Here's the utopia I'd love: The thermostat / door lock / light would present a simple documented interface exposing all the functionality available from the phy

Here's the utopia I'd love: The thermostat / door lock / light would present a simple documented interface exposing all the functionality available from the physical device. I'd even be okay if it was delivered via Wi-Fi or ZigBee (though I'd really prefer RS-488, RS-232, or wired Ethernet w/ PoE). No manufacturer will do this because it limits their ability to engineer-in planned obsolescence, vendor lock-in, and recurring revenue "cloud" business models. There are commercial and industrial-grade devices that do what I want, but they're priced for their market segment and, infuriatingly, their protocols are needlessly baroque (MODBUS, BACNET, et. al.) or proprietary.