Perhaps we should be thinking twice about buying Cisco products and rewarding such an apparently unethical company.

Sadly, people usually buy not from the most ethical manufacturer, but from the cheapest.

Linksys, which is the Cisco consumer/small-business brand, is rarely if ever the cheapest. So in this case, ethics and self-interest may coincide. -- At least, as long as we know nothing about the other manufacturers.

Cisco is hardly the cheapest manufacture, right?

It's not only sticker price that counts. Maintenance, expected lifespan, expandability, training, financing, familiarity of your sysadmins...

Actually, I was quite naïve in my OP. Networking equipment and software selection is rarely conducted by people who can understand what they are doing. The person who makes the sale usually ends up being the one who wined and dined the most high-ranking exec in the client.