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 Cutting International Pricing to Rebalance Currency Conversion Rates?
9 to 5 Mac reports that it is receiving word from some international third-party retailers that some of the new machines reportedly being released tomorrow are carrying reduced price tags compared to the current models.
According to the report, the price reductions seem to be adjusting for the fact that the U.S. dollar has fallen in value against many other world currencies over the past...
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Apple Takes Possession of iPhone4.com and WhiteiPhone.com Domain Names
According to Fusible, Apple has finally taken possession of the domain names iPhone4.com and WhiteiPhone.com, forwarding those addresses to the company's iPhone pages. Whois listings for the new domains now point to Apple as the owner, with brand protection firm MarkMonitor appearing as the registrar as is customary for Apple's domains.
Apple last month took control of iCloud.com just ahead ...
Analysts Increasing Estimates Ahead of Apple Earnings Release
With Apple set to report earnings for the third fiscal quarter and second calendar quarter of 2011 next Tuesday, July 19th, Wall Street analysts are beginning to line up their final predictions for Apple's performance. As noted by Barron's, a pair of analysts this morning issued new reports that show last-minute bumps in their estimates for the quarter.
Citigroup's Richard Gardner is now...
iOS 5 Beta 3 Adds AirPlay Support for FaceTime
As noted by TiPb, the third beta of iOS 5 released earlier this week has activated new AirPlay streaming support for FaceTime video calling. The feature allows users to display FaceTime video calls directly on a large-screen TV for easy viewing by larger groups of people.If this makes it into the final release — and not everything does — it’ll be fantastic for families and businesses...
Apple Backtracking From Plans to Diversify iPad Manufacturing Partnerships?
Earlier this week, DigiTimes reported that Apple was looking at diversifying its production for the iPad by bringing on a second manufacturer in Pegatron or Quanta to join Apple's longtime iOS device partner Foxconn. According to the report, Apple has been interested in moving to a multiple-partner arrangement in order to minimize risk of disruptions such as those caused by an explosion at a...
Mac App Store Intermittently Down for Some Users
We've received a number of reports over the last hour indicating that users have had difficulty accessing the Mac App Store, with some users also reporting issues with the iTunes Store. There were a handful of reports of the Mac App Store briefly going down a few days ago, but today's outage seems more widespread, even if it is inconsistent and affected users are generally able to regain access...
One-Third of iPhone Users Mistakenly Think They Have 4G
According to a new survey from Retrevo, 34% of iPhone users are under the mistaken impression that they already have "4G" cellular technology on their devices, highlighting the confusion that has resulted from shifting definitions of just what constitutes "4G" speeds.Maybe the "4" in the iPhone 4 name gives iPhone owners (34%) the false impression that they already own a 4G phone but the fact is...
Apple Could Adopt AMD's New Radeon HD 6990M GPU for Next iMac
AMD today announced the launch of its new Radeon HD 6990M mobile graphics processor, calling it the world's fastest single mobile GPU with up to 25% greater performance than NVIDIA's just-announced GeForce 580M.
While Apple typically uses middle-of-the-road GPUs in even its high-end MacBook Pro models in order to meet the requirements of the thin enclosure and thus will not be considering...
iOS 5 to Unlock Bluetooth Capabilities of Apple TV?
Apple's forthcoming iOS 5 contains code that, if activated, would allow users to connect a Bluetooth wireless keyboard to the second-generation Apple TV. The new Apple TV contains a combination Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip, but the Bluetooth functionality is not enabled in its present state.
Broadcom Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip in second-generation Apple TV (Source: iFixit)
As noted by 9 to 5 Mac, the...
AT&T Announces Summer Launch of New LTE Modem and Hotspot Devices
AT&T today announced (via Engadget) the forthcoming launch of two new LTE-enabled wireless access devices: the USBConnect Momentum 4G and the Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G. Both devices are coming "this summer", will support LTE, HSPA+, and earlier technologies, and will offer support for Mac OS X Leopard or later.With plug-and-play installation that takes about 60 seconds to complete on Windows...
Apple's Patent Portfolio Manager Exiting as HTC and Samsung Disputes Simmer
While Apple finds itself embroiled in a number of intellectual property disputes both on both offensive and defensive fronts, Reuters reports that Chip Lutton, who oversees the company's significant patent portfolio, will be leaving the company. Lutton is apparently being replaced by HP lawyer BJ Watrous.It was unclear why Richard "Chip" Lutton Junior, who manages the iPhone maker's patent...
Apple to Release Updated MacBook Air and Mac Pro Models This Week?
9 to 5 Mac reports that reliable tipster "Mr. X" has revealed that Apple will be releasing new MacBook Air and Mac Pro models this week alongside OS X Lion.
According to Mr. X, Apple will be releasing four new MacBook Air models, appearing to match up with the current lineup of two stock configurations each in the 11-inch and 13-inch sizes. MacBook Air updates have been expected within this ...
iOS 5 Beta 3 Brings Enhanced Location Controls and Other Tweaks
It's All Tech posts an extensive list of changes discovered so far in the third beta version of iOS 5, which was seeded to developers just a short time ago. Among the interesting new features and tweaks are:
- Enhanced location services controls: Aside from a prominent new screen in the iOS 5 setup process outlining how location services work, the new beta also includes finer granularity of ...
Apple Seeds Xcode 4.1 Golden Master Build to Developers
Alongside today's release of iOS 5 beta 3, Apple also seeded the golden master (GM) version of Xcode 4.1 to developers. The release comes ten days after Apple seeded Xcode 4.1 Developer Preview 7 with the OS X Lion GM build, and signals further readiness for the public launch of OS X Lion.
Xcode is Apple's package to help developers create applications for OS X and iOS. The software saw a m...
Bankruptcy Courts Approve Nortel Patent Sale to Apple Consortium
Reuters reports that judges in the United States and Canada have approved the $4.5 billion sale of 6,000 Nortel patents to a consortium of bidders led by Apple. Microsoft, Research in Motion, EMC, Ericsson, and Sony were also part of the winning group, which beat out Google for the patents.Several large technology companies such as Verizon Communications Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co objected to...
Apple Releases iOS 5 Beta 3 to Developers
Apple has just pushed out the third beta version of iOS 5 to developers, continuing to push forward on the next major revision of Apple's mobile operating system set for public release in the fall. The new version is known as Build 9A5259f.
No details on changes included in the new beta have yet been provided, but we will update this post as the news comes...
Apple Pushes iLife '11 Updates Via Mac App Store [Updated x2]
As noted by TUAW, Apple has pushed out GarageBand, iMovie, and iPhoto updates via the Mac App Store, updating the three primary components of the iLife '11 suite. The updates have not yet made it to Software Update or Apple's downloads site for those users who installed the suite by a mechanism other than the Mac App Store, but they appear on those distribution channels in the near future....
iOS App Store Booming: Per-Device Downloads and Average Sales Price Increasing
Fortune reports on a new note from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who for some time has been keeping tabs on the performance of Apple's App Store using calculations of download rates and other metrics against number of devices sold. According to Munster, iOS device owners are increasing their usage of the App Store in 2011, downloading more apps as the average sales price for paid apps has...
Apple Adding Second Manufacturer for Forthcoming iPad Update?
DigiTimes reports that Apple is planning to bring on a second manufacturing partner for the iPad as part of the rollout of the updated models rumored for release later this year.Apple reportedly plans to add a second manufacturer for iPad 3 tablet PCs in addition to Foxconn Electronics with Taiwan-based Quanta Computer and [Pegatron] Technology being indicated as the potential contenders for the...
Apple to Debut 'HD+' 1080p iTunes Movie Services Later This Year?
AppleInsider reports that Apple may be preparing to begin supporting 1080p movies in its iTunes Store later this year, based on reports of film studios submitting films to Apple in a new "HD+" format at the higher resolution.Thus far, 1080p HD content has largely eluded users of Apple products, with HD versions of videos on the company's digital download service maxing out 720p (1280x720) and...
