Big Brother Cisco

Very interesting article on Cisco’s home routers. Thought people might want to check this out if they are looking at a new router.

http://www.neowin.net/news/cisco-locks-users-out-of-their-routers-requires-invasive-cloud-service

 

I've never been a big fan of Cisco in the first place. The idea that they may have a forced registration policy in order to use their products is not cool.

Nobody should be forced to sign up for an optional service - especially if it triggers a bunch of spam e-mails from Cisco or requires a paid subscription. Since I doubt these details are clearly marked on the outside of the retail box, I suspect Cisco will face a torrent of returned products from upset customers and possibly lawsuits if they decide to continue this practice.

There are too many other companies offering quality routers, many at lower prices. This is yet another f:***up on Cisco's part that will kill off even more of their home and small office market share.

 

I deal with Cisco on an enterprise level, and the things they do completely baffle me. They bought a company called Tandberg about 2 years ago that does video conferencing equipment. One of Tandberg's products was selling so well that they literally had a 6 month waiting list to get them. They couldn't build them fast enough. Cisco proceeded to take the product and put their own twist with it. As our distributor referenced it, "they took their s:***y product and combined it with an awesome product, to make a 3/4 s:***y product that no one will buy more than once." If their marketing department wasn't so good through the 2000's, they would have run themselves into the ground.