Cisco Systems' Linksys division agreed to acquire privately-held KiSS Technology A/S, a developer of networked entertainment devices, for approximately $61 million in cash and stock. KiSS, which is based in Horsholm, Denmark, has a product portfolio that includes home video products such as networked DVD players and networked DVD recorders. KiSS's technology platform also has the capability to extend to other consumer electronics products. KISS recently introduced an IPTV set-top box which is compatible with Windows Media content. The product is already marketed via Denmark�s first broadband TV channel, TV-2 Sputnik, for viewing content over an ADSL connection. The KiSS MediaMate works in both standard-definition and high-definition streaming, and will also be certified to Microsoft�s PlaysForSure program. The MediaMate is equipped with a 802.11g connection. It uses the same chip technology from Sigma Designs as KiSS Technology�s other DVD-players and hard disk recorders.
Gartner's latest worldwide IT spending forecast exposes a trend every CIO has already felt in budget negotiations. Total spending will climb 14.2 percent in 2026, reaching $6.37 trillion. It seems that the IT infrastructure market is simply having a strong year. However, the more useful insight is how unevenly that growth is distributed. The Headline Number vs. The Real Story Data center systems and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) are absorbing capital at a pace several multiples faster than devices, communications services, and traditional IT services. This is not incremental growth spread across a healthy portfolio. It is a wholesale reallocation of enterprise technology budgets toward AI infrastructure, made on the expectation that demand for AI workloads will justify the outlay before that demand has been fully proven. Where the Money is Going Data center systems are forecast to grow 62.5 percent in 2026, that's up from 51.6 percent growth in 2025, reaching $822 billion....