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
Improved H.264 Compression Holds Down File Sizes on 1080p iTunes Store Content
Ars Technica takes a look at the new 1080p content available on the iTunes Store, showing how a "High" compression profile for H.264-encoded content on the iPhone 4S and new iPad and Apple TV are minimizing the increase in file size needed to move from 720p to 1080p.
Comparison of 720p (left) and 1080p (right) video quality in iTunes Store content
In a survey of several titles now available ...
Read Full Article • 129 comments
Apple Investing $300 Million in Austin, Texas to Add 3,600 More Workers
The State of Texas today announced that Apple has committed to spend $304 million to expand its operations in Austin, seeking to add 3,600 employees to its facilities there.The new campus will more than double the size of Apple's workforce in Texas over the next decade, supporting the company's growing operations in the Americas with expanded customer support, sales and accounting functions for...
Apple Pushing Back Initial iPad Orders in UK as Shipments to US Customers Begin
We've received word from several customers in the UK who ordered the new iPad immediately after launch that their orders have been delayed by several days. While at least one of these customers was initially quoted delivery for March 16 and another had been quoted a shipping window of March 16-19, Apple has now pushed back delivery for these customers to March 20 or 21.Despite our best efforts...
iPhone 4S Launches on China Telecom with 200,000 Pre-Orders
In line with its previous announcement, China Telecom today launched the iPhone 4S, becoming the second carrier in the country to officially offer the iPhone for sale. With its 129 million mobile subscribers, China Telecom is a major new addition for Apple and the largest carrier to offer the iPhone on a CDMA network.
M.I.C. gadget has a roundup of the launch events, with China Telecom...
Intuit Releases Lion-Compatible Quicken 2007 for Mac
Last December, Intuit announced that it would be developing a version of its Quicken 2007 for Mac software compatible with OS X Lion, targeting "early spring" for a release. Quicken 2007 has remained a popular option for users of personal finance software despite its age, as Intuit opted to deploy a stripped-down Quicken Essentials for Mac in 2010 rather than continuing to update the full...
Microsoft Targeting OnLive over Windows Remote Virtualization Licensing
Over the past couple of months, we've been covering OnLive's efforts to bring remote virtualization of Windows applications to the iPad, offering access to Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, and Flash-enabled web browsing through Windows 7. OnLive may, however, be running into some difficulties with Microsoft over its offerings, with ZDNet pointing to a Microsoft blog post discussing licensing...
Verizon Including Mobile Hotspot in iPad Data Plans at No Additional Charge
GottaBeMobile reports that Verizon has officially announced that its data plans for the new iPad Wi-Fi + 4G will include mobile hotspot functionality at no additional charge. The feature allows users to share the device's cellular connection, broadcasting it as Wi-Fi signal that can be used to provide data connectivity for notebook computers and other devices.What I didn’t see when I went...
RadioShack Offering Pre-Orders for New iPad via $50 Gift Card Purchase
RadioShack today announced that it has begun taking pre-orders for the new iPad, with availability set for Friday, March 16. RadioShack's pre-ordering method requires customers to purchase a $50 gift card that can then be applied to final purchase once the device launches.Following yesterday’s exciting announcement of the new iPad, I’m writing to let you know RadioShack will start selling...
Apple Extends 'iSight' Name to iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 Rear Cameras
Some observers found Apple's introduction of an "iSight" camera on its new iPad yesterday to be an interesting move, given that the name had previously been used for Apple's standalone and integrated webcams on its Mac computers but had fallen out of favor as Apple transitioned those webcams to adopt "FaceTime" and "FaceTime HD".
With the third-generation iPad, Apple has resurrected the...
Apple Using OpenStreetMap Data in iPhoto for iOS
Yesterday, we noted that Apple appeared to not be using Google Maps in its new iPhoto app for iOS, although it was unclear exactly where the new mapping data was coming from. Daring Fireball's John Gruber later clarified that Apple was still using Google Maps for the Places functionality in iPhoto for iOS but that maps for Photo Journals and slideshows were coming directly from Apple.
The...
New iPad Appears to Utilize Qualcomm's MDM9600 Baseband Chip
AnandTech has done some digging into the iOS restore code for Apple's new iPad, discovering that the device is apparently utilizing Qualcomm's MDM9600 baseband chip for its mobile connectivity. While some had thought that Apple would attempt to use the 28-nm MDM9615 chip in the third-generation iPad, Qualcomm's roadmap suggested to us that Apple would likely use the 45-nm MDM9600 chip that has...
U.S. Government Warns Apple and Publishers of Antitrust Lawsuit over e-Book Pricing
Last December, the U.S. Department of Justice acknowledged that it was conducing an antitrust investigation into the new "agency model" of e-book pricing that was championed by Apple ahead of its iBookstore rollout, a model in which publishers could set the retail prices of their books but could not sell them to retailers other than Apple for lower prices. A similar investigation has been...
Shipping Dates for New iPad Orders Begin to Slip, White AT&T Models First Hit in U.S.
Following the new Apple TV's slip to a 1-2 week shipping estimate in Apple's U.S. online store late yesterday, the first signs of Apple's supplies of the new iPad beginning to run short have now emerged, with 16 GB and 64 GB models of the AT&T 4G iPad in white now showing estimated shipping dates of March 19 in the store. All models had previously been listed as delivering on the launch date of ...
Shipping Estimates for New Apple TV Slip to 1-2 Weeks
Shipping estimates for the new 1080p Apple TV have already slipped to 1-2 weeks in Apple's U.S. online store, likely indicating that the company has run through its launch stock of the set-top box. The new Apple TV debuted earlier today with a shipping date of "Delivers on March 16", but Apple is no longer promising delivery on that date. Online stores for nearly every other country in which...
Apple Releases Apple TV Software Version 5.0 with Updated Interface
Following today's introduction of the new 1080p Apple TV with an updated user interface, Apple has now pushed the 5.0 software update to existing Apple TV set-top boxes.
While the update obviously doesn't add 1080p support to the older boxes, it does bring the new icon-based user interface and other enhancements such as support for direct Netflix billing to their iTunes Store...
iOS 5.1 Adds '4G' Indicator to iPhone 4S Status Bar for AT&T HSPA+ Coverage
Last October, an internal AT&T talking point claimed that the carrier was working with Apple to have the iPhone 4S status bar display a "4G" indicator when the device is connected to an HSPA+ network.
With today's release of iOS 5.1, that change now appears to have gone into effect as shown in a photo posted to Twitter by @ichadman.
While short of the data speeds seen with LTE networks...
Apple Debuts AppleCare+ for iPad with Accidental Damage Coverage
In line with our report from late yesterday about a new AppleCare+ extended warranty program for iPad, Apple has indeed introduced the new program with accidental damage coverage today. Availability is listed as "coming soon".Every iPad comes with one year of hardware repair coverage through its limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary support. AppleCare+ for iPad extends your...
iOS 5.1 Now Available with Japanese Siri, Camera Enhancements, and More
Following Apple's announcement that iOS 5.1 would debut today, the software update is now available for existing iOS devices. Among the notable additions are Japanese language support for Siri, camera enhancements, and the ability to delete photos from users' Photo Streams.This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:
- Japanese language support for Siri (availability may be...
Apple Boosts Over-the-Air App Store Download Limits to 50 MB
With the launch of the 3rd Generation iPad, Apple has increased the over-the-air download limit for the App Store to 50MB, up from 20MB.
As noted by AppAdvice, the change is presumably to accommodate larger app sizes due to the new iPad's Retina display and faster cellular data available with 4G LTE. The download limit is now 50MB across all devices, as shown in the above screenshot....
Video of Apple's iPad Media Event Now Available
Just half an hour after the end of the event, Apple has already posted video of its third-generation iPad media event to its site.
Among the products announced at the event:
- Apple Introduces 'The New iPad' with Retina Display, A5X Chip, LTE, 5MP Rear Camera
- Apple Introduces New Apple TV Set-Top Box with 1080p Video and Updated Interface
- Apple Launches iPhoto for iPad with Photo...
