The lingering problem: Most consumers don't have a home network to connect everything together, and they haven't shown much interest in setting one up.

That may be changing, however.

A recent survey by Parks Associates, a research firm that specializes in home networking, found that half of the consumers with Internet access at home were interested in connecting their computers to their stereos and TV sets.

The results reflect the growing role computers are playing in acquiring, organizing and storing digitized music, pictures and videos, particularly among young adults.

Meanwhile, the number of homes installing networks is rising in tandem with the spread of high-speed, always-on Internet connections. About half of the households with high-speed Internet services have home networks, the Parks survey found.

These trends have prompted a wide range of manufacturers to start developing products that, when plugged into a home network, automatically find the digital audio or video stored on any other device connected to the network. Then they feed those songs or images to a nearby stereo or TV set.

From the article, "Networking the home may become less daunting," by Jon Healey.

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