Stupid question, but still...

[EddieZ]

Why or when to use Oleg's alternative firmware when I just use it as a router and not attaching USB disks?

Usually alternative firmware bring enhancements to extisting features (faster, more power etc), does Oleg 's firmware do that?

[martin72]

Why or when to use Oleg's alternative firmware when I just use it as a router and not attaching USB disks?

Usually alternative firmware bring enhancements to extisting features (faster, more power etc), does Oleg 's firmware do that?

Even if you do want to use USB disks, if you don't want to do more with your WL500gP router than what it was made for, the ASUS firmware works fine and I would advise you to stick with it.
I used it for a while with the 1.9.2.9 firmware (latest update) and it worked fine for me. USB partitions were available as shares in XP and worked fine (don't use NTFS), the only minor issues were instability when copying a huge amount of data (connection gets lost) and performance not being what you might expect from an USB 2.0 connection.

BR

Martin