Today in Connected Consumer

James Cameron’s $350 million 3-D extravaganza, “Avatar,” opens this weekend and 20th Century-Fox isn’t the only company with a lot riding on its success. Consumer electronics makers are hoping it ignites consumer interest in 3-D technology for the home. With flat-panel TV prices falling to levels comparable to the old CRT models, set-makers are betting heavily on 3-D to restore some of their lost profit margins. Even Apple seems to have something 3-D up its sleeve. Yesterday, the PTO published a patent application from Apple for a technology for adjusting a display in response to head movements so that 3-D images will always appear in 3-D. One hitch: There isn’t that much 3-D content to watch on all those new 3-D TVs.