X-10 and HA Interchangeability (was Re: Switching audio . . .)

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

BR> Another of the reason it's taken so long is the X10
BR> patent that pretty much kept everybody else out of the biz.

Certainly the X-10 patent had a lot to do with it but many, many companies
rebadged and then abandoned the X-10 line.  It never took off.  I think
companies like IBM, Stanley and Sears jumped ship because of the
ever-worsening reliability problem.  Remember what a house looked like in
the BSR days?  There were very few wallwarts compared to today, no cordless
phones and almost no computer equipment.  The X-10 signal was designed to
navigate that simple, peaceful electrical environment and it "soared like an
eagle" on most home's powerlines.  Ironically, the big problem back that was
that the signal went too far!

Today, the X-10 signal is more of a mole that has to tunnel its way under
all the predatory signal suckers and confusing noise sources that live in a
modern home.  I've helped deploy X-10 for a number of friends recently and
all needed couplers and will likely need repeaters.  If Insteon has indeed
solved that problem without the need to hire an electrician, they have made
the big jump to the next HA level.  I estimate that maybe as many as half of
X-10 users stop expanding their system when faced with the coupler option.
It was X-10's Achilles' Heel.