Firms are selling the Internet of Things hard

At this year’s International CES — the consumer tech industry’s annual Las Vegas confab -- you can’t go more than a few steps without hearing someone talking about a way to connect something new to the Internet. But as companies rush to create apps and embed chips in everything from your blankets to your shoes, it’s unclear whether consumers are as hot on the “smart everything” trend.  After all, people probably don’t need an alert on their phone to tell them when their toast is ready — the bread popping out is a pretty good clue. But as companies rush to create apps and embed chips in everything from your blankets to your shoes, it’s unclear whether consumers are as hot on the “smart everything” trend.  After all, people probably don’t need an alert on their phone to tell them when their toast is ready — the bread popping out is a pretty good clue.