Eric Slivka
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2008.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
Eric Slivka's Articles
French Union Calls for Apple Retail Store Employee Strike Coinciding with iPhone 5 Launch
Reuters reports that a union representing roughly a quarter of Apple's retail employees in France has authorized a strike to protest working conditions at the company's stores. The strike is being timed to coincide with tomorrow's 8:00 AM iPhone 5 launch for maximum impact.Demands by the SUD union, which represents about a quarter of Apple Store employees, included the installation of water...
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First iPhone 5 Teardown Surfaces Ahead of Official Launch
The iPhone 5 does not officially launch until tomorrow, but a few units have been trickling out and German site iPhone-Garage has been able to obtain one of these units and perform an initial teardown of the device.
While the teardown lacks the details and analysis that we will see later from iFixit and other teardown specialists and many of the internal components have already been seen...
Apple Purchases 200 Acres for Second Solar Farm Near North Carolina Data Center
Earlier this year, Apple announced that as part of an effort to power all of its data centers with 100% renewable energy it would be building a second 20-megawatt solar farm a few miles away from its new Maiden, North Carolina data center. The new solar farm would complement the previously announced 20-megawatt facility that appears to be nearing completion directly across the street from the...
Apple's iTunes and Mac App Store Traffic Increases Ninefold for iOS 6 Launch Day
Networking company Sandvine today took a look (via The Loop) at Apple's iTunes Store and Mac App Store traffic yesterday as compared to the previous two Wednesdays, noting that traffic spiked to nine times it usual levels with the release of iOS 6, OS X 10.8.2, and a host of other updates from Apple.See that huge spike at 1:00PM EDT yesterday? That is when iOS 6 was officially released to the...
Apple's New iOS 6 Maps App Drawing Significant Criticism
One of the largest changes in iOS 6 is Apple's decision to replace its Google-powered Maps app with its own solution powered by a combination of its own work and data licensed from other companies such as TomTom. Throughout the developer beta testing process, numerous users reported on the relatively poor quality of Apple's new maps in many regards, while expressing hope that content would...
Samsung Preparing to Add iPhone 5 to U.S. Patent Lawsuit
Reuters reports on a new court filing from Samsung revealing that the company is preparing to add Apple's new iPhone 5 to a lawsuit currently underway in the United States seeking to ban Apple's devices from sale in the country over patent infringement."Based on information currently available, Samsung expects that the iPhone 5 will infringe the asserted Samsung patents-in-suit in the same way as ...
Roundup of iOS 6 Launch Day News and Reviews
It's been a busy day with today's launch of iOS 6 and associated news, so we thought we take the opportunity to provide a roundup of today's stories to help those who might have missed something get caught up.
With the public release of iOS 6, a number of reviews have hit the Internet summarizing the new features and enhancements. Apple has of course detailed many of the changes at both its...
iPhone 5 Hits Grey Market in Hong Kong Starting at $1100
M.I.C. gadget points to a report from the ePrice forums indicating that grey market vendors in Hong Kong have already managed to obtain limited stocks of the iPhone 5 and have begun selling them starting at the equivalent of about $1100. Apple's retail price will start at roughly $720 when sales officially begin on Friday.
The report names the seller as "Mr. Lo", who has a history of selling...
Apple Updates iOS iLife Apps: iPhoto, GarageBand, and iMovie
Apple today updated its suite of iLife apps for iOS, delivering new versions of iPhoto, GarageBand, and iMovie.
The most significant update appears to be to iPhoto, which has gained over 30 new features and improvements in version 1.1, including support for the fourth- and fifth-generation iPod touch, new ink effects, and support for images of up to 36.5 megapixels on the iPhone 5 and...
'Cards' Gains iPad Compatibility and Multi-Photo Layouts
Apple today updated its Cards app [App Store] to version 2.0, most notably taking the app universal by adding a native iPad interface. The update also brings a number of new holiday-themed cards and new layouts able to display up to three different photos.What's New in Version 2.0
- Universal app with native support for iPad
- Six beautiful new letterpress holiday card designs
- New...
Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 Updated for MacBook Pro Retina Display
Microsoft today announced the release of Office for Mac 2011 version 14.2.4, which brings support for the Retina display on the new MacBook Pro released in June.We’re happy to announce that Office for Mac 2011 (version 14.2.4) now supports Retina display for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Text everywhere is incredibly crisp and all key areas of the interface are now sharper than ever. We ...
Apple Releases MacBook Pro Retina EFI Update 1.0
Among its slew of software updates released today, Apple has also pushed out MacBook Pro Retina EFI Update 1.0, which brings several fixes for Apple's new professional notebook released in June.This update is recommended to MacBook Pro with Retina display (mid 2012) models. This update resolves an issue which can cause the system to hang during heavy processor loads, and resolves an issue where...
Apple Releases OS X 10.7.5 with Gatekeeper
With Apple having released both iOS 6 and OS X 10.8.2 today, the company is also taking care of OS X Lion users with the release of OS X 10.7.5.
The update includes a number of enhancements, including the activation of the Gatekeeper feature from OS X Mountain Lion that allows users to limit for security reasons what types of apps can be installed on the user's computer. The feature has...
Apple Releases OS X 10.8.2 with Facebook Integration and Game Center
Alongside today's launch of iOS 6, Apple has also released OS X 10.8.2 to the public. The update is currently available via the Software Update functionality in the Mac App Store.
The update includes a number of enhancements, most notably Facebook integration and Game Center. It also includes support for several features integrating with iOS 6, such as Passbook passes and iMessage/FaceTime ...
Samsung Releases New Galaxy S III Ad Poking Fun at iPhone 5 Launch
As noted by The Tech Block, Samsung has released its latest smartphone commercial taking aim at the iPhone, this time promoting its flagship Galaxy S III by parodying Apple fans waiting in line for the iPhone 5.
The 90-second ad highlights several Galaxy S III features including S Beam file transfers accomplished by bumping phones together and the larger display. The ad parodies Apple fans' ...
Apple Releases iOS 6 with New Maps App, Facebook Integration, Siri Improvements, and More
As expected, Apple has just released iOS 6 to the public, making the download available to users of recent iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch models. Users can obtain the update either by connecting their devices to iTunes and clicking the "Check for Update" button or checking for over-the-air updates on their devices via Settings -> General -> Software Update. It may, however, take a few minutes for...
First iPhone 5 Unboxing Videos Posted as Reports of Premature Deliveries Begin
Following yesterday's publication of the first unboxing photos of the iPhone 5, several unboxing videos have now begun appearing. Among the first is one from UK gadget site T3, which received an official review unit from Apple and published its review as the embargo lifted late yesterday.
T3 has also posted a number of other videos showing off features of the iPhone 5.
A second video has ...
Time Warner Willing to Cede Control of User Interface in Potential Deals for Apple TV Products
Two weeks ago, Bloomberg reported on Apple's struggles to reach television content deals that would enable the company to broaden its living room reach by providing set-top boxes to blend live and recorded material. The report noted that cable companies have generally been reluctant to work with Apple as they seek to retain control over the software and other aspects of their businesses, with...
Hands-On Video with 'iPad Mini' Physical Mockup
Physical mockups of Apple's rumored "iPad mini", presumably based on leaked design specs from case manufacturers, have appeared with increasing frequency in recent weeks, and Gizchina.com has now obtained one of the dummy units to share new photos and a video giving an impression of how the device might look and feel. The dummy units are widely available through Chinese online marketplace Taobao ...
iPhone 5 Component Costs Estimated to Begin at $199
IHS iSuppli has released its estimate of the component costs involved in building the iPhone 5, performing a virtual teardown based on information revealed by Apple and industry knowledge. The estimate, which does not include numerous other costs involved in product development, manufacturing, and sales, such as research and development, software, patent licenses, marketing, and distribution...
