But perhaps a bigger question for the future of 3-D is how This Ain't Avatar 3D is going to perform when it comes out next month. If you haven't heard of the latter, it's a porn send-up of the James Cameron hit from the good people at Hustler. Google it.  

There are serious implications behind the prospects for 3-D porn. The history of modern media is that the adult industry has shaped how mainstream entertainment is consumed. Porn drove consumer adoption of the videocassette player, and the DVD, and was certainly ahead of its time in building online business models, as detailed in the new Luke Wilson film Middle Men. TV makers from Sony and Samsung to Panasonic have now bet their future on 3-D home entertainment. Porn auteurs in Hong Kong, Japan and Italy have all announced 3-D projects aimed to capitalize on the expectation that 10 percent or so of new flat-screens sold in the next year or so will be 3-D capable. Now, we shouldn't underestimate the power of 3-D to enhance more mainstream types of programming-from movies to live sports and video games.

And having struggled with a slumping economy and a plethora of free stuff online, is porn still the killer app it once was? To get an inside view, I rang up Steven Hirsch, the founder of Vivid Video, probably the biggest adult entertainment company. Mr. Hirsch says 3-D is going to be a big deal for his industry, and he is in production on Vivid's first film in the format: another parody, called Star Wars XXX-which will be directed by the same guy who did Ain't Avatar, Axel Braun, who is sort of the Jim Cameron of his milieu. But Mr. Hirsch cautioned that 3-D won't be an instant or easy success: "I think people like to take their glasses off when they watch adult movies, not put glasses on."

It was interesting to confirm with Mr. Hirsch that porn did not have much of an impact on the rollout of high-definition DVDs, either. This, he says, was in large measure because media giants like Blu-Ray inventor Sony made it difficult for porn peddlers to get Blu-Ray discs manufactured. (Apparently, Disney did not want its DVDs duplicated in the same factory as smuttier fare.) In fact, Blu-Ray only accounts for a small portion of Vivid's DVD sales today, and the argument might be made that HD could have been a bigger hit if it had let Mr. Hirsch and his peers lead the way.

But Mr. Hirsch says the bigger issue is that DVDs are "over" and distribution of video is moving largely to the Web and the television set, first via cable (video-on-demand, etc.) and soon by so-called smart TVs that connect directly to the Web. It's not so much that the porn industry is not the technological game-changer in gadgetry that it once was, but that the game has changed. Mr. Hirsch said that as much as 40 percent of the company's revenues come from subscription and video-on-demand sales on the Internet-and his company works hard to shut down pirate content when Vivid has a hot release, like, say, the headline-grabbing porn debut of Laurence Fishburne's daughter. They've also had to re-code their films so subscribers can reach them via Vivid's Web site on the iPad-Steve Jobs' portrayal of it as a porn-free device notwithstanding. And take heed big media: Mr. Hirsch said that the biggest stars in his business are also savvy cross-platform entrepreneurs who can make more money from operating their own Web sites and chatting live with their biggest fans than from making films. The biggest make as much as $1,500 an hour, based on $25 a minute for one-on-one video-cam chats. "Now wait for smart TVs where you're going to be able to get that experience right on your TV-and that's going to be massive."

Clarification: Two weeks ago I incorrectly reported that Rob Lowe and Tom Barrack met in Mendocino, Calif. I should have said Montecito-thanks, Penelope Bianchi, for writing in to set it straight.

rsiklos@observer.com

The suspect didn't even bother to enter the store and fondle the merchandise. Rather, he stood in front of the store's window, plunged his hands down his trousers and started to pleasure himself.

The staff at La Perla didn't appreciate the tribute; then again, they didn't panic, either. Instead, they started yelling at the perp to leave, his heartfelt testimonial being not exactly the sort that attracts business and helps to move the store's posh silk slippers, bathrobes and cutting-edge bustiers.

When that didn't work, one of the saleswomen whipped out her camera phone to record the crime in progress and get the pervert's picture. That persuaded him to flee northbound on Madison Avenue with an impromptu camera crew—the employee and her co-worker—in hot pursuit.

They failed to catch him, and a canvass of the area by the NYPD came up with negative results. Nonetheless, one cop was duly impressed with the potential of camera phones as crime-fighting devices. “What could be better than that?” she enthused. “It's like a videotape of the crime!”

Emergency Room

One tends to think of oneself as safe on the examining table in a doctor's office—at least from crime, if not from the physician's negligence, arrogance, incompetence or egregious bedside manner. But a couple of recent incidents suggest that patients ought to guard their valuables (not to mention their dignity) as jealously in their doctors' offices as they would on, say, the A train at 4 a.m.

On June 21, a Bellmore, N.Y., man told the police that he'd gone to an East 72nd Street doctor's office for X-rays. The procedure required him to remove his clothes as well as all metal objects from his person. It's a dilemma we've all faced at one time or another: You don't want to leave your valuables behind; on the other hand, you can't really take them with you, and you're afraid if you share your concerns with the staff, they'll think you're accusing them of being crooks. So you leave your jewelry and other baubles behind and hold your breath.

In this case, the patient undoubtedly wishes he'd that broken the rules and kept his valuables on his person, even if it meant getting them X-rayed. When he returned to the changing room, the white-gold (with diamond) Cartier Panthere ladies' watch that he'd been carrying was gone. The watch was valued at $12,920.

Meanwhile, the crook that visited an East 83rd Street doctor's office on June 15 was even more brazen. He dropped by the examining room at 11:15 a.m. and helped himself to one patient's property while she was stretched out on the examining table waiting to see her doctor.

The victim, a 48-year-old Ridgefield, N.J., resident, told the cops that she'd heard someone going through her pocketbook. When she turned around, she spotted a fellow wearing a dust mask, a pair of wire-framed eyeglasses and a multicolored knit cap—not exactly your standard operating-room scrubs. When she asked him if she could help him, the perp turned around and left the room.

The woman checked her pocketbook immediately after his departure and discovered her $300 Samsung cell phone missing. An employee at the doctor's office said that she'd seen the suspect when he'd first arrived at the office but, perhaps thinking that he was a patient or a pharmaceutical-company salesman (so what if he wasn't cute and blond and toting a sample case?), didn't raise any alarms.

Serendipity

When has a restaurant become too popular? How about when it gets so crowded that crooks can pick your pockets while you're waiting on line for a table? That's apparently what happened to one Freehold, N.J., resident when she visited Serendipity 3, the café and confectioner at 225 East 60th Street, around 3:30 p.m. on June 24.

The victim told the police that she was “bumped multiple times.” As it turns out, it wasn't fellow patrons jockeying for a glass of the restaurant's celebrated frozen hot-chocolate parfait: It was one or more pickpockets rifling through her pocket book.

She became aware of the crime when she noticed that her bag was open and her wallet missing. It contained $220 in cash, credit cards and her New Jersey driver's license. And it didn't take long for the thieves to put her plastic to good use: Shortly afterwards, they spent $800 at Natalie and Friends, a children's clothing store located a couple of doors west of Serendipity at 205 East 60th Street. A saleswoman at Natalie and Friends was confident that she could ID the perp.

The suspect didn't even bother to enter the store and fondle the merchandise. Rather, he stood in front of the store's window, plunged his hands down his trousers and started to pleasure himself.

The staff at La Perla didn't appreciate the tribute; then again, they didn't panic, either. Instead, they started yelling at the perp to leave, his heartfelt testimonial being not exactly the sort that attracts business and helps to move the store's posh silk slippers, bathrobes and cutting-edge bustiers.

When that didn't work, one of the saleswomen whipped out her camera phone to record the crime in progress and get the pervert's picture. That persuaded him to flee northbound on Madison Avenue with an impromptu camera crew-the employee and her co-worker-in hot pursuit.

They failed to catch him, and a canvass of the area by the NYPD came up with negative results. Nonetheless, one cop was duly impressed with the potential of camera phones as crime-fighting devices. "What could be better than that?" she enthused. "It's like a videotape of the crime!"

Emergency Room

One tends to think of oneself as safe on the examining table in a doctor's office-at least from crime, if not from the physician's negligence, arrogance, incompetence or egregious bedside manner. But a couple of recent incidents suggest that patients ought to guard their valuables (not to mention their dignity) as jealously in their doctors' offices as they would on, say, the A train at 4 a.m.

On June 21, a Bellmore, N.Y., man told the police that he'd gone to an East 72nd Street doctor's office for X-rays. The procedure required him to remove his clothes as well as all metal objects from his person. It's a dilemma we've all faced at one time or another: You don't want to leave your valuables behind; on the other hand, you can't really take them with you, and you're afraid if you share your concerns with the staff, they'll think you're accusing them of being crooks. So you leave your jewelry and other baubles behind and hold your breath.

In this case, the patient undoubtedly wishes he'd that broken the rules and kept his valuables on his person, even if it meant getting them X-rayed. When he returned to the changing room, the white-gold (with diamond) Cartier Panthere ladies' watch that he'd been carrying was gone. The watch was valued at $12,920.

Meanwhile, the crook that visited an East 83rd Street doctor's office on June 15 was even more brazen. He dropped by the examining room at 11:15 a.m. and helped himself to one patient's property while she was stretched out on the examining table waiting to see her doctor.

The victim, a 48-year-old Ridgefield, N.J., resident, told the cops that she'd heard someone going through her pocketbook. When she turned around, she spotted a fellow wearing a dust mask, a pair of wire-framed eyeglasses and a multicolored knit cap-not exactly your standard operating-room scrubs. When she asked him if she could help him, the perp turned around and left the room.

The woman checked her pocketbook immediately after his departure and discovered her $300 Samsung cell phone missing. An employee at the doctor's office said that she'd seen the suspect when he'd first arrived at the office but, perhaps thinking that he was a patient or a pharmaceutical-company salesman (so what if he wasn't cute and blond and toting a sample case?), didn't raise any alarms.

Serendipity

When has a restaurant become too popular? How about when it gets so crowded that crooks can pick your pockets while you're waiting on line for a table? That's apparently what happened to one Freehold, N.J., resident when she visited Serendipity 3, the café and confectioner at 225 East 60th Street, around 3:30 p.m. on June 24.

The victim told the police that she was "bumped multiple times." As it turns out, it wasn't fellow patrons jockeying for a glass of the restaurant's celebrated frozen hot-chocolate parfait: It was one or more pickpockets rifling through her pocket book.

She became aware of the crime when she noticed that her bag was open and her wallet missing. It contained $220 in cash, credit cards and her New Jersey driver's license. And it didn't take long for the thieves to put her plastic to good use: Shortly afterwards, they spent $800 at Natalie and Friends, a children's clothing store located a couple of doors west of Serendipity at 205 East 60th Street. A saleswoman at Natalie and Friends was confident that she could ID the perp.

The victim, a 21-year-old West 60th Street resident, told police at the Manhattan North station house, where she appeared (fully clothed, no doubt) to report the crime, that her cell phone was stolen from her table while "she went dancing."

In all fairness, she may have meant ballroom dancing or square dancing. But given the venue, and the fact that gentleman customers typically don't go there to dance with their wives, we must assume the victim meant lap dancing.

In any case, when she stopped performing a few minutes later (and, hopefully, a few dollars richer), she canvassed the area unsuccessfully for her telephone. She has no idea who took it, and there were no security cameras on the scene to record the snatch. She described the device as a $200 Samsung cell phone.

Illegal Download

There are certain professionals-computer repairmen, for example-who are given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their honesty. Perhaps it's because most people are virtually illiterate when it comes to the inner workings of their hard drives and circuit boards, so they treat those who aren't as a species of demigod. Or perhaps it's because, by the time they call a computer repairman, they've already spent days on the phone talking to tech reps in Bangalore and are simply grateful to be dealing with a live human being.

However, if a Feb. 18 incident is any indication, one probably shouldn't assume that just because a guy is a computer geek, it makes him any more reputable than those in less cerebral professions, such as plumbers, messengers or cable-TV installers.

In this case, a computer repairman visited a Third Avenue and 91st Street residence at 3 p.m. So confident was the tenant, a 52-year-old male, of his repairman's integrity that he went and took a shower. However, after the computer guy left, the tenant discovered certain items missing from his apartment-and they weren't a few stray floppy discs, either. The nefarious nerd made off with $100 cash, a Capital One MasterCard, a sports jacket and a $1,000 Tiffany watch. The victim told the cops that he believes the perp was named something like Danny or Anthony or Adolpho. No word yet on whether or not the fellow fixed the computer before fleeing.

No-Pee Zone

One would expect those caught in the act of urinating in public to register at least a modicum of embarrassment, if not to express outright remorse. But as the saying has it, when you gotta go, you gotta go. A fellow who decided that he had to heed nature's call at 5:55 a.m. on Feb. 22 picked a spot in front of an East 62nd Street and York Avenue garage and Mobil gas station to do so. But he was anything but repentant when a garage employee asked him what he was doing.

"What's wrong with you?" the peeing perp reportedly retorted when the worker explained that the garage's driveway was not a pissoir. A verbal dispute ensued (one hopes after the suspect had repacked his gear) and then turned violent when the suspect-described as 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds-grabbed the garage worker's shirt and repeatedly struck him in the face.

If there's anything more uncouth than peeing in public (except in the woods, which is a whole different thing, as I tell my wife), it's making your girlfriend wait while you do so. In fact, there's something even ruder than that: forcing her to rescue your ass before the cops arrive as you go homicidal, which is what happened in this case. The lady had to pull her boyfriend off the victim and drag him away after he'd knocked the poor garage worker to the ground and continued to pummel him.

The couple was last seen fleeing northbound on York Avenue in a white Nissan. The police canvassed the area, with negative results.