I must say (as I've mentioned in the past) that for a home device to require a subscription to update the firmware is unthinkable and unheard of. This is one of the main reasons why I have not purchased another for my other home nor can I recommend it to my friends or colleagues.

I await the day that a critical security flaw is discovered leaving all Z100G's vulnerable. Where will this leave all the users who have not renewed their subscriptions? Why of course hanging out there with a hit me sign for any potential hackers. That is unless they pay up to Sofaware for a firmware update.

Try to imagine any other hardware vendor try to pull this? That's right, you can't.

I can understand Sofaware wanting to charge for:

- Virus scanning
- Anti Virus signature updates
- Anti Spam
- Vulnerability scanning

But to charge for the below is simply unacceptable and is what held the Z100G back from being a huge seller IMO:

- Firmware updates
- Remote management
- Web filtering
- VPN connection

This is not any different than the software companies. If they didn't charge, how would they fund updates and further development.

Quicken, they provide some updates during the year, then come out with a new version each year which they charge you for. Once the new one is out, there are not updates to the old version. Same thing happens with most of the software I have.

So I don't see them doing anything different than the other companies.

Yes, but we are talking about a piece of "hardware" here. I am differentiating between the "software services" that Sofaware is charging for and what other hardware companies offer as industry standard basic features.

Do customers get charged for firmware updates to their game consoles, motherboards, cameras, or any other electronic devices? No, it is unheard of in the consumer space!

It would be interesting to see how Sofaware would handle the disclosure of a critical security flaw to the Z100G. Would they sweep it under the carpet, inform their "subscribed" customers and issue them an updated hardware firmware and leave the subscription expired users out to get hacked? I imagine yes and this really had me rethinking the Z100G.

In fact, I just recently suggested to three of my friends to purchase a different brand router as a result of this. I don't feel I can recommend a piece of hardware that requires you to pay for firmware updates.

I believe that Sofaware needs to separate their fee services (Virus scanning, AV updates, Anti Spam, Vulnerability scanning, etc) from what are considered industry standard basic features (Firmware updates, Remote management, Web filtering settings, VPN connection, # of connectible devices). Not everyone wants or needs these extra services but they do require system firmware updates to address flaws with the system.

Other than the above and the issue I am having with the Playstation3 (uPNP) I love the Z100G and have found it to be a great piece of hardware. Sadly the cement shoes it is wearing keeps it from floating to the top of the market in terms of sales. This is due to poor marketing decisions which I hope will be changed in the future so we can see the Z100G (or a new Z1000G?) become a bigger success.

quote:

Originally posted by blankoboy:

Do customers get charged for firmware updates to their game consoles, motherboards, cameras, or any other electronic devices? No, it is unheard of in the consumer space!

Blankoboy, your points are well taken and make sense if we consider this a consumer router device. That's where I think the comparison is inaccurate. If you take out all the subscription services and compare this to another consumer router device, you still have the SmartDefense intrusion detection and prevention solution embedded in the firmware, the family jewels of the Z100G. If you could remove the SmartDefense too, then all you would have is a device like the Linksys and DLink routers, albeit at a very steep price. Point is, this is not a consumer router per se, but a firewall and IPS/IDS solution with routing capabilities.

Such devices as this, known as Unified Threat Management (UTM) devices are typically several hundred to several thousand dollars and the updates are necessary for it to function as required. Therefore, like its brethren, it is a licensed product and requires a subscription to maintain its services and warranty. To compare this product to similar devices, you should be looking at the Sonicwall TZ series, the Watchguard Firebox series, Cisco AS5505, etc. The Z100G is the only UTM device on the market that is under $200 and it may be that the annual maintenance fee is the lowest, too.

Now, about your point: if all you want is a wireless router with only WI-FI security and basic stateful inspection firewall functionality, then you should consider the Linksys, Dlink, Belkin, etc devices as they are sold as is with a limited hardware warranty and occasional firmware updates. The Z100G is not designed for that space. Comparisons are not "apples to apples."

Last note, and it really is a huge disappointment to me, is customer support. I really want round the clock support but at the very least, I would like support when I am usually awake. Most of the time I want to chat with support, they are offline.

I hope this adds some value and clarity to the discussion. I think the marketing of this product was a miss and hence the misunderstanding about what this device really is.