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

IBM Quantum Starling and the roadmap to 2033

IBM and Cisco agree to lay the foundations for a quantum internet — companies announce plans to build a distributed quantum computing network, linking fault-tolerant systems over long distances

By Luke James published 24 November 25

Premium IBM and Cisco have announced plans to jointly build a distributed quantum computing network capable of linking fault-tolerant systems over long distances.

Congressional report details China's new deep-sea cable cutter that can sever armored cables in 13,000 feet of water — report warns of rising Chinese undersea cable cutting capabilities

By Luke James published 24 November 25

A new annual report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission delivered to Congress states that China is actively developing technologies to sever undersea cables.

Hobbyist solo miner scores a full Bitcoin block worth $270,000 despite 1 in 180 million odds — 3.146 Bitcoins mined by a single low-powered 6 TH/s ASIC with about 0.0000007% of the network’s hashrate

By Luke James published 23 November 25

A solo miner running just 6 terahashes per second of computing power has overcome odds of about one‑in‑180 million to mine a full Bitcoin block via the CKpool pool.

The DragonFire system firing a bright red laser, engaging a drone mid-air.

DragonFire laser shoots down high‑speed drones traveling at 400mph, costs $13 per shot — UK Navy to begin deploying system on destroyers

By Luke James published 23 November 25

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that the high‑power laser system DragonFire successfully shot down drones travelling at speeds up to 650 km/h during recent trials in Scotland.

Huawei's Ascend AI chip ecosystem scales up as China pushes for semiconductor independence — however, firm lags behind on efficiency and performance

By Luke James published 21 November 25

Premium Huawei’s in-house Ascend processors and their surrounding supplier network are being positioned as the foundation of a national effort to build an independent, fully domestic semiconductor ecosystem.

The Microsoft Azure Cobalt 200 chip pictured with a blue hue around it.

Microsoft unveils Azure Cobalt 200 CPU, in-house chip targets higher performance and deeper integration — Arm-based chip is equipped with 132 cores and manufactured using TSMC's 3nm process

By Luke James published 20 November 25

Premium Microsoft has revealed its next major in-house server processor, the Azure Cobalt 200, a 132-core Arm-based CPU built on TSMC’s 3nm process.

Netherlands suspends Nexperia takeover order as China eases export curbs — de-escalation could be welcome break for automotive industry

By Luke James published 20 November 25

The Dutch government has suspended its emergency order to oversee chipmaker Nexperia, returning operational control to Chinese parent company Wingtech.

Cloudflare's CTO apologizes after error takes huge chunk of the internet offline — 'we failed our customers and the broader internet'

By Luke James published 18 November 25

Cloudflare has confirmed that a bug in one of its core services caused a major outage on Tuesday, taking large portions of the internet offline.

Taiwan to spend $3 billion turning nation into 'AI island', targets top five global compute power — new goals threatened by energy shortfalls

By Luke James published 18 November 25

Taiwan has formally committed over NT$100 billion (US$3.2 billion) to a new national initiative to turn the island into a global hub for artificial intelligence.

A garden shed that is being used as a datacenter

UK couple’s garden shed datacenter heats home and cuts energy bills to £40 — clusters of 56 Raspberry Pis run real workloads, waste heat converted to heat home

By Luke James published 18 November 25

A couple from Essex in the United Kingdom are heating their home with a small datacenter in their garden, according to a BBC News report.

Google and Meta delay undersea cable projects over security concerns — Red Sea corridor carries a fifth of global internet traffic, but risk to crews and ships stalls plans

By Luke James published 17 November 25

Google and Meta have delayed segments of their subsea cable projects crossing the Red Sea, citing continuing security risks

Distributors force unprecedented RAM and motherboard bundle mandate to fight global shortage, report claims — distributors require one-to-one ratio from buyers

By Luke James published 17 November 25

A severe shortage in global DRAM supply has reportedly led some distributors in Taiwan to impose unprecedented bundling requirements on buyers.

PC hobbyist charged $684 in tariffs on $355 shipment of parts due to classification defaults as low-value import exemptions vanish - de minimis exemption expiration poses big problems for the holiday season

By Luke James published 17 November 25

A PC hobbyist says he was hit with a $684 tariff bill on a $355 shipment of retro computing parts, in what appears to be a growing pattern tied to changes in federal import rules.

Microsoft Windows boss posts lackluster response to ‘agentic OS’ backlash — Microsoft is working to address broad problems with the OS

By Luke James published 16 November 25

For both your everyday and power users alike, the gap between messaging and actual, measurable action in response to criticism remains stark.

A Tesla Megapack cluster deployed in a desert environment.

Tesla targets AI data centers with massive Megapack batteries as grid-strain fears grow — says $50B/GW for a 2-hour system over a 20-year lifetime is 'outsized value'

By Luke James published 14 November 25

Tesla has launched a new marketing push for its Megapack battery systems, targeting hyperscale AI data centers grappling with extreme and unpredictable power fluctuations.

YMTC moves ahead with third chipmaking fab in Wuhan despite U.S. sanctions — blacklisted Chinese chipmaker bets big on memory

By Luke James published 14 November 25

Premium Amid a global memory shortage, China's YMTC has set its sights on building a third semiconductor plant in Wuhan, with the facility expected to begin mass production of memory chips by 2027.

Automotive officials warn of 'devastating' chip storage as Nexperia halts China-bound wafer shipments — companies working 'around the clock' to find alternatives

By Luke James published 13 November 25

A growing dispute inside one of Europe’s largest chipmakers is threatening to derail automotive production across the continent.

An IBM Quantum Nighthawk chip held by a gloved hand.

IBM unveils new 'Quantum Nighthawk' 120-qubit processor and software stack — company on track for 2029 fault-tolerance milestone

By Luke James published 13 November 25

Premium IBM has detailed its most significant quantum computing advances to date, revealing new hardware and software designed to push the limits of what today’s superconducting qubits can do.

DARPA invests $1.4 billion to build experimental Texas foundry for next-generation 3D chips — Austin plant to buck standard fab models to focus on high-mix, low-volume production

By Luke James published 13 November 25

Premium A new DARPA- and Texas-backed facility will focus on 3D heterogeneous integration, stacking, and combining multiple materials and chip types to advance U.S. capabilities in defense, AI, and HPC.

China officials overseeing allocation of high-end AI chips, prioritizing homegrown options — government's AI chip pivot accelerates as US export restrictions bite

By Luke James last updated 12 November 25

Restrictions on U.S. chip exports are beginning to force visible shifts in China’s AI compute strategy, as a shortage of Nvidia accelerators drives cloud providers toward domestic alternatives.

SoftBank offloads entire $5.83 billion stake in Nvidia — firm sells off stock, cash will fund major investment in OpenAI, also in talks over Stargate

By Luke James published 11 November 25

SoftBank sold 32.1 million Nvidia shares in October.

Musk confirms Tesla AI5 and AI6 will be made at both Samsung and TSMC, reinforcing dual-foundry strategy

By Luke James published 10 November 25

New comments from Musk confirm dual-fab production for Tesla's AI5 and AI6.

Rare-earth mine in Bayan Obo, a mining town in Inner Mongolia in China.

China suspends ban on rare earth exports to the U.S., but licensing controls remain — vital semiconductor manufacturing materials get one-year reprieve

By Luke James published 10 November 25

China has lifted its ban on exports of gallium, germanium, and antimony to the United States, temporarily halting restrictions that had reshaped global materials markets over the past year.

Silicon Valley data centers totalling nearly 100MW could 'sit empty for years' due to lack of power — huge installations are idle because Santa Clara can't cope with surging electricity demands

By Luke James published 10 November 25

In the heart of Silicon Valley, two freshly built data centers designed for the world’s most power-hungry computing workloads are standing empty.

Bank of America sued over not paying workers for PC boot up time in proposed class action lawsuit

By Luke James published 9 November 25

Bank of America is facing a proposed class and collective action lawsuit that accuses the company of failing to pay hundreds of hourly workers for time spent booting their computers.

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