Annual Tech Show Had Some Surprises and Same Old 3-D

Annual Tech Show Had Some Surprises and Same Old 3-D, article by David Pogue, NYT.
“These companies are like 6-year-olds on a soccer team,” one company representative told me. “The ball goes over here, and they all run after it in a blob. ‘Tablet!’ ‘Tablet!’ ‘Tablet!’ ” [...]
The second theme of C.E.S. was, once again, Technologies We Desperately Wish You’d Want. For the 417th straight C.E.S., the industry trotted out yet another vision of the Connected Home (your appliances, home theater and other gadgets all on a big network). And for the 417th straight year, nobody in Americaland will have any interest.

It's pretty strange all right. Where's the applied intelligence in all those companies? How do they make their money?