No matter how digital the electronics got, the companies that made the gadgets were still stovepiped; suites of devices worked in perfect harmony – as long as they all wore the same corporate logo. If you managed to force a Sony receiver to work with a Panasonic TV, you lived in a rat’s nest of cables with a coffee table covered in remotes and a spouse who couldn’t turn on the television without a briefing. | Why didn’t consumer electronics firms compromise on standards for interoperability? Because they’re jerks…. This is where the PC industry comes in and the golden age begins. —Sonia Zjawinski
—The Golden Age of Gadgets (Wired)

Mmmm… gadgets.