Ipsos-Insight reveals that more Americans are now aware of Internet-based movie acquisition methods than last year, with the vast number of households already having the technological capability to download movies from their homes. Their study reports strong home theater ownership, while a growing number of consumers own vehicle-based DVD players. In late 2004, findings revealed that nearly one-half (47 percent) of Americans aged 12 and older were aware of the ability to download a full-length motion picture off of the Internet. While actual downloading activity remains steady, awareness increased to 53 percent in the first quarter of 2005, suggesting a growing consumer orientation toward alternative movie acquisition methods. Younger males continue to be lead users with older segments demonstrating greater awareness than before. Most of those who have downloaded a movie online have not paid for it, a trend that mirrors the early stages of music downloading. More than ninety percent of music downloaders in 2002 acquired their music downloads without paying for them. Recent findings reveal that half of those who have downloaded music off of the Internet have paid for it - an achievement that may indeed pave the way for commercial web-based distribution of other entertainment, such as movies.
Enterprise AI budgets are flowing in two directions at once, and only one of them builds an asset the buyer actually controls. Gartner's latest forecast puts worldwide AI spending at $2.7 trillion in 2026, but the composition of that figure matters far more than the total. Executives who read only the headline will miss the tension between what they are buying and what they actually own. The Number Behind the Number Gartner projects 2026 AI spending is a 49.5 percent increase over 2025, with $3.6 trillion forecast for 2027. AI infrastructure accounts for $1.5 trillion of this year's total, more than half. Gartner's John-David Lovelock calls the data center buildout the largest infrastructure project humanity has undertaken, and describes demand as inelastic even as memory prices climb. Compute Concentration is a Sovereignty Issue Gartner expects hyperscalers and service providers buying AI-optimized servers to remain the largest single area of spending. For an enterprise, t...