[_57jb]

We do...we really do!

We have such a throwaway culture that prototyping and experimentation has a fairly low bar/cost. Getting serious and building a "sellable" product can have a bit of a ramp (my opinion due to the administrative and scale aspects which can arguably distract from the goal) but if you stick to the "by-the/for-the community" approach I feel we have a great moment where the protocols and many of the tools are open to try with.

The challenge is the electrical side if you come from software and vice-versa. There are plenty of resources but it's scattered and getting started ends up touching a little bit of everything.

Python and Arduino / Pi have been incredibly friendly to augment and don't feel like you need to start from scratch, take something that exists and extend it.

Zigbee, X10, WiFi, and Bluetooth LE are all common and open ways to talk with easy to comeby plug-and-play ish modules/hats for microcontrollers.

I suggest Python, not necessarily my favorite, but by far the friendliest and batteries included for experimentation.