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

siri down

Siri Experiencing Significant Outage

Thursday November 3, 2011 1:41 pm PDT by
While Apple's new Siri personal assistant for the iPhone 4S experiencing a few hiccups in availability just after the device's launch last month, a new widespread outage appears to be the most significant one since those first few days. The Siri problems have been ongoing for at least three hours, with only intermittent service available over that time. In general, users have been faced with...
iphone 4s call

iPhone 4S Users Complaining of Audio Issues: No Audio on Outgoing Calls, Echoes, Static

Thursday November 3, 2011 9:50 am PDT by
Earlier this week, BGR noted a growing number of complaints in Apple's support forums regarding problems with echoes on the iPhone 4S when used with a headset, with calls typically degrading over the duration of the conversation. One thread on the issue has reached 14 pages of posts with a number of users reporting the same issue on a variety of different phone models and carriers. When using...
kindle fire in hand

Apple Welcomes Kindle Fire Tablet and More Android Fragmentation

Thursday November 3, 2011 8:01 am PDT by
Business Insider shares a portion of a research note issued today by Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes, who recently visited with Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer in a meeting that included discussion of Amazon's new $199 Kindle Fire tablet based on Android. According to the executives, Apple welcomes the entry of the Kindle Fire to the market for its ability to further fragment the...
iphone4s com udrp

Apple Files Claim to Seize iPhone4S.com and Related Domains from Porn Operators

Thursday November 3, 2011 7:24 am PDT by
As noted by Domain Name Wire, Apple has filed a complaint under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy in an attempt to gain control of the iPhone4S.com domain name and six other iPhone-related domain names. All seven of the domains currently forward to pornography sites, meaning that readers should obviously exercise caution in visiting the sites. The complaint is case number...
apple in store pickup ca nyc

Apple's 'Ship to Store' Expands Again, Then Goes Offline Ahead of Retail Enhancements

Thursday November 3, 2011 6:46 am PDT by
Last week, Apple began offering customers the option of having their online orders shipped to their local retail store for pickup, a service especially valuable for those who have difficulty receiving shipments at their home or office. The "ship to store" option initially rolled out in the company's three San Francisco stores, and quickly expanded to include all sixteen Bay Area stores before...
apple retail sweden registration

Apple Moves Closer to Swedish Retail Store Openings with New Business Registration

Wednesday November 2, 2011 9:28 pm PDT by
Back in June, Swedish retail news site Market.se reported that Apple was making plans to open its first retail stores in Sweden, with Stockholm understandably being the company's first target city. As noted by Allt om Mac [Google translation], Apple is now moving closer to opening its first Swedish stores with its registration of a new business by the name of "Apple Retail Sweden AB" to...
apple tv itunes match menu

Apple Turns on iTunes Match for Apple TV with New 'Music' Section

Wednesday November 2, 2011 8:45 pm PDT by
While Apple revealed as part of its notes on the new iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2 released earlier today that iTunes Match is now available for testing on Apple TV, the option is appearing not just for developers but also for regular users. The general public is unable to activate the feature, however, as subscriptions to iTunes Match must be initiated through iTunes 10.5.1, which has yet to see a...
siri icon on linen

Siri's Impact on Data Usage Examined

Wednesday November 2, 2011 11:05 am PDT by
With the release of the new Siri intelligent assistant on the iPhone 4S, some users have been curious about how much data the feature uses given that most users are on limited data plans and that Siri must communicate with outside servers in order to function. Ars Technica has now taken a look at a set of common Siri tasks, determined that those specific queries used an average of 63 KB of data. ...
steve jobs book cover

'Steve Jobs' Easily Tops Best Seller Lists in Debut Week

Wednesday November 2, 2011 9:21 am PDT by
The Bookseller reports that Walter Isaacson's authorized biography of Steve Jobs easily topped the best-seller list in the United States and United Kingdom during its first week of availability. Citing Nielsen's BookScan data for U.S. figures, the report claims that the book sold 379,000 copies, outselling second-place The Litigator by John Grisham by more than three-to-one.Despite being on sale ...
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Czech Carrier Dumps iPhone Over Apple's 'Business Terms'

Wednesday November 2, 2011 8:50 am PDT by
Bloomberg briefly reports that Czech carrier Telefonica/O2 has apparently announced that it will cease selling all iPhone models, objecting to Apple's "business terms".Telefonica Czech Republic AS won’t sell Apple’s new iPhone 4S and will end sales of all Apple’s models because of Apple’s business terms, Hospodarske Noviny reported, citing Telefonica’s local spokesman Hany Farghali.No additional...

Video of 75-Minute 1995 Interview with Steve Jobs

Wednesday November 2, 2011 8:10 am PDT by
Last month, following the death of Steve Jobs, Computerworld published a transcript of a lengthy 1995 interview with Steve Jobs conducted as part of an oral history program for the Computerworld Information Technology Awards Foundation. The complete, unabridged video of that 75-minute interview has now been posted, offering an interesting look at Jobs before his return to Apple. In the...
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Samsung to Depose Jony Ive and Other Apple Designers, Seeks iPhone 4S Source Code

Wednesday November 2, 2011 7:48 am PDT by
The legal battle between Apple and Samsung continues to rage in a number of different countries, and Samsung is going on the offensive with recent attempts to obtain testimony from Apple senior vice president Jony Ive and other designers, as well as to receive access to the iPhone 4S source code and the detail of Apple's agreements with carriers in Australia. Samsung's planned depositions of ...
cano johnson osaka

Former Retail Store Manager Steve Cano to Succeed Ron Johnson as Apple Retail Chief? [Updated]

Wednesday November 2, 2011 7:39 am PDT by
Yesterday, we noted that Apple senior vice president for retail Ron Johnson had been removed from Apple's list of senior executives, in line with his previously-announced departure to become CEO of department store chain J.C. Penney. The transition occurred with no announcement from Apple regarding Johnson's successor. Steve Cano (left) and Ron Johnson (right) at 2004 grand opening of ...

New Steve Jobs Documentary to Air Tonight on PBS and UK's Channel 4

Wednesday November 2, 2011 7:00 am PDT by
Last week, we noted that PBS is set to premiere a new documentary about Steve Jobs tonight, offering interviews with a number of prominent personalities with connections to Jobs. The documentary will also include brief clips from a rare 1994 interview in which Jobs talks about his views on life. PBS has now released a pair of clips from the show ahead of its premiere, offering a glimpse at...
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Tim Cook Putting His Stamp on Apple

Tuesday November 1, 2011 1:26 pm PDT by
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at Tim Cook's first two months officially in the role of Apple CEO, noting some of the differences between his management style and that of Steve Jobs.In recent weeks, Mr. Cook has tended to administrative matters that never interested Mr. Jobs, such as promotions and corporate reporting structures, according to people familiar with the matter. The new chief...
c spire iphone 4s pre registration

C Spire Launching iPhone on November 11th, 'Unlimited' Non-Streaming Data and 500 Minutes for $50

Tuesday November 1, 2011 10:28 am PDT by
Regional U.S. carrier C Spire garnered headlines last month for its announcement that it would begin offering the iPhone 4S in the coming weeks, becoming the fourth U.S. carrier to offer the iPhone and coming ahead of several other larger carriers, most notably T-Mobile USA. C Spire has now confirmed that it will launch both the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 on November 11th, alongside the iPhone...
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Apple Updates GarageBand for iOS with iPhone and iPod Touch Support

Tuesday November 1, 2011 9:17 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of GarageBand for iPhone and iPod touch, making the previous iPad-only version a universal app.“GarageBand on iPad has been a big hit and we think customers will love using it on their iPhone or iPod touch,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The innovative Multi-Touch interface combined with Smart...
itunes match end of october

Apple Misses iTunes Match Launch Target as iTunes 10.5.1 Developer Beta Expires

Tuesday November 1, 2011 8:29 am PDT by
At its "Let's Talk iPhone" media event early last month, Apple announced that it would be launching its iTunes Match service in the United States at the "end of October". That launch date was itself apparently a slight delay from Apple's original plans given that support for the feature had been built into developer builds of iTunes 10.5, which was released in mid-October to support iOS 5 and...
ron johnson new

Retail Chief Ron Johnson Departs Apple for J.C. Penney, No Successor Named

Tuesday November 1, 2011 8:05 am PDT by
In line with his previously-announced transition, Ron Johnson has left his position as senior vice president of retail at Apple to take over as CEO of department store chain J.C. Penney. As noticed by 9to5Mac, Johnson has been removed from Apple's list of senior executives. Johnson came to Apple from Target eleven years ago, overseeing the launch and strong growth of Apple's retail store...
mobile web marketshare oct11

iOS Surges Past 60% Share of Mobile Web Traffic

Tuesday November 1, 2011 7:40 am PDT by
Net Applications has released its latest monthly data on Web traffic, revealing that Apple's iOS was able to ride the strength of the iPhone 4S launch and continued iPad momentum to surge past a 60% share of traffic. According to the data, iOS was responsible for 61.64% of the mobile Web traffic during October on a geographically weighted basis. Net Applications Mobile/Tablet Top Operating ...