Articles by Jon Martindale, Freelance Writer

After building his first computers in his teens, Jon Martindale has spent the past two decades covering the latest advances in technology. From displays to PC components, blockchain to AI, and tablets to standing desk accessories, Jon has covered just about every facet of the tech space in his varied career. He has bylines at Forbes, USNews, Lifewire, DigitalTrends, PCWorld, and a range of other sites. He brings that same level of expertise and professional insight to Toms Hardware.Away from writing, Jon is an avid reader, board gamer, and fitness enthusiast. He lives in rural Gloucestershire with his wife, two children, and French Bulldog cross.

Articles by: Jon Martindale

Intel confirms it has already received $5.7 billion from US government, CFO claims the deal was to halt the sale of its chip fabs

By Jon Martindale published 29 August 25

The $5.7 billion investment will see the US government take a 10% stake in Intel, with the Commerce Department said to be ironing out the details.

Satya Nadella and Sam Altman on video conference together.

OpenAI and Microsoft's contract negotiations threaten investment and potential IPO — companies battle over AGI secrecy and Azure exclusivity

By Jon Martindale published 29 August 25

Premium Microsoft and OpenAI butt heads over ongoing contract negotiations

AI is eating entry-level coding and customer service roles, according to a new Stanford study — junior job listings drop 13% in three years in fields vulnerable to AI

By Jon Martindale published 26 August 25

After tracking payroll data, it found 13% fewer entry-level employment opportunities over the past three years.

Howard Lutnick giving the double finger gun gesture.

U.S. gov't seizes $7.4 billion semiconductor research fund created under Biden admin, calling it 'illegal' — Lutnick says fund 'served as a semiconductor slush fund that did nothing but line the pockets of Biden loyalists with American tax dollars'

By Jon Martindale published 26 August 25

Despite allusions to nepotism and corruption, the Commerce Department hasn't made clear what it wants to do with the newly clawed-back funds.

AMD's already taken down mistakenly released FSR 4 source code, but the internet never forgets — forked Github repositories remain accessible

By Jon Martindale published 22 August 25

AMD has confirmed it didn't mean to leak FSR 4 source code, but with forks created and files already downloaded, it might not be able to do much to claw them back.

OpenAI's rocky GPT-5 launch is the beginning of an uphill battle for AI, as Meta announces another restructuring

By Jon Martindale published 21 August 25

News Analysis As the hype train slows down, the AI industry is thinking about where it's headed next

Arm hires Amazon's AI chip developer, ostensibly to help create its own processors — Rami Sinno returns to the company, boasts Trainium and Inferentia on resume

By Jon Martindale published 19 August 25

This is the latest move in Arm's chip designer hiring spree that's been ongoing for the past year.

China mandates domestic firms source 50% of chips from Chinese producers — Beijing continues to squeeze companies over reliance on foreign semiconductors

By Jon Martindale published 18 August 25

A new report says China has started mandating that data centers use 50% homegrown silicon.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI looking pensive off-camera

ChatGPT users revolt over GPT-5 release — OpenAI battles claims that the new model's accuracy and abilities fall short

By Jon Martindale published 13 August 25

News Analysis OpenAI has capitulated and reinstated older models, and promised not to kill them off again in the future.

Major UK PC retailer, Ebuyer, bought out of administration by notorious backer — PC component listings mostly nuked in favor of furniture, garish iPhone cases, and air fryers as Frasers Group takes the helm

By Jon Martindale published 13 August 25

Long-time PC and component retail website, Ebuyer, has been bought out by Frasers Group, which owns House of Fraser, Game, and Jack Wills, among other companies.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan in a dark suit in the shade.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has become a lightning rod of controversy amid US and China geopolitical tensions — here's why

By Jon Martindale last updated 13 August 25

Ties to hundreds of Chinese companies and fined US firms raise serious questions about his nationalistic ties.

Trump holding the signed GENIUS act while White house officials clap.

Stablecoins gain critical mass after GENIUS Act cements rules — banks and companies rush to register new coins

By Jon Martindale published 12 August 25

US banks and financial institutions are keen to take advantage of the stablecoin provisions put into US law by the GENIUS Act, though regulation remains murky.

Trump's 100% chip tariffs will likely hurt smaller manufacturers, as major companies court exemptions

By Jon Martindale published 8 August 25

News Analysis The proposed 100% semiconductor tariff sounds devastating to chipmakers. But many major players remain unaffected, leaving smaller manufacturers vulnerable to the steep proposal.

Apple I replica can run ChatGPT — Macintosh Founding Father uses Wi-Fi module to turn relic into AI assistant

By Jon Martindale published 6 August 25

Better yet, it was put together by original Apple employee and Apple II engineer, Daniel Kottke.

TSMC employees arrested, could face up to 12 years in jail, $3 million fine over alleged attempt to leak 2nm chip details — first case under Taiwan's amended National Security Act cites 'serious suspicions of violating national security laws'

By Jon Martindale published 5 August 25

Two employees of major semiconductor manufacturer and design company TSMC have been arrested over claims they stole proprietary technology.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaking while Donald Trump looks sad in the background.

Nvidia H20 GPUs reportedly caught up in U.S. Commerce Department's worst export license backlog in 30 years — billions of dollars worth of GPUs and other products in limbo due to staffing cuts, communication issues

By Jon Martindale published 4 August 25

News Analysis Officials claim this is the worst commerce backlog in over 30 years.

IBM PCB with a quantum processor attached.

Quantum machine learning unlocks new efficient chip design pipeline — encoding data in quantum states then analyzing it with machine learning up to 20% more effective than traditional models

By Jon Martindale published 29 July 25

By combining classic machine learning and new quantum techniques, researchers may be able to develop new semiconductor designs faster than ever before.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaking to journalists in China.

Trump eases China export restrictions to aid trade talks — White House seeking face-to-face with Xi Jinping as dissenters warn H20 reversal is a dangerous mis-step

By Jon Martindale published 28 July 25

As trade talks resume this week, security experts pressure the White House to maintain economic pressure points.

AI bubble is worse than the dot-com crash that erased trillions, economist warns — overvaluations could lead to catastrophic consequences

By Jon Martindale published 18 July 25

News Analysis The only difference between then and now is that there's more to lose.

Scale AI lays off 200 employees, one month after Meta's $14 billion investment — says it scaled up too quickly

By Jon Martindale published 17 July 25

The data annotation company is also firing 500 global contractors in a move that is designed to streamline its data business.

Meta is building AI data centers in tents and isn't slowing down — Zuckerberg reveals plans for 'several multi-GW clusters,' including one called Hyperion that's almost as big as Manhattan

By Jon Martindale last updated 15 July 25

Move fast and build things.

Amazon's $8 billion Anthropic investment rumors suggest it would rather sell AI infrastructure than compete with ChatGPT and Gemini

By Jon Martindale published 14 July 25

News Analysis AWS is in prime position to power the AI revolution, rather than win it.

Ukraine to become first European country with Starlink direct to cell service — messaging by year end, with mobile satellite broadband expected mid-2026

By Jon Martindale published 10 July 25

To be joined by mobile high-speed satellite internet in 2026.

This Alienware X16 R2 gaming laptop just hit its lowest-ever price — save nearly $300 and score an Intel Ultra 7 with RTX 4070 in the Amazon Prime Day sale

By Jon Martindale published 9 July 25

Deals The Alienware X16 R2 is a great gaming laptop, and though its hardware is last-gen, that helps make it all the more affordable this Prime Day, with a sizeable discount.

Three mile power plant being converted to run datacenters.

AI is eating up Pennsylvania's power, governor threatens to pull state from the grid — new plants aren't being built fast enough to keep up with demand

By Jon Martindale published 9 July 25

Spiking demand is sending energy bills skyrocketing, while the governor threatens to pull the state from the grid.

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