Articles by Luke James, Contributor

Luke is a freelance technology journalist who has been covering hardware and semiconductors since 2020. He began his career at All About Circuits and has since contributed to EE Power and Laptop Mag. Luke has a particular interest in semiconductors, microelectronics, and the industry shifts that shape the devices we use every day. Above all, he loves making complex technology accessible to experts and enthusiasts alike. Luke's interest in hardcore computing can be traced back to his university studies, when he responsibly spent his very first student loan payment on a custom-built gaming rig equipped with a GTX 780 Ti.

Articles by: Luke James

Samsung holds desperate final talks with union over 18-day chip factory strike that could cost $20 billion — government-mediated summit seeks to avert industrial action that could hit HBM production

By Luke James Published 11 May 26

The two sides are meeting through South Korea's National Labor Relations Commission after earlier rounds of mediation in February and March collapsed.

Intel, SK hynix shares surge following reports of chip packaging partnership — SK is said to be testing Intel's 2.5D EMIB for HBM integration

By Luke James Published 11 May 26

The rally followed a report claiming that SK is conducting R&D with Intel on 2.5D packaging using Intel's EMIB technology.

Portable 40mm launcher kills drones by firing 6.5-feet-long steel chains at 80 m/s — German researchers' low-tech mechanical 'bola' outshines textile, drops quadcopters without lasers or EMPs

By Luke James Published 11 May 26

The concept draws on the same physics as the bola, a weighted throwing weapon used for centuries by South American herders.

China's Hanyuan-2 debuts as 'world's first' dual-core quantum computer — 200-qubit claims incredible power efficiency, but lacks critical performance benchmarks

By Luke James Published 10 May 26

CAS Cold Atom Technology, a Wuhan-based firm affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), unveiled what it calls the world's first dual-core quantum computer.

The QTS data center development in Georgia

AI data center project secretly sucked 29 million gallons of water over 15 months before detected by residents complaining about low water pressure — officials refuse to fine builders of massive 6.2 million-square-foot facility over unauthorized water use

By Luke James Published 10 May 26

QTS says the extra 29 million gallons were consumed during temporary construction activities, including concrete work, dust control, and site preparation.

Fears grow that age verification coming to VPNs as a British research firm labels them a 'loophole' — one app developer saw downloads surge by 1,800% in just the first month after the UK's Online Safety Act took effect

By Luke James Published 9 May 26

The paper noted that VPN downloads spiked after enforcement began in the UK and several U.S. states.

Chinese grey market sells Claude API access at 90% off by using stolen credentials, model substitution, and harvesting users' prompts and outputs for resale as AI training data — 'transfer stations' operate through proxy networks that harvest user data

By Luke James Published 9 May 26

A grey-market economy of API proxy services in China is reselling access to Anthropic's Claude models at as little as 10% of the official price.

Desperate SK hynix customers offer to buy its EUV machines and fund new fabs as memory capacity hits zero amid crushing AI-driven shortages — worsening global shortages pry open wallets to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars

By Luke James Last updated 8 May 26

The offers go well beyond standard long-term supply agreements.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends a meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education

White House reportedly considers mandatory government vetting of AI models before release — executive order under discussion

By Luke James Published 7 May 26

Premium The Trump administration is in early discussions about an executive order that would create a government review process for AI models before public release.

After a $16 billion Stargate AI data center was built despite being voted down, Michigan towns rush to block new buildouts — massive facility will suck 1.4 Gigawatts of energy to power ChatGPT

By Luke James Published 7 May 26

Backlash now covers county resolutions, bipartisan state legislation, and a regional water authority refusing to serve proposed facilities.

An image of Minecraft with Xbox's Copilot for Gaming overlaid. An AI assistant explains through text how to use Minecraft's crafting feature.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma kills Copilot for Gaming — overhauls leadership with CoreAI veterans

By Luke James Published 6 May 26

Sharma took over as Xbox CEO in February after Phil Spencer retired following 38 years at Microsoft.

SpaceX files for $55 billion semiconductor fab in rural Texas for Musk's Terafab — total chipmaking fab investment could reach $119 billion

By Luke James Published 6 May 26

The capital figures in this filing far exceed what was disclosed when Elon Musk announced Terafab in March, where the project carried a $20 billion price tag.

Google, Microsoft, and xAI agree to let US government test AI models before public release — OpenAI and Anthropic also on board after renegotiating deals with Washington

By Luke James Published 5 May 26

OpenAI and Anthropic, which had existing evaluation partnerships with the center dating to 2024, renegotiated their deals to align with priorities in Trump's AI Action Plan.

Huawei braces for $12 billion in AI chip revenue driven by homegrown AI model demand — Chinese fabs can barely keep up as Nvidia's market share craters within the region

By Luke James Published 5 May 26

Premium The projection, based on orders already received from major Chinese technology firms including Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent, would represent growth of at least 60% year-over-year.

JSR to build first Taiwan photoresist plant to co-develop advanced resists with TSMC — multi-million dollar plant could come online as early as 2028

By Luke James Published 5 May 26

The facility will close a gap that has put JSR at a disadvantage relative to its two largest Japanese rivals.

A screenshot of the archived version of the notepad-plus-plus-mac.org website.

Notepad++ creator threatens legal action over macOS port of open-source app — developer says port is fine, but branding is too far

By Luke James Published 5 May 26

Notepad++ creator Don Ho has filed a trademark complaint with Cloudflare and is threatening further legal action against the developer of a macOS port.

Trump administration considers mandatory pre-release vetting of AI models — Anthropic's Mythos cited as catalyst for policy reversal

By Luke James Published 4 May 26

The Trump administration is said to be discussing an executive order that would establish a government review process for new AI models before they’re released to the public.

Secretlab launches Mandalorian Titan Evo gaming chair in Star Wars collection for May the 4th — collab builds with a new high-end themed chair

By Luke James Published 4 May 26

Secretlab dropped a Mandalorian Edition, along with other Star Wars-themed designs, to its Titan Evo gaming chair lineup on Star Wars Day.

Nvidia's exposure to Asian supply chains for components hits 90% of its production costs — marked increase from 65% could intensify as physical AI adds even more exposure

By Luke James Published 4 May 26

Asian suppliers now represent roughly 90% of Nvidia's production costs, up from about 65% a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Anthropic in early talks to buy DRAM-less AI inference chips from UK startup — Fractile's SRAM architecture reduces need for pricey memory during extreme pricing and shortage crunch

By Luke James Published 3 May 26

Anthropic has reportedly held early discussions with London-based chip startup Fractile about purchasing the company's inference accelerators.

Utah first state to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs — law goes into effect, designed to prevent bypassing age checks

By Luke James Published 3 May 26

Utah's Online Age Verification Amendments, formally Senate Bill 73, take effect on May 6.

FCC votes to ban all Chinese labs from certifying electronics sold in the US due to national security concerns — ruling would affect 75 percent of US-bound devices

By Luke James Published 2 May 26

The FCC estimates that roughly 75% of all U.S.-bound electronics are currently tested in Chinese facilities.

Skyrocketing component prices push Big Tech capex to record $725 billion — Microsoft alone attributes $25 billion of AI budget to increased memory and chip costs

By Luke James Published 1 May 26

Premium Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta plan to spend a combined $725 billion on capital expenditure in 2026, a 77% increase over last year's record $410 billion.

Microsoft begins rolling out Xbox Mode to Windows 11 desktops and laptops — consolidated storefronts and console-style interface come to PC

By Luke James Published 1 May 26

Xbox Mode replaces the standard Windows desktop with an Xbox-style interface designed for gamepad navigation.

ASML's roadmap for chipmaking lithography tools examined — from DUV to Low-NA, High-NA, Hyper-NA, and beyond

By Luke James Published 1 May 26

Premium ASML shipped 48 EUV lithography systems and 131 immersion DUV tools in 2025, generating €32.7 billion in total revenue and ending the year with a €38.8 billion order backlog.

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