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

bob mansfield

Apple Hardware Chief Bob Mansfield Cashes in Nearly $12.5 Million in Stock Options

Wednesday February 1, 2012 6:37 am PST by
As revealed in a regulatory filing yesterday, Apple senior vice president for hardware engineering Bob Mansfield on Monday exercised a set of stock options he has held for a number of years, immediately selling off the stock for a gain of nearly $12.5 million. Under the stock option program, Mansfield was eligible to purchase 30,000 of Apple stock at a price of $36.54 per share and immediately...
ipod nano camera 1

New Photos of Camera-Equipped iPod Nano Casing Surface

Wednesday February 1, 2012 6:17 am PST by
Last April, Taiwanese site Apple.pro posted a photo of what appeared to be an iPod nano with a hole in the rear casing that was said to be for a camera. A second photo showing the casing from the other side surfaced a month later, appearing to show a clipless design for the device and claiming that it would carry a 1.3-megapixel camera. Apple ultimately made no changes to the design of the...
cook browett headshots

Tim Cook on New Retail Chief John Browett: 'The Best by Far'

Wednesday February 1, 2012 4:57 am PST by
MacRumors reader Tony Hart notes on his blog that after emailing Apple CEO Tim Cook with his thoughts on the company's selection of Dixons CEO John Browett as the next head of retail, he received a personal response in which Cook noted that Browett was "the best by far" among the candidates he talked with about the position.Tony, I talked to many people and John was the best by far. I think...
apple jan12 stock performance

Apple's Stock Off to Fast Start in 2012 with 50-Point Gain in January

Tuesday January 31, 2012 12:48 pm PST by
With stock trading for January coming to a close today, Apple's performance for the first month of 2012 has been notable, with the company's stock riding strong earnings to a monthly gain of over 50 points that has increased its price by nearly 13%. Much of that gain came alongside Apple's stellar earnings release one week ago, but Apple has continued to drift upward since that time and closed...
zevo silver edition

ZFS Comes to OS X Courtesy of Apple's Former Chief ZFS Architect

Tuesday January 31, 2012 12:23 pm PST by
Apple's flirtation with ZFS, the file system backed by Sun, has been well-documented with rumors and speculation dating back to 2006. The interest was fueled in mid-2007 by a claim by Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz that ZFS would supplant HFS+ as the file system for Mac OS X Leopard. While ZFS did not materialize in Leopard, Apple clearly continued to work on the project, with claims of some support...
white ipad 2 oblique

iPad Drives Apple to Perch Atop List of Top-Selling PC Manufacturers

Tuesday January 31, 2012 10:16 am PST by
Late last year, research firm Canalys predicted that Apple might become the world's largest PC manufacturer during the fourth quarter of 2011 if tablets were counted alongside more traditional computers. With the major firms now having reported their sales numbers for the quarter, Canalys has pieced together the numbers to confirm that Apple has indeed taken the lead on the strength of the iPad.C...
foxconn prospective employees zhengzhou

Thousands Line Up for New iPhone Production Jobs at Foxconn Facilities in China

Tuesday January 31, 2012 8:09 am PST by
Back in late December, reports surfaced indicating that Foxconn was planning a major expansion of its iPhone production capabilities in Zhengzhou, China, with the company reportedly investing $1.1 billion and working with the Chinese government to recruit 100,000 new workers to the facility. M.I.C gadget now reports that the hiring notices have gone out and thousands of prospective employees ...
china telecom

China Telecom May Launch iPhone 4S by Late February

Tuesday January 31, 2012 6:24 am PST by
Following a report from Marbridge Consulting yesterday claiming that sources within China Telecom had revealed that a deal had been struck with Apple for the iPhone 4S, China Daily reports that China Telecom subsidiary Beijing Telecom has confirmed plans for an iPhone 4S release as soon as late February.In a news release on Monday, Beijing Telecom Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China Telecom, said the...
fcp x multicam

Apple Updates Final Cut Pro X with Multicam Support, Advanced Chroma Keying, and XML Support

Tuesday January 31, 2012 5:23 am PST by
Following up on promises to bring support for major features such as multicam editing and XML compatibility, Apple today announced the launch of Final Cut Pro X v. 10.0.3 with a number of enhancements. The release follows another major update released last September and another minor one released in November.Apple today released Final Cut Pro X v10.0.3, a significant update to its revolutionary...
iphone hong kong reservation

Apple Seeks to Thwart iPhone Scalpers in Hong Kong with New Reservation System

Monday January 30, 2012 12:32 pm PST by
Seeking to thwart would-be iPhone scalpers in Hong Kong, Apple has instituted a new reservation system (via 9to5Mac) to handle in-store purchases. With the new system, customers wishing to purchase an iPhone at the company's retail store in the IFC Mall must request a reservation between 9:00 AM and noon one day prior to their desired purchase. By 9:00 PM that same day, Apple will determine...
verizon shared data training

Verizon Moving Closer to Shared Data Plans?

Monday January 30, 2012 11:42 am PST by
Verizon and other carriers have been talking for some time about the idea of shared data plans that would allow users to draw from a single monthly allotment of cellular data for multiple mobile devices, much the same way family plans can share minutes among their phones. While European carriers have led the way in allowing users with both an iPhone and iPad to share a single bucket of data,...
ipad 3 dock connector 1

Taiwanese Site Sued by Supplier After Leaking Claimed iPad 3 Dock Connector

Monday January 30, 2012 10:57 am PST by
Last July, Taiwanese site Apple.pro posted photos of what was claimed to be the dock connector and ribbon cable for the iPad 3. While the connector doesn't reveal much of anything about the full iPad 3 device other than some speculation about the connector itself being white as opposed to black on the iPad 2, it was one of the first reported leaks of iPad 3 parts. Claimed iPad 3 dock ...
iphone 4s in stock

iPhone 4S Now 'In Stock' in Most Apple Online Stores

Monday January 30, 2012 8:22 am PST by
Customers looking to order the iPhone 4S through Apple's online stores have long been faced with minor shipping delays as the company sought to keep up with demand, with Apple's online stores for most countries initially citing 1-2 week shipping estimates for the all models of the device. Those windows tightened up a bit earlier this month when Apple shifted to 3-5 business day estimates, but it ...
lashinskybook

Apple's Secrecy Extends to Putting New Employees on Fake Projects

Monday January 30, 2012 5:47 am PST by
In his new book, Inside Apple, Adam Lashinsky details the process undergone by new hires at Apple, noting that many of them are hired without knowing the exact project they are working on that they are frequently put through a testing period working on a different project in order to provide time to evaluate their trustworthiness.For new recruits, the secret keeping begins even before they learn...
italian apple store applecare notice

Apple Offers Statement on Warranty Disclosures to Italian Customers

Friday January 27, 2012 6:09 am PST by
Back in late December, Apple was fined $1.2 million by Italian regulators over allegations that the company promoted its AppleCare extended warranty program to customers without adequately disclosing that many of the program's benefits were already included in the standard two-year warranty required by Italian law. As noted by @setteBIT, Apple has now added to its Italian online store a...
tim cook headshot

Tim Cook Responds to Report on Working Conditions at Suppliers' Factories

Friday January 27, 2012 5:25 am PST by
In the wake of yesterday's report regarding treatment of workers at the facilities of Apple's suppliers, Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent an email to company employees addressing the situation. As published by 9to5Mac, the email highlights Apple's efforts to oversee compliance with company standards for workers' rights and the transparency with which it has shared that information. From Cook's...
strategy analytics 4q11 smartphones

Apple Estimated to Retake Title of World's Largest Smartphone Vendor

Thursday January 26, 2012 7:13 pm PST by
Research firm Strategy Analytics today announced its estimates of the global smartphone market for the fourth quarter of 2011, finding that Apple narrowly squeezed by Samsung to retake the title of world's largest smartphone vendor as measured by unit shipments. According to Strategy Analytics' numbers, Apple's 37 million iPhones narrowly eclipsed Samsung's quarterly smartphone shipments of...
foxconn banner

Former Apple Executives Address Working Conditions in Suppliers' Factories

Thursday January 26, 2012 8:37 am PST by
The New York Times today published a lengthy report discussing working conditions at the facilities of Apple's suppliers in China, part of a growing focus on how Apple's popular products are made. While the company is making strides in holding its suppliers accountable to company standards, the report cites former Apple executives who note that the company continues to struggle balancing its...
strategy analytics 4q11 tablets

iPad Grabs 58% of Tablet Shipments in 4Q 2011

Thursday January 26, 2012 6:53 am PST by
Research firm Strategy Analytics today announced the results of its calculations of worldwide tablet shipments during the fourth quarter of 2011, revealing that Apple continues to hold a majority of the market as Android improves its standing on the strength of Amazon's Kindle Fire.Peter King, Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global tablet shipments reached an all-time high of 26.8...
att 4q11 iphone

iPhone Drives AT&T's Record-Smashing Quarter for Smartphone Sales with 7.6 Million Activations

Thursday January 26, 2012 5:15 am PST by
AT&T today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011, revealing that the carrier saw record-smashing sales of 9.4 million smartphones, nearly double the previous quarter's sales and 50% higher than the company's previous record. The iPhone was clearly the primary driver of smartphone sales for AT&T, as the carrier reported 7.6 million iPhone activations during that quarter,...