at a garage sale) is the Linksys WRT54G, an 802.11g
] wireless access point and router that includes a
] four-port 10/100 Ethernet switch and can be bought for as
] little as $69.99 according to Froogle. That's a heck of a
] deal for a little box that performs all those functions,
] but a look inside is even more amazing. There you'll find
] a 200 MHz MIPS processor and either 16 or 32 megs of DRAM
] and four or eight megs of flash RAM -- more computing
] power than I needed 10 years ago to run a local Internet
] Service Provider with several hundred customers. But
] since the operating system is Linux and since Linksys has
] respected the Linux GPL by publishing all the source code
] for anyone to download for free, the WRT54G is a lot more
] than just a wireless router. It is a disruptive
] technology.

WRT54G + Asterisk = ?

The original title contained the word "Inadvertently".. Cringely always has some flaw in place when he is pointing out the obvious.

PBS | I, Cringely | How Linux is Poised to Remake the Telephone and Internet Markets