Current mid-range technology?

[Russ in San Diego <russgoog@xxxxxxxxx>]

I was describing some of my X-10 setup (installed many years ago, when
X10.com was heavily promoting the stuff, and you could get tons of it
REALLY cheap) to a contractor friend.  He seemed very interested in
knowing about it for other customers.  I warned him that he probably
ought to stay away from selling X-10 to customers, because it's so
dicey and unreliable.  I'm ok with it for my usage, but I wouldn't
feel comfortable recommending it to a non-hobbyist who can't handle
the fussiness and frustration.

Any recommendations as to what's a reasonably priced and reasonably
reliable equivalent technology these days?  Is Insteon significantly
better than X-10?  What else is out there?