Engage brain 'on' control required...
PLCs are programmed with OPC [or with] ladder logic and other things that haven’t changed since the 1980s. Every PLC company has their own dialect that isn’t compatible. We’re thinking that basically means 90 per cent of developers in the world can’t program a PLC. That’s a shame,” said Ectors, not unreasonably.
If 90 percent of developers can't program a PLC perhaps it most probably means they have had no reason whatsoever to even consider programming a PLC...
As for OPC/ladder logic, is the man really serious? it isn't difficult, if your typical CNC operator can do it then for someone actually trained in programming techniques not to be able to pick up a manual and learn, speaks volumes about the actual skills and capabilities of the people claiming to be developers...
I also fail to understand what the problem is with "things that haven't changed since the 1980's"; if you are actually doing something new then you simply adapt and repurpose what went before, so I would expect Ectors to be announcing his new (open source) OPC/ladder logic language that includes the constructs necessary to support his gismo and it's use cases.
"Standards? Yeah, they’re for oldies living in the past"
Err no, Standards are needed where you want multiple different implementations and components that will interwork. Whilst there is some truth in what Ectors says in that you can try and set Standards too early, what he is basically saying is that the 'standard' is the code; thus if you want your IoT stuff to interwork, use our source code...