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.

Eric Slivka's Articles

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Apple Looking to Increase Exposure for Free App Store and iBookstore Content?

Friday June 15, 2012 9:12 am PDT by
Late last month, Apple launched a new "Free App of the Week" promotion on the App Store, featuring a single app on each of the iPhone and iPad platforms and offering the normally-paid titles for free. Apple's digital content stores have of course offered free apps for years, but the new promotion seeks to bring greater visibility to content being temporarily discounted from paid to free. In ...
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13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Coming in October?

Thursday June 14, 2012 10:12 pm PDT by
Four days before the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro was introduced, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo released a report claiming that Apple would launch the machine alongside the then-current MacBook Pro line rather than as a direct replacement. Kuo's report turned out to be nearly exactly on point, as was the case with his April report claiming that Apple would discontinue the 17-inch MacBook...
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Roundup of Retina MacBook Pro Reviews

Thursday June 14, 2012 11:54 am PDT by
With a number of media outlets having received Retina MacBook Pro review units on Monday after the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote and a few early hands-on reports having been published, more extensive reviews are now beginning to appear. To help summarize the overall response to the new machine, we've put together this roundup of some of the major reviews, along with some highlights...
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First Online Retina MacBook Pro Orders Arriving

Thursday June 14, 2012 9:52 am PDT by
While we noted early yesterday that the first Retina MacBook Pro orders had begun shipping, a number of MacRumors readers are now reporting that the first deliveries are already arriving. At least one of the readers who received his new MacBook Pro had ordered a custom configuration, bumping the high-end stock model to the 2.7 GHz processor and 16 GB of RAM. Portion of label from ...
sports illustrated ipad subscriptions

Time Inc. Begins Offering Digital Magazine Subscriptions in Newsstand

Thursday June 14, 2012 8:22 am PDT by
As noted by AllThingsD, Apple and Time Inc. appear to have settled their long-running differences over digital magazine subscriptions, with Time launching iPad-only subscriptions for its magazines through Newsstand. According to a press release from Time, the offering addresses all 20 of its consumer magazines, which include Fortune, People, Sports Illustrated, and Time. Time was prepared...
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iMac Update Might Be Coming Sooner Rather Than Later

Wednesday June 13, 2012 2:29 pm PDT by
Back in mid-May, a pair of Geekbench 2 benchmarks that claimed to be from unreleased MacBook Pro and iMac models appeared, setting off speculation that updates to both lines might be imminent if the entries were indeed legitimate. But with Apple not updating the iMac earlier this week at its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, those looking for an upgraded all-in-one desktop Mac have been...
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'Apple Store' iOS App Gains Support for Express Checkout, Advance Check-In for In-Store Pickup

Wednesday June 13, 2012 2:02 pm PDT by
Apple today rolled out an update for its Apple Store [App Store] app for iOS devices, adding two new features to enhance the functionality of the app. The first feature is support for Express Checkout, which has been available through the regular online store but is now available through the app as well. With Express Checkout, a user placing an online order can bypass the shopping cart system ...
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Apple Updates Java for Lion and Snow Leopard in Sync with Oracle

Wednesday June 13, 2012 12:09 pm PDT by
Apple yesterday released a pair of software updates for Java, issuing versions for both Lion and Snow Leopard. The update in part builds upon an earlier Java update for Lion that disabled automatic execution of Java applets in an attempt to minimize the impact of Java-based malware threats like Flashback.This update configures web browsers to not automatically run Java applets. Java applets may...
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Apple Including Free MagSafe 2 Converter with Thunderbolt Display

Wednesday June 13, 2012 11:15 am PDT by
As we noted on Monday, Apple's new MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro use a new MagSafe 2 charging standard that is thinner and wider than the previous MagSafe. In order to assist people using the new machines with older equipment like chargers and displays, Apple released a small MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter for $9.99 to ensure continued compatibility. Apple has not updated its Apple...
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Apple Retail Stores Rolling Out New Retina MacBook Pro Window Displays

Wednesday June 13, 2012 8:59 am PDT by
As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple's retail stores have begun installing new window displays showing off the new Retina MacBook Pro mounted on a pedestal with a massive model of the machine as a background. As we reported earlier today, Apple retail stores have been receiving display models of the new Retina MacBook Pro, but shipments of stock are just starting to trickle in. Those looking for a...
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Apple Applies for '.apple' Domain Name Suffix

Wednesday June 13, 2012 8:46 am PDT by
As noted by the Associated Press, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has published a list of nearly 2,000 applications it has received as part of an expansion of the domain naming system that is planned to add new suffixes, including some based on brands to allow companies to simplify URLs for their sites and enhance their branding. Apple is included in the list, ...
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Retina MacBook Pro Shipping Estimates Slip to 3-4 Weeks as Initial Shipments Begin

Wednesday June 13, 2012 7:52 am PDT by
Shipping estimates for the Retina MacBook Pro continue to slip, with new orders now estimated to ship in 3-4 weeks across Apple's online stores. The slip to 3-4 weeks comes roughly 24 hours after they slipped to 2-3 weeks. But while new orders will take some time to arrive, some of those who were able to order their machines soon after the online store came back up on Monday are beginning...
retina macbook pro teardown

Teardown of Retina MacBook Pro Finds Low Repairability with Custom Components

Wednesday June 13, 2012 7:27 am PDT by
Following yesterday's teaser teardown of the updated MacBook Air, iFixit has now given Apple's new Retina MacBook Pro the same treatment. Apple of course showed off a fair bit of the machines internals during the keynote in order to promote all of the innovations included inside, but iFixit's teardown still provides an interesting hands-on look at the internals. Unsurprisingly, the Retina ...
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Apple Releases 'Every Dimension' TV Commercial for Retina MacBook Pro

Tuesday June 12, 2012 8:52 pm PDT by
Apple has just released a new TV ad for the Retina MacBook Pro, naturally focusing on the breakthrough Retina display included in the machine unveiled yesterday.The radical new MacBook Pro with Retina display. Innovation in every dimension. While Apple has had several high-profile Mac ad campaigns such as "Get a Mac" and "Switch" , the company only rarely advertises specific Mac products in...
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Apple Spokesperson Confirms New Mac Pro Designs Likely Coming in 2013 [Update: Not iMac]

Tuesday June 12, 2012 3:08 pm PDT by
Yesterday, David Pogue of The New York Times vaguely stated in reference to Apple's desktop Mac lines that an unnamed Apple executive had informed him that "new models and new designs are under way, probably for release in 2013." That information was taken to include both Mac Pro and iMac models, but was not explicitly clear. Soon after we posted the article, we received a report from a...
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Benchmarks for Mid-2012 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

Tuesday June 12, 2012 1:47 pm PDT by
With the first Mid-2012 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models reaching the public, Primate Labs has collated some data from its Geekbench 2 benchmarking database to assess the raw performance of these systems compared to their predecessors. For the MacBook Pro, Primate Labs has data on four different models: the new Retina model with 2.3 GHz and 2.6 GHz processors and the non-Retina model with...
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Apple Admits 'New' Mac Pro Isn't All That New

Tuesday June 12, 2012 1:02 pm PDT by
Amid all the excitement of the notebook updates and OS X Mountain Lion and iOS 6 news yesterday, Apple quietly updated the Mac Pro, but surprisingly continued to use older Westmere processors instead of Intel's latest Sandy Bridge E offerings. The company also decided not to add Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 to what is supposed to be its top-of-the-line professional workstation, leaving customers who...
retina macbook pro display preferences

A Closer Look at the New MacBook Pro's Retina Display

Tuesday June 12, 2012 11:45 am PDT by
AnandTech takes a closer look at the new MacBook Pro's 2880x1800 Retina display, revealing just how well the display stacks up against its predecessor and other notebook displays and delving into the details of how it handles various resolutions. In looking at scaling, the report explains the new slider option in System Preferences that allows users to select from a spectrum of resolutions...
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Teardown of Mid-2012 MacBook Air Reveals Tweaked SSD Connector

Tuesday June 12, 2012 11:28 am PDT by
The teardown experts at iFixit are currently in the process of taking apart the new 13-inch MacBook Air released yesterday, and while the machine appears to be only a minor update to the previous model, there are undoubtedly some changes that are worth noting. The most notable change so far is with the solid-state storage. Apple has tweaked the connector design on the MacBook Air's integrated ...
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Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2 Causing Boot Failures for Some Users

Tuesday June 12, 2012 10:02 am PDT by
Among the many software updates Apple has been pushing out associated with yesterday's keynote announcements, Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2 is a relatively minor 537 KB download offered to provide support for the company's new Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. The adapter is intended for use with Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Air models and the new Retina MacBook Pro, which do not come...