I think people care about open standards a lot, even if they don't know it. EG: When someone buys a USB device, they expect that they can plug it into any compu

I think people care about open standards a lot, even if they don't know it. EG: When someone buys a USB device, they expect that they can plug it into any computer and (for non-specialized devices) have it Just Work. A lot of the home automation world is a closed, proprietary mishmash right now. (Although there are some open standards ranging from old school stuff like X10 to newer Zigbee stuff, I don't think products like Nest use them). I also think people expect that when they buy a device, some corporate decision isn't going to brick it. (Stories in this line in my opinion will eventually kill the current hype on the "cloud"). "Open source" is probably less important to most end users, but it can be quite important to developers, power users, and tinkerers. And enthusiasts can drive products.