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
New iMac Joins MacBook Pro in Supporting 450 Mbit/sec Wi-Fi
HardMac reports that the new iMac released earlier this week brings support for 450 Mbit/sec Wi-Fi connectivity, adding a third antenna to support the higher speed using multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) standards when connected to a compatible network access point. The iMac joins the latest MacBook Pro in offering the improved connection speeds. It seems that Apple seeks to standardize this...
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Apple's Bud Tribble to Testify in Senate Hearing on Mobile Privacy
As noted by All Things Digital, the U.S. Senate has posted a hearing notice for a Judiciary Committee meeting on mobile privacy scheduled for May 10th at 10:00 AM in Washington, DC. According to the witness list included in the notice, Apple's Bud Tribble will be providing testimony during the session, which is entitled "Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your...
iPad Display Shortages Linked to Light Leakage on LG-Produced Units
DigiTimes reports that LG Display was one of the primary sources of iPad supply issues last quarter, experiencing problems with light leakage on displays produced by its manufacturing lines that scaled back shipments. The issue is said to have been resolved, with display shipments to Apple's assembly partners ramping up this quarter. . . .Samsung Electronics shipped a total of four million...
iPad 2 Launches in China to Long Lines and Sellouts
iPad 2 line at Apple's Sanlitun retail store in Beijing
Apple yesterday launched the iPad 2 in China, officially bringing its six Wi-Fi capable models (three black and three white) to the country for the first time. M.I.C gadget has an extensive gallery of photos from the launch at Apple's Sanlitun retail store in Beijing, where hundreds of customers waited in line for the 8:00 AM launch and...
Apple Climbs to #35 in Fortune 500 Rankings
Fortune today released its annual "Fortune 500" rankings of America's largest companies by revenue, revealing that Apple leapt 21 spots this year to land at #35 with over $65 billion in revenue. Apple climbed 21 slots into the top 50 of the Fortune 500 this year. How'd it get there? The company not only continues to expand its reach in existing markets, it also keeps creating new ones.
Take...
Apple Continues to Close on Nokia for Title of World's Top Smartphone Vendor
Research firm IDC today announced the results of its survey of smartphone shipment data for the first quarter of 2011, following up on last week's release of data on the broader mobile phone market.
According to the new smartphone data, Apple continues to hold second place among the world's top smartphone manufacturers with 18.7% market, with unit sales up 114% year-over-year and its share...
OWC Bumps Aftermarket MacBook Air SSDs to 480 GB
Expanding on its line of aftermarket solid state drives (SSDs) for the new MacBook Air, Other World Computing today announced that it has added a new 480 GB option to the mix, up from the previous maximum of 360 GB. Other World Computing today announced its OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express Solid State Drive is now shipping in an industry largest 480GB capacity for all 2010 Apple MacBook Air models....
Apple Seeking New Vendor for Improved iPhone Ambient Light Sensor?
Arrow on left points to iPhone ambient light sensor (Source: ReadWriteWeb)
DigiTimes reports that Apple is in discussions with two Taiwan-based integrated circuit design firms, Integrated Memory Logic (iML) and Capella Microsystems, for sourcing of components for the company's iOS devices.
The more interesting of the two claims appears to be related Capella, which is said to have delivered...
iPad Claims 82% of U.S. Installed Tablet Market, Eating Into Other Devices
Media research firm Nielsen today announced the results of its Mobile Connected Device Report survey for the first quarter of 2011, determining that Apple held a dominating 82% of the installed base for tablets in the United States during the quarter. The survey found 3G-capable iPads slightly more popular than non-3G models, 43% to 39%, with the Samsung Galaxy Tab proving the most popular...
iMac EFI Update 1.6 Adds 6 Gb/s SATA Capabilities
Other World Computing reports that the iMac EFI Update 1.6 released yesterday for Apple's new iMacs brings an unadvertised improvement in SATA performance for the internal hard drive bays. While iMac EFI Update 1.6 is described as including "fixes that improve performance and stability for Thunderbolt," it would also seem that an unadvertised benefit is that it also unlocks the full 6Gb/s, SATA...
Apple Gains Early Access to Intel's Z68 Chipset for New iMacs
As noted by tonymacx86 (via 9 to 5 Mac), iFixit's teardown of the new iMac released earlier this week reveals that the machine utilizes Intel's BD82Z68 platform controller. The inclusion is notable in part because the Z68 chipset is reportedly not set for public introduction until next week.
Apple use of the Z68 chipset marks yet another exclusive for the company, which has occasionally...
Hearst Magazines Join Apple's 'In App Subscription' Program
The Wall Street Journal reports that Hearst Corporation has agreed to Apple's terms for in app subscriptions, making plans to begin selling subscriptions to several of its magazine titles beginning with their July issues. Starting with their July issues, iPad apps for Esquire, Popular Mechanics and O, The Oprah Magazine, will be available through a service from Apple that allows customers to...
Apple Soliciting Customer Feedback With New 'Pulse' Program
Several MacRumors have informed us in recent days that they have received email invitations to join "Apple Customer Pulse", a program designed to allow customers to provide survey feedback about their product purchases to Apple. Apple values your opinion and invites you to participate in a survey about your Apple products. Your responses will remain completely confidential, and results will be...
Apple Targeting Mac App Store as 'Preferred' Mac OS X Lion Distribution Mechanism
AppleInsider reports that it has learned that Apple is planning to utilize the Mac App Store as the "preferred" mechanism for distribution of Mac OS X Lion when it is released to the public later this year. The Mac App Store, available to all users running the most recent version of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, will become the de facto method for obtaining the Lion upgrade, people familiar with...
Lawsuit Filed Against Apple and Other Tech Companies Over Anti-Poaching Agreements
Law firm Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein today announced the filing of a class-action lawsuit against Apple and other tech companies over "no solicitation" agreements that prevented the companies from attempting to hire away each others' employees. The lawsuit, filed by former Lucasfilm engineer Siddharth Hariharan, contends that the anti-poaching agreements limited career opportunities...
Apple Releases iOS 4.3.3 With Location Tracking Bug Fixes
Apple today released iOS 4.3.3, bringing several fixes and improvements to Apple's operating system for mobile devices, including addressing bugs cited in the recent location-tracking controversy. The build number is 8J2 for the majority of devices, with the CDMA iPad 2 receiving Build 8J3. A separate iOS 4.2.8 build 8E401 is also available for the CDMA iPhone 4. This update contains changes to...
Intel's 'Ivy Bridge' Platform to Utilize 3-D Transistors
Intel today announced that its next-generation "Ivy Bridge" platform will incorporate new technology allowing a 3-D transistor structure known as "Tri-Gate", significantly boosting performance and efficiency. While Intel disclosed its work on 3-D transistors nearly a decade ago, the technology has finally reached the point where it can be deployed into mass production. Intel's 3-D Tri-Gate...
Apple Reportedly Hires Audio Pioneer Tomlinson Holman
Tomlinson Holman working at a Mac in 2007 (Source: Flickr)
As noted by GigaOM, tech pundit Leo Laporte today tweeted that he has heard "on good authority" that Apple has hired audio pioneer Tomlinson Holman to head up the company's audio projects. Apple has reportedly hired Tomlinson Holman as its new audio chief, according to a tweet by Leo Laporte Wednesday morning. Laporte said he had it "on ...
Spotify Launches Download Service and iPod Syncing in Europe
Popular European music streaming service Spotify today announced a major new initiative to take on Apple's iTunes, launching a new download service and software support for syncing music to non-iOS iPods. You've been telling us how much you love discovering, sharing and talking about music in Spotify - and you've created well over 200 million playlists to prove it. But you've also said you're...
Thunderbolt iMac Torn Down and Benchmarked
While Apple's new iMac models released yesterday appear nearly identical to their predecessors at first glance, the company has of course made a number of changes to beef up performance of its flagship desktop line.
The folks over at iFixit quickly got their hands on one of the new 21.5-inch models and subjected it to one of their thorough teardown routines. Among the interesting findings:
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