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
MacBook Pro Rumor Wrap-Up: Winners and Losers
With Apple having released updated MacBook Pros yesterday, here is a look back at the some of the rumors that preceded the launch along with an assessment of their accuracy.
Winners:
- As long ago as last December, CNET reported that Apple would move even its smaller notebooks to Intel's Sandy Bridge platform, necessitating the use of Intel integrated graphics on the machines unable to...
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Verizon Says Short iPhone Lines Due to Strong Online Sales, Staggered Rollout
The Wall Street Journal reports on an interview with Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead, who claims that short lines for the public launch of the Verizon iPhone were the result of an intentional effort to push sales to online distribution and to stagger availability, not due to poor sales. Verizon first offered pre-orders of the phone to existing customers on Feb. 3, and then began selling it in...
Mac OS X Lion Roundup: Recovery Partitions, TRIM Support, Core 2 Duo Minimum, Focus on Security
With the first developer preview of Mac OS X Lion having been out for over 24 hours now, some additional points of interest are surfacing from those who have had a chance to look through the build. Among the interesting observations:
- Apple has added support for a separate recovery partition, hiding away utilities needed for repair and troubleshooting right on the user's hard drive. The new ...
'Consumer Reports' Smacks Verizon iPhone Over Antenna Issues
Influential ratings-and-reviews magazine Consumer Reports made headlines last July when it declined to recommend the iPhone to consumers due to antenna issues that could result in loss of signal. The publication has held strong on its non-recommendation, arguing that Apple's temporary free case over was insufficient to address the issue.
Consumer Reports is back at it again, this time...
Apple's Cloud-Based Music Service to Offer Storage, Not Subscription Access
Financial Times reports that Apple has "clarified" with music labels its intent for a cloud-based music storage service, positioning the service as a way to back up existing collections and move music to Apple devices rather than as any sort of subscription streaming service. Apple, which rocked digital music services such as Pandora, Rdio and MOG last week by announcing plans to keep 30 per cent...
Apple Making Plans for First Two Retail Stores in Hong Kong
Bloomberg reports on an article from the South China Morning Post claiming that Apple is making plans for its first two retail stores in Hong Kong, with the first store set to open by the end of the year and a second one by the third quarter of 2012. The company will open its first outlet in the city, a 15,000 square foot store at the IFC Mall in Central, by the end of the year, the report said. ...
Second-Generation iPad to Gain Carbon Fiber Body?
Figure from Apple patent application showing carbon fiber composite layers
In a post taking Engadget to task for trying to position its revised claims for the second-generation iPad as an actual change in Apple's plans, Daring Fireball's John Gruber uses a footnote to quietly report that he has heard from second-hand sources that Apple may be looking to use a carbon fiber body on the device. I...
Apple Files for 'Places' Trademark Ahead of MobileMe Revamp?
As noted by Patently Apple, Apple has filed for a European trademark on the term "Places", potentially hoping to utilize the term as part of a revamped MobileMe service offering social networking and geolocation features. Earlier today, Apple discontinued its boxed version of MobileMe and removed the service from its online store, suggesting that a rumored transition to a revamped free service ...
Apple Drops Build-to-Order RAM and Hard Drive Prices, Offers New RAM Options
While today's big news has been the release of new MacBook Pros, the downtime on Apple's online store also brought a number of other changes for other machines, primarily in the areas of build-to-order hard drive and RAM upgrades.
On the hard drive front, build-to-order upgrades to 500 GB hard drives on the MacBook and Mac mini saw $50 price drops. The MacBook comes with a 250 GB hard drive...
Apple's $0.99 FaceTime Charge Due to Accounting Requirements
When Apple released FaceTime 1.0 into the Mac App Store earlier today with a $0.99 price tag, many users were up in arms over the charge for what had been a free application during its beta phase.
As we suspected and has now been confirmed by Macworld's Dan Moren, the charge is due to an accounting requirement that has affected similar updates in the past. Apple told me that the FaceTime $1...
iOS 4.3 Hitting Golden Master, Public Debut at Next Week's Media Event?
BGR reports that iOS 4.3 has hit the golden master stage, with Apple reportedly having finalized the next version of the operating system running the company's popular iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV devices. One of our Apple sources has just informed us that it looks like Apple has finalized the code for its upcoming iOS 4.3 release. The build, we're told, is 8F190 for those keeping...
Apple Discontinuing MobileMe Retail Boxes, Preparing for Free Overhauled Version? [Updated]
Apple today notified resellers that it has discontinued the retail box version of MobileMe, shifting entirely to digital sales. Existing stocks of boxed MobileMe can continue to be sold while their supplies last.
Since the boxed MobileMe products contain only an activation code and promotional materials, the offering of a physical MobileMe product has primarily been used to provide in-store ...
Apple Releases First Developer Preview of Mac OS X Lion, Announces New Features
Alongside new MacBook Pros, Apple today announced the release of the first developer preview version of Mac OS X Lion. First demoed last October, Mac OS X Lion is set for a public launch this summer. Apple today released a developer preview of Mac OS X Lion, which takes some of the best ideas from iPad and brings them back to the Mac for the eighth major release of the world's most advanced...
Another iPad Coming Later This Year? Total MacBook Pro Revamp in 2012?
iPad 2 mockup
iLounge reports on several items of interest in light of today's MacBook Pro and iPad news, most notably claiming that some questions have arisen about just what Apple will be able to show at next week's iPad media event and when a true "second-generation" iPad will become available. Two reliable sources are suggesting that next week's "iPad 2" event has some serious cliffhanger...
Apple Set to Approve 'Readability' for Inclusion in App Store? [Updated]
A fair amount of controversy was raised earlier this week when it was revealed that Apple had rejected an App Store submission from Readability, the popular subscription service that strips away extraneous content from web articles. The confusion continued when Apple CEO Steve Jobs reportedly emailed a developer to say that Apple's in-app subscription requirements were intended for content...
Apple Shareholder Meeting: CEO Succession Plan Rejected, Majority Director Vote Approved, Data Center Going Live
Apple held its annual shareholder meeting today at its corporate headquarters in Cupertino, California, an event presided over by Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook in the absence of Steve Jobs. Fortune aggregated some of the live coverage of the meeting, which for the most part went off as expected.
One of the most highly-publicized issues addressed during the meeting was a motion proposed by...
iPad 2 Rumors: Apple Reducing Production Targets, New Mockups, Late March Availability?
While Apple is set to hold a March 2nd media event. apparently to introduce the second-generation iPad, we don't yet know when the device will actually go on sale. But regardless of the on-sale date, Apple may be reducing its initial production target in the face of low touch panel yields and last-minute design changes that have cut into the company's ability to pump out the new version at the...
U.S. Regulators Looking Into Kids' Overspending on In App Purchases
The Washington Post reports that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has agreed to take a look at Apple's in app purchasing mechanism as complaints of children being able to spend hundreds of dollars on in-game purchases have continued to rise. The review is being sparked by a letter from U.S. Represenative Ed Markey expressing concern over how such purchases are being marketed to young children ...
Apple Issues Invitations for March 2nd Media Event to Introduce Next-Generation iPad
The Loop reports that Apple has officially issued invitations to a media event scheduled for next Wednesday, March 2nd, with the graphics suggesting that Apple will indeed introduce the next-generation iPad at the event. The invitation comes with the tagline "Come see what 2011 will be the year of." Apple on Wednesday sent an invitation to media inviting them to a special event on March 2 in...
Apple Slices iAd Buy-In Fee for Advertisers in Half
All Things Digital reports that Apple has cut in half the minimum commitment for advertisers to participate in its iAd program. The minimum buy-in set for the program's launch last July was $1 million, but Apple has apparently reduced that number to $500,000 in order to entice new advertisers unwilling to spend a full $1 million to come on board. The new entry point is $500,000, a significantly...
