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
Apple Designer on Why Curved Glass and Extruded Aluminum iPhone Designs Were Rejected
With court documents in the ongoing legal dispute between Apple and Samsung having yielded a remarkable number of design concepts and prototypes from the development of the iPhone and iPad, Network World has taken a look at testimony that explains why Apple rejected some of the ideas. The testimony comes from Doug Satzger, who spent 12 years in industrial design at Apple before moving on to Palm ...
Read Full Article • 99 comments
Apple Requests Sanctions Against Samsung Delivering Default Victory in Design Patent Case
The ongoing court case between Apple and Samsung over alleged patent and design infringement has continued to take strange and interesting turns, with Samsung having been chided earlier this week for publicly releasing evidence that it had already been barred from presenting in court. But in taking its case to the media, Samsung raised the ire of the judge overseeing the case and caused Apple to ...
Aerial Photos of Recent Work at Apple's North Carolina Data Center
Several weeks ago, we noted that Apple was already undertaking a minor expansion of its massive data center in Maiden, North Carolina, having received permits for a roughly 20,000 square-foot "tactical data center" located adjacent to the existing 500,000 square-foot facility.
Wired has now obtained aerial photos of the site taken earlier this week, showing not only the new tactical data...
iPad Outnumbers Samsung Tablets 7-to-1 in 2Q 2012 Shipments
Last week, we pointed to tablet estimates for the second quarter of 2012 from research firm Strategy Analytics, results that shows Apple continuing to dominate the tablet market with 68% of shipments during the quarter. Google's Android platform accounted for most of the remaining shipments, taking 29% of the market.
Worldwide Tablet Shipments in 2Q12 in Millions of Units (Source: IDC)
IDC ...
Apple Researching iPad Smart Covers with Secondary Displays, Keyboards, Solar Cells
Engadget points to a newly-filed patent application from Apple showing ideas for a significantly enhanced iPad Smart Cover that could contain such features as a secondary display, a keyboard, and power collectors in the form of solar cells or RF energy antennas.An accessory device that is arranged to communicate with a host device by way of a communication channel is claimed. The host device...
Retina MacBook Pro Shipping Estimates Improve to 5-7 Business Days
Just a day after Apple added new build-to-order configuration options to the low-end Retina MacBook Pro, shipping estimates have improved from 1-2 weeks to 5-7 business days in the company's online stores. The faster turnaround time is showing up in the company's online stores in the Americas, and should spread to its Asia-Pacific and European distribution channels shortly.
Shipping...
Sharp President Confirms Shipments of Displays for New iPhone this Month
Reuters reports that Sharp president Takashi Okuda today made a rare public reference to an unreleased Apple device, acknowledging that his company will begin shipping displays for the next-generation iPhone this month.Japan's Sharp Corp. said it will start shipping screens destined for a new Apple iPhone that is widely expected to be released in October ahead of the pre-Christmas shopping...
Apple-Twitter Talks Focused on Product Partnership, More iTunes Integration Likely
Late last week, The New York Times reported that Apple and Twitter had had discussions "in recent months" about Apple making a significant investment of several hundred million dollars in Twitter, but The Wall Street Journal and other sources moved quickly to downplay the rumor with claims that the talks had taken place over a year ago and did not lead to any serious consideration of an...
Apple Officially Ends MobileMe Transition and Shuts Down iWork.com
Yesterday, we noted that Apple was preparing to close the door completely on its MobileMe service, bringing to an end the grace period that had allowed users to retrieve their Gallery photos and iDisk files and to transition their accounts to iCloud following the June 30 shutdown of the service.
As of today, visitors to MobileMe.com are no longer given the option to convert their accounts to...
Key Apple Chip Designer Jim Keller Returns to AMD
AMD today announced the return of Jim Keller, who has spent the past four years as a director in the platform architecture group at Apple after joining the company as part of the 2008 acquisition of P.A. Semi.
Keller, who previously was a key contributor to AMD's Athlon 64 and Opteron 64 projects before moving on to positions at other companies, will be returning to the company as corporate...
Apple's Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter Rolling Out in Online Store
Alongside the introduction of the Retina MacBook Pro last month, Apple also announced two adapters to allow users to add Ethernet and FireWire 800 capabilities to the machine through its Thunderbolt ports. But while the Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter was available immediately, Apple's tech specs page for the Retina MacBook Pro has listed the FireWire adapter as launching in July....
Apple's New Dock Connector with 8 Pins? Cross-Device Integration via Bluetooth 4.0?
iLounge shares a new report highlighting a couple of tidbits of information it has received about Apple's upcoming iOS device plans.
According to the report, the new dock connector set to to debut on the next-generation iPhone will contain just 8 pins, compared to the 30 pins used on the current connector and the 19 pins that have been rumored by several sources for the upcoming connector.Accor...
Apple Expands Build-to-Order Configuration Options on Retina MacBook Pro [Updated]
Apple today quietly expanded the available configuration options for the Retina MacBook Pro, now offering a full slate of individual upgrade options on the base model that starts at $2199. Previously, customers who opted for the base model were locked into a 2.3 GHz Core i7 processor and 256 GB of flash storage, with the only configurable onboard option being a $200 RAM upgrade from 8 GB to 16...
Apple Ready to Finish Shutting Down MobileMe Over Next Few Days
As of June 30, Apple officially discontinued MobileMe, the company's previous suite of online services that has been replaced by iCloud. But while the MobileMe services went offline as of that date, the company has continued to allow MobileMe users to migrate their accounts to iCloud and to download Gallery photos and iDisk files "for a limited time".
It now appears that the "limited time"...
Amazon Cloud Player Upgraded with Scan and Match, 256 Kbps Audio
Amazon today announced a significant upgrade to its Cloud Player music service, bringing iTunes Match-like "scan and match" technology to assist users in making their entire music libraries available in the cloud. The upgraded service also mirrors iTunes Match in delivering all matched tracks at 256 Kbps, even if the user's original material is at a lower quality.
New Cloud Player features...
Apple's Opening Court Statement Focuses on Samsung's Radical Shift in Phone Design
While court documents filed in relation to the high-profile U.S. legal battle between Apple and Samsung have yielded a treasure trove of images of prototypes and concepts for iPhone and iPad designs, the court case is just now getting underway. Reuters reports on some of the early developments today, including opening statements from Apple's lead lawyer outlining how the company will argue that...
Jonathan Ive on How Apple 'Nearly Shelved' the iPhone
Yesterday, we reported on an appearance by Apple design chief Jonathan Ive at the UK Trade & Investment department's Global Business Summit on Creative Services in which he talked a bit about Apple's design philosophy and its focus on making great products rather than simply trying to maximize profits by cutting corners.
The Telegraph has another report on Ive's appearance, highlighting his...
Apple Media Event All But Confirmed for September 12th, iPhone Launch Likely [Updated]
Following a report from iMore earlier today claiming that Apple will hold a media event to introduce the next-generation iPhone and the "iPad mini" on September 12 ahead of September 21 availability for the new iPhone, AllThingsD reports that it has confirmed an Apple media event will be taking place that week. While the report's sources have apparently not confirmed the topic of the event or...
Jonathan Ive on Design and Apple's Focus on Great Products Instead of Profits
Wired UK reports that Apple design chief Jonathan Ive participated in a keynote session today at the UK Trade & Investment department's Global Business Summit on Creative Services in which he offered up some of his thoughts on the creative process at Apple and other anecdotes about his two decades at the company. While he had previously shared some of his thoughts on design, his comments today...
Audit Claims Apple Received Favorable Treatment in Grand Central Terminal Lease Talks
Last December, Apple opened a massive new retail store in Manhattan's historic Grand Central Terminal, adding a high-profile presence to the busy commuting, tourist, and shopping hub. Apple's lease agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was quickly questioned by government officials, who were concerned that Apple had received favorable treatment during the negotiations...
