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
Skype 5 for Mac Exits Beta, Group Video Calling Now Premium Feature
Skype today announced that Skype 5 has gone gold, exiting the beta stage that began last November. The company has made a number of tweaks to the application based on user feedback from the beta period, primarily working to reduce the size of the application's window as it attempts to find the optimum layout for the new single-window interface. We've reduced the minimum window size, so that...
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Apple TV Surpasses iPad in Netflix Streaming Popularity
As noted by Business Insider, Netflix today revealed in its quarterly earnings release (PDF) that the new Apple TV released at the end of September has already surpassed the iPad in terms of number of hours of Netflix content streamed. The devices with large installed bases - meaning Windows and Mac laptops, Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo Wii - are the most popular devices for watching...
MacBook Pro Supplies Tightening Ahead of Potential Refresh
MacRumors has heard from several sources that supplies of Apple's existing MacBook Pro models, particularly the 15" and 17" sizes, are beginning to run low in Apple stores and at third-party retailers, suggesting that the company may be drawing down stock in advance of an update to the product line. At least one major retail chain has reportedly notified its branches that it has been unable to ...
Feral Interactive Creates Mac App Store Splash: 'BioShock', 'Borderlands', and More
Popular gaming firm Feral Interactive made a brief debut on the Mac App Store at the marketplace's launch earlier this month, offering its LEGO Harry Potter title for a very brief time before pulling the application, apparently due to issues with file corruption possibly related to the large download size. But Feral is now back in the Mac App Store in a big way: Besides restoring LEGO Harry...
AT&T Offering Unlimited Data to Keep iPhone Customers From Defecting to Verizon?
Associated Press reports that AT&T is quietly offering some of its iPhone customers the ability to switch to unlimited data plans as a means to keep them from defecting to Verizon, which is rolling out an unlimited data plan of its own for a limited time as the carrier launches the iPhone next month.
According to the report, AT&T's offer is being made to customers who had previously been on...
Verizon iPhone Listings Go Live on Apple's Site [Update: Removed]
With the Apple online store's downtime last night, the company appears to have rolled out full details of the options available for Verizon iPhone customers. With both 16 GB ($199) and 32 GB ($299) models available, customers will be required to accept a two-year contract while selecting from various options for voice, data, and messaging plans.
Individual voice plans begin at $39.99 per...
Apple Ranks Third in Global PC Sales With iPad Included
Research firm Canalys today announced the release of its latest estimates of computer sales for the fourth quarter of 2010, showing Apple jumping to third place in worldwide market share at 10.8% when tablets such as the iPad are counted as computers.
With the iPad surging into the market, Canalys calculates Apple's unit shipment growth at 241% year-over-year to catapult the company from a...
Apple Releases New 'iPad is Iconic' Commercial
Apple today released a new iPad commercial entitled "iPad is Iconic", airing the ad on primetime television and posting it to the company's YouTube page to show off a number of high-profile applications for the popular tablet device.
As with previous commercials in the series, the new ad offers the same soundtrack and follows the same theme of displaying a series of quick shots of the iPad's ...
New Painting Process Solving White iPhone 4 Problems?
With rumors swirling that a launch for the white iPhone 4 could finally occur in the near future, questions have been raised about what Apple has done to finally enable the company to possibly begin shipping the device to consumers. While Apple has not officially acknowledged the reasons for the delay, rumors have suggested that problems with the paint being used leading to light leaking...
Microsoft Launches Free 30-Day Trials of Office 2011
Microsoft today announced that it has launched free 30-day trial licenses for Office for Mac 2011, offering users the ability to test drive the popular productivity suite before committing to a purchase. If you're still thinking about Office 2011, I'm happy to announce we now have a full trial available at www.microsoft.com/mac/trial, free to use for 30-days after download. We know it's...
Pixelmator Hits $1 Million in Revenue on Mac App Store
Pixelmator today announced that the company's photo editing application for Mac [Mac App Store] has grossed $1 million in the 20 days since the store's debut, marking a significant milestone for the already-popular application and over $700,000 for the application's developers after Apple's 30% cut of revenue. I am ecstatic to announce that Pixelmator grossed a gigantic $1 million on the Mac App ...
Apple Now Approving iOS 4.3-Compatible AirPlay Apps
As noted by AppAdvice, Apple's App Store reviewers have begun approving applications that take advantage of the third-party AirPlay video streaming capabilities present in iOS 4.3. The approvals come as Apple has yet to deploy the software update for public consumption, meaning that regular users are still unable to take advantage of the feature.
One example of a newly-approved...
Kodak Faces Setback in Patent Case Against Apple and Research in Motion
Eastman Kodak yesterday announced that it has received an initial determination from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rejecting its claims of patent infringement made against Apple and Research in Motion last year in relation to digital camera technology. In its decision, the ITC held the patent claim in question as invalid and thus not infringed. Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK)...
Apple Seeds Mac OS X 10.6.7 Build 10J846 to Developers
As noted by 9 to 5 Mac, Apple has seeded a new version of Mac OS X 10.6.7, known as Build 10J846, to developers. The updated build comes just days after the initial seed of the next maintenance version of Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
While the update has grown in size by nearly 35 MB since last week, we've yet to hear about any new areas of focus beyond those included in the initial build:...
Verizon to Offer iPhone With $30 Unlimited Data Plan [Updated]
The Wall Street Journal reports that Verizon will in fact be offering an unlimited data plan for the iPhone when the device goes on sale next month, pricing the offering at $30 per month on top of customers' calling plans. It's official: Verizon is going to offer iPhone buyers a $30 unlimited data plan. The carrier's heir apparent and chief operating officer, Lowell McAdam, told us the news ahead...
Apple Opens App Store Twitter Account
Apple today launched an official Twitter account for the App Store, marking yet another potential way for users to keep updated on the latest news about the company's popular marketplace for iOS applications. The account's debut Tweet simply welcomes users to the account, which is up to over 4,000 followers at the present time and rapidly growing. Welcome to App Store on Twitter! Follow us to...
Apple Targeting Third-Generation iPad for Doubled Display Resolution?
The back-and-forth debate about whether Apple will seek to double the resolution of the iPad's display to 2048 x 1536 in the second-generation model continues, with PC World reporting late last week on comments from IDC analyst Tom Mainelli claiming that Apple is seeking to make the jump with its third-generation model, presumed to be released in 2012, and not the second-generation model...
Google Launches Cloud Print for iOS Devices
Google today announced the launch of new support for the company's Cloud Print service on mobile devices such as those running iOS 3.0 or later. The service allows users to print documents and emails directly from Gmail's mobile interface. Imagine printing an important document from your smartphone on the way to work and finding the printout waiting for you when you walk in the door. Just open...
Apple Taps Cybersecurity Expert as Director of Global Security
All Things Digital reports that Apple has hired noted cybersecurity expert and author David Rice to take on the role of director of global security, signaling a continued and growing commitment to security in all aspects of the company and its products. Rice, who formerly held positions with the U.S. Navy and the National Security Agency and is the author of the landmark software security book Ge...
White iPhone 4 Option Appears in AT&T's Online Account Management System
Following our report last week about the white iPhone 4 appearing in an internal Best Buy inventory database with a February 27th release date and similar reports of listing sightings with Vodafone Germany, BGR now notes that the white iPhone 4 has appeared as an option for users managing their AT&T accounts online. The option appears in a section of the site where users can specify their...
