Got any "Betamax" tapes or "HD" DVD's laying around your house?
I don't think the Home Automation fat lady has even gotten on stage yet.
In the end, the automation winner may very well be Z-Wave, but I'm not ready to throw money at Z-Wave yet. The number of companies backing Z-Wave is impressive but how many of them are actually "manufacuring" product.
As far as "you get what you pay for"....yup a true statement which I have also said, refering to X10. However a huge number of X10 small scale users are very satisfied with what they have, and aren't even aware of the problems we discuss here. Others, like me, and most of the "oldies" on the forum, understand X10 limitations and feel the products are of great quality and value. It's all in the eye of the beholder.
I had 127 X10 control points in my largest system and am now am at 90 odd X10 devices. In a 2000 sq ft home, I really have only one signal reliability issues: My rare problem is when two X10 impolite transmitters decide they want to both talk at the same time.
I suspect as Z-Wave points grow in number in the same home, "contention" style Z-Wave problems will also arise. When you get cell phones, Blackberrys, WiFi, Bluetooth and throw large numbers of Z-Wave in the mix, even though all wireless devices are using different frequencies and bands, you create a cloud of RF soup around the house, so I tend to think Z-Wave may become "long on tooth" and start seeing problems sooner than X10 did. $0.02