Must vendors wait for standards?

Readers of this blog have told me, in no uncertain terms, that open protocols are more important to them than open source.

It's a good point. Knowing how it's done, and having everyone do things that way, gives a buyer more confidence than any old code dump.

Which brings me to 802.11n, and Intel's decision to release product before the standard is finalized.

As a business case this was a no-brainer. In 2003, when 802.11g was new, Broadcom jumped the gun, and swept Intel aside among the OEMs who make up the market. This time, Intel has already won a purchase commitment from Apple. Because DSL access remains stuck at 1.5 Mbps, Intel is pushing the upgrade as a way to move video around the home.

Last time, those who waited for the IEEE process to play out had to adapt to what was in the field. Like the man said, fool me once, won't get fooled again.

The problem I see is with the standards bodies. Prolonging an argument (and this could go on for another year) only promotes the establishment of quasi-proprietary standards on a standard base. Or maybe I'm just old-fashioned...