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.
From what Dave's been teaching me slowly about RF, it was never very hard to couple X-10 phases by wireless, either - they just didn't think of it and apparently, neither did anyone else. Dave, if you're reading this, how hard would it be to couple X-10 via RF as Insteon has done?
As for the IPOD, it's success is even more interesting when you consider that's its really the reincarnation of the Sony Walkman, the granddaddy of portable music. There is nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come - again!
-- Bobby G.