Most standards are not set by the government, they're set by professional organizations. See ANSI:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_National_Standards_Ins...

Safety standards ARE often set by the government, but more general standards mostly are not.

By the way, the position you're arguing for is literally the opposite of innovation. Imagine if, after Apple unveiled the iPhone, the government had discouraged its adoption because it removed people's hard-won knowledge of using Motorola flip phones. I guess Motorola would have been happy!