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
Mac OS X 10.6.8 Brings TRIM Support for Apple SSDs, Graphics Improvements [Updated]
One item of interest regarding last week's Mac OS X 10.6.8 update reveals that Apple has enabled TRIM support retroactively for solid state hard drives shipped in Apple-produced configurations. TRIM is a feature that allows solid state drives (SSDs) to automatically handle garbage collection, cleaning up unused blocks of data and preparing them for rewriting, thereby preventing slowdowns that...
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Wireless Carriers Moving Toward Shared Data Plans Across Devices
All Things Digital takes a look at the shifting landscape of mobile device data packages, where European carriers are leading the way in offering shared data plans allowing customers to sign up for a single data allotment to be used among multiple devices such as an iPhone and an iPad. Led by Austrian offerings from Orange, those shared data plans have begun rolling out to customer bases...
All 'No Commitment' AT&T iPhone 4 Purchases Coming Unlocked?
Over the weekend, 9 to 5 Mac reported that Apple retail stores are now able to unlock any AT&T iPhone 4 purchased at the unsubsidized "no commitment" prices of $649/$749, offering Apple retail stores the ability to sell unlocked iPhones even if they have run out of the models specifically set aside for sale as unlocked devices. Apple began selling unlocked iPhone 4s in the United States for the...
Apple Offering 7-Day Refund Policy on App Store Apps in Taiwan
Over the past several days, a number of reports have been coming out about Apple and Google being pressured by the Taiwanese government to modify their app sales policies to comply with a law requiring a one-week return and refund window on all purchases. The first mention came on Saturday from WantChinaTimes, which reported that Apple will be complying with the order.At the request of Taipei...
Apple Set to Shift From Samsung to TSMC for 'A6' Chip Production Next Year?
Back in March, a report suggested that Apple was preparing to shift production of its A5 system-on-a-chip for the iPad 2 from Samsung to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a deal that was claimed to span multiple generations of chips and would reduce Apple's reliance on competitor and legal foe Samsung for iOS device components. Early examinations of iPad 2 chips did, however,...
Analyst Claims Apple May Release $349 iPhone for Prepaid Markets This Year
Fortune reports that Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore today released a new research note claiming that Apple may be preparing to release two new iPhone models later this year, with the usual iPhone revamp being joined by the debut of a cheaper model coming in at an unlocked, unsubsidized price of $349.In a note issued early Monday, Deutsche Bank's Chris Whitmore is telling clients to expect...
AirPlay and Thunderbolt May Be Limited to High-End Devices to Start
Earlier today, we noted that LaCie is preparing to roll out its first Thunderbolt-enabled Little Big Disk external hard drives, although the initial models will be limited to higher-end SSD-based devices.
iLounge now reports that slow roll-out of Thunderbolt and the lack of consumer-based options may be due to high pricing for incorporating the technology, an issue that appears to also be...
Hands-On Video of LaCie Little Big Disk SSD With Thunderbolt
Since Apple and Intel introduced the Thunderbolt high-speed connectivity standard back in February, users have been waiting for third-party manufacturers to deliver compatible peripherals taking advantage of the significant speed boost over existing mainstream interfaces.
At the Thunderbolt debut, prominent external hard drive solution provider LaCie was one of the first to commit to the new...
Apple Confirms iCloud Web Apps for Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Find My iPhone
There has been some debate over whether Apple will be providing web app functionality for iCloud services such as Mail once the transition from MobileMe is complete, and while we had previously noted that it appeared that at least some of the web functionality was likely to make the transition, Apple has posted a new transition guide (via TechCrunch) confirming that the web apps will continue to...
New Mac Pros With Up to 16 Cores Coming in Late July/Early August?
Apple is preparing to release new "Mid 2011" Mac Pro models, according to 9 to 5 Mac who cites internal Apple documents reportedly mentioning options ranging from six to sixteen processor cores. According to the source, Apple has begun putting together product manuals for the new Mac Pros, which are said to begin shipping in late July or early August.Following a report from earlier this week...
New iPod Touch Coming Later This Year as a Minor Update?
Earlier this month, new references to unreleased iPad models were discovered in iOS 5, but the lack of any mention of unreleased iPod touch models led to some concern that Apple might not be planning an update to the popular line this year.
But a bit more digging by iFans has in fact turned up a reference to an unreleased iPod touch model designated as "iPod4,2". The current iPod touch is...
Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.6.8 Ahead of Lion Debut
As hinted at earlier this week, Apple has now released Mac OS X 10.6.8, the eighth maintenance update for Snow Leopard, via Software Update. The update offers a number of fixes implemented since the release of Mac OS X 10.6.7 in late March.The 10.6.8 update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability,...
Viacom Sues Cablevision Over Live TV App for iPad, Negotiating Settlement With Time Warner
Back in March, cable provider Time Warner launched an iPad app that allowed subscribers to the company's TV and Internet services to access live TV from a number of channels via their iPads while on their home Wi-Fi networks. The cable company was forced, however, to quickly pull channels from several content providers who objected to the usage. Disputes with Fox and Discovery were resolved...
iPad Grabs 89% of Worldwide, 97% of U.S. Tablet Web Traffic
comScore today released a new report detailing its new metric for tracking web traffic by device and connection type. According to the data, Apple's iPad was responsible for 89% of worldwide tablet traffic in May, continuing to dominate the market it defined last year.The iPad is currently the dominant tablet device across all geographies, contributing more than 89 percent of tablet traffic...
HP Adds AirPrint Support to Eight More Printers
As noted by TUAW, HP this week released a series of firmware updates bringing AirPrint compatibility to eight more printers, offering users of iOS devices running iOS 4.2 or later the ability to wirelessly print directly from their devices.By downloading and installing a firmware update from HP, the following printer models will gain full support for AirPrint functions:
- HP LaserJet P1102w...
T-Mobile USA Claims Over One Million iPhones Running On Its Network
9 to 5 Mac reports that a spokesperson for T-Mobile USA has disclosed the carrier currently has over one million iPhone users on its network, despite the fact that Apple has not offered an unlocked iPhone in the United States until the past several weeks and that differences between T-Mobile's network and other GSM networks that mean that iPhones are unable to run at 3G speeds on T-Mobile.In a...
Apple Continues Sending Cease and Desist Letters Regarding 'App Store' Usage
Even as a judge is expressing skepticism over whether Apple can win its case against Amazon regarding the "App Store" trademark, Apple continues to send out cease and desist letters to other entities using the term in their businesses.
Earlier this week, open source startup Amahi reported on its blog (via The Next Web) that Apple had served the company with a cease and desist letter...
Apple's Tim Cook Spotted at China Mobile's Headquarters?
M.I.C gadget notes that a reporter from Chinese newspaper First Financial Daily reported seeing Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook in the lobby of China Mobile's headquarters earlier today. According to the reporter, who was also able to snap a photo of Cook although it only shows him from the rear:This morning, around 10, Apple COO Tim Cook is spotted in the lobby of China Mobile’s HQ,...
Samsung's Request to See iPhone 5 and iPad 3 Denied
For nearly a month now, we've been following Samsung's request for access to Apple's next-generation iPhone and iPad hardware, a move obviously made in retaliation for Apple having demanded (and received) access to unreleased, albeit publicly-shown, Samsung hardware as part of the legal battle between the two companies.
As noted by FOSS Patents, a federal judge has now ruled that Apple does...
Apple Wins Broad Patent on iPhone Multi-Touch User Interface [Updated]
As briefly noted by Patently Apple yesterday, Apple has finally been awarded a key patent related to the iOS user interface as implemented on the original iPhone. Originally filed in December 2007, the patent application incorporated several previous provisional patent applications dating back to January 2007 when Apple first unveiled the iPhone six months ahead of its launch.
While the...
