Article:  |
Home Automation with Mac OS X, Part 2 | |
| Subject: | X10 | |
| Date: | 2004-02-20 18:16:20 | |
| From: | jbharding | |
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Actually, there is no company named X10, but the name is used generically for a number of companies owned by X10 Ltd, a Singapore-owned Bermuda corporation operating out of Hong Kong. X10's devices are made in China, and are marketed through several X10 companies in the United States and Canada. Last October, X10 Wireless Technology, and X10 subsidiary, lost a lawsuit to a California company for $4.3 million with another $2.3 million in punitive damages for non-payment, and for "appropriating" technology and clients. The lawsuit against X10 was, however, only the tip of the iceberg. Immediately after losing the $4.3 million lawsuit, X10 filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Seattle. The filing reveals some financial details of a company that had made itself known throughout the Web for its ubiquitous pop-under campaign and yet remained secretive about its operations. X10 owes its creditors between $10 and $50 million. Other creditors include some of the Internet's best-known names, including Yahoo!, $346,000; Google Inc., $68,000; America Online Inc., $55,000; eBay Inc., $49,000; and Microsoft, about $459,000. X10 even owes $667,412 to its own lawyers, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton of Los Angeles. That's no problem for X10, however, as it has other subsidiaries to push its products. Perhaps the nature of X10's operations should have been mentioned in your article. John Harding |
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Showing messages 1 through 2 of 2.
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X10
2004-02-20 19:01:55 Alan Graham |
[View]
Well the article isn't about the business practices of this particular company, but home automation. And I did mention there are other compatible products to X10.
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X10
2004-02-20 18:57:03 perceptive_automation [View]
While I sure won't try to defend the company X10 or its subsidiaries, I think it is important to note that the term "X10" also refers to the power line protocol commonly used for home automation. This protocol / technique for communicating with appliances over the power line is public domain and there are several manufactures of X10 compatible devices that have absolutely nothing to do with the company X10. For example, the Smarthome design line of products (PowerLinc USB, LampLinc, SwitchLinc, etc), PCS, Marrick, and many other companies manufacture quality products that use the X10 protocol.
Even if X10 the company and all of its subsidiaries ceased operations tomorrow, there are other manufactures and vendors that would continue to fill the need for low cost X10 compatible home automation hardware.
Regards,
Matt Bendiksen
