Re: X10 still around?

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:432fe0ac.158810435@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> "Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >> -- Is the technology  proprietary ?
> >
> >A serious worry with the plethora of X-10 replacements that have recently
> >arrived.  As long as it's backed by a lot of manufacturers, it's probably
> >OK.  I can see a lot of also-rans like Z-wave and Insteon falling by the
> >wayside if Zigbee really catches on.  The small shop technologies are
> >usually the first to go when something relatively standard comes along.
>
> ZigBee is only standardized at the radio network level.

But that's an *incredible* amount of standardization!

http://www.us.design-reuse.com/articles/article7675.html

written by a design engineer at Motorola, describes how much of the hard
work in creating a HAN (Home Automation Network) is taken care of by Zigbee.
It offers every bit of what the X-10 protocol does, but with fantastic
improvements to standby current use, transmission speed and reliability
*and* what X-10 could never deliver: devices "born" to interoperate at the
physical level.  Appliances that can relay their precise status, not just be
turned on or off.  That's *way* more than we have now.

Sure, maufacturers are going to try to find a way to force people to flock
to their specific implementation, but that's usually a stupid move in terms
of market penetration.  Look at Sony and their memory sticks, their BetaMax
and their pig-headedness when it comes to mucking up industry standards.  It
hurts them in overall sales in the hope of generating licensing fees.
Someday they'll learn that other companies will simply outmaneuver them and
deliver more standarized products like CF cards and VHS.

--
Bobby G.