DHS pushes social media giants to dox anonymous accounts critical of ICE
Source: Hacker News
Western Digital Announces HDD Capacity Sellout for 2026
Western Digital, one of the world’s largest hard‑drive manufacturers, says it has already sold out of its storage capacity for calendar year 2026, with more than ten months still remaining. The company’s CEO Irving Tan made the statement during the recent quarterly earnings call【source】(https://www.tweaktown.com/news/110168/western-digital-runs-out-of-hdd-capacity-ceo-says-massive-ai-deals-secured-price-surges-ahead/index.html).
Allocation to Top Customers
Tan explained that most of the available storage has been allocated to Western Digital’s “top seven customers.” Three of those companies already have agreements extending into 2027 and 2028.
Impact on the Consumer Market
- The surge in demand from enterprise customers has pushed the consumer segment to represent only about 5 % of Western Digital’s revenue.
- As a result, incentives for hardware manufacturers to prioritize average consumers are diminishing.
Broader AI‑Driven Hardware Shortages
AI‑focused companies are consuming a growing share of computer‑hardware supply, driving up prices across the industry:
- Memory shortages have already been reported, affecting everything from PCs to gaming consoles【source】(https://mashable.com/article/micron-memory-ram-shortage-not-ending-soon-ai).
- PC makers are regularly raising RAM prices due to ongoing shortages【source】(https://mashable.com/article/framework-price-hike-ddr5-ram-memory-shortage).
- Console manufacturers, such as Sony, have considered delaying the next PlayStation launch (originally slated for 2027) to wait for AI‑related hardware constraints to ease【source】(https://mashable.com/article/playstation-6-delayed-report-memory-shortages).
The latest news from Western Digital suggests that the escalating demand for memory and storage from AI companies will continue unabated, keeping price pressures on consumers high. Only a significant pullback from investors—driven by concerns that AI’s promises may not materialize—could temper the current trajectory【source】(https://mashable.com/article/ai-bubble-watch-tech-stocks-down).