Back in the early 80s, music technology was beginning a transformation. Keyboards were changing and drum machines were just showing up in stores. But they really weren't selling well. Not to the general public anyway.
But a group of manufacturers decided to get together and form a coalition. They came up with the idea of MIDI. And for the first time, keyboards and drum machines and all other electronic music devices finally could actually talk to each other. No matter who made them. As long as they used MIDI. And then they figured out that connecting computers to all of that was a good idea. A really good idea.
There was an explosion of sales and new products. For the next 10 years, musical electronics ruled the music store.
All because a few companies decided that if they standardized, they would all do better and their customers would too.
The same thing happened a few years later with Dolby Digital and DTS. Standards which every home audio maker supported. It also helped that industry explode.
Fast forward to today. Look at home automation. They are doing the opposite (well, to be fair, ALL consumer tech companies are). Propriety is the new normal. Everyone insists on doing it their own way.
If you are into, or getting into, home automation, it's incredibly difficult to decide what to buy. Because anything you buy now, will necessitate buying the same brand of products going forward if you want it all to work together.
Buy a Google Home device, and you're stuck buying more if you want to expand and have them work together. Want to add an Amazon Echo? Well, it will work. But it will be an outcast. All alone... If you want to play music in multiple rooms, you can't. Unless they are all the same.
Buying lighting? Z-Wave? Insteon, Hue, TP-Link, Seng? Sure you can mix and match. But then you need a hub for each if you want to control it all from on software app. Or you could have 4 or 5 different apps on all of your tablets and phones and flip back and forth every time you want to turn on a light, having to remember which lights live on which app.
Really, why can't we come up with a standard. All lights these days turn on, turn off, dim, etc. Why not use the same protocols for those functions. Then everyone can plug into Google Assistant, Echo, whatever as a light, or a switch or a thermostat, or whatever.
And don't get me started on music. I have 30,000+ songs on my system. Neither Google Home nor Amazon Echo let me play those songs using their devices directly. Why not? Because they want us to buy into THEIR services.
It's the 21st century dammit! I want my flying car! Or at least I want all of my stuff to work together. Is that too much to ask?