Are you sure OpenWRT on a Linksys can't handle the states with 32 MBytes RAM, and a 0.2..0.5 MBit/s upstream?
Yeah, but the "standard" store-bought WRT54G (ver 6) is only 8mb.
Linksys uses Linux (Vxworks for its more braindead types of routers which I know nothing about), but the default firmware is pretty pathetic.
No they don't .. they've been using VxWorks on those "standard" Linksys boxes for quite a while. They created the WRT54GL (Linux model) which was basically the same hardware as earlier generation WRT54G's. The reason they (Linksys) changed was to save a few bucks on hardware costs (and because they know the Linux tinkerers will pay the extra $20).
~Mike.