For the second year in a row, consumer clarity regarding the Digital Den concept and the use of media servers in the home is low but interest remains strong, according to Ipsos Insight�s most recent survey of American Internet users, titled America�s Digital Den. The survey examines consumer awareness, usage, and attitudes toward digital entertainment content and the convergence of entertainment devices and content in the home. Just over one out of three consumers is aware of the media hub � or Digital Den �concept, basically unchanged from a year ago at 38 percent. When exposed to the concept, nearly six out of ten (57 percent) consumers show an interest in buying a media hub. Among consumers who show an interest in owning a media hub, just over a quarter (27 percent) anticipate acquiring one within the next six months, and nearly one third (30 percent) anticipate doing so within six months to a year. �A majority of survey respondents who don�t currently own a media hub are interested in having the ability to more easily link digital devices and content. Clearly, a more concerted Digital Den initiative from a hardware manufacturer (like HP, Samsung, or Sony), service provider (telephone, cable, or wireless), or a content provider (like Yahoo!, AOL, or MSN) could raise consumer familiarity and comfort with this concept.�
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....