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
iPad's 'Cannibalization' of Notebook Computers Disputed
Market research firm NPD has released the results of a new survey disputing the common assertion that Apple's iPad is 'cannibalizing' the PC notebook industry. According to the survey, only 13% of iPad customers made their purchase instead of buying a PC. A larger target for the iPad has been e-readers, with 24% of iPad purchasers reporting that they replaced a planned e-reader purchase with...
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Apple Settles Patent Lawsuit Over Web-Based Music Sales
TechCrunch reports that Apple has settled a lawsuit brought by Sharing Sound, LLC over infringement of a patent essentially describing web-based distribution of digital music. The lawsuit, filed in May, targeted Apple, Microsoft, Napster, Rhapsody, and other companies, with Amazon, Netflix, and additional companies included in a similar suit filed around the same time. The patent being contested...
Apple Testing Touchscreen Panels for Future iMac?
Drawing from Apple patent application
DigiTimes reports that Apple has received samples of large-size touch panels that would be used in a new touch-capable iMac. According to the report, Sintek Photronics is utilizing projected capacitance touch technology for the panels. Projected capacitive touch panels are typically produced by placing touch sensors over the panel, and then a cover glass...
Facebook Executive 'Very Confident' Regarding Potential Ping Deal
Silicon Alley Insider reports that Facebook Chief Technology Officer Bret Taylor noted yesterday that he is "very confident" that his company will reach a deal with Apple for collaboration on the music-focused social networking platform built into iTunes 10. At a dinner with New York media last night, Facebook CTO Bret Taylor said he is "very confident" Facebook and Apple will figure out a way...
iPhone Scalpers Force Temporary Closure of Beijing Apple Retail Store
Customers swarm cashier stand in Apple's Sanlitun store in Beijing
The Wall Street Journal reports that the shortage of iPhone 4s in China has led to a booming market for scalpers, many of whom are selling their stocks of iPhones outside the company's flagship Sanlitun store in Beijing. But as of Thursday morning, Apple's flagship store in Beijing's Sanlitun Village mall was sold out of the new ...
Jailbreaking of New Apple TV Eased by iTunes Restore Capabilities
New Apple TV mounted in iTunes
As noted by The Apple Press, Twitter user StealthBravo has confirmed that the new Apple TV can be mounted and restored in iTunes, easing the way for jailbreakers to bring new functionality to the set-top box. This means that the jailbreak community may soon be able to offer us tools, as they currently do for other iOS devices, to save SHSH blobs, jailbreak the...
Consumer Preference for iPhone and Android Returns to Neck-and-Neck Race
Market research firm ChangeWave has published the results of a new survey of its professional and early-adopter consumer audience, once again revealing nearly equal preference for the iPhone and Android devices among those planning to purchase a handset within the next three months.
The numbers show a return to the neck-and-neck race between the two platforms that saw the iPhone temporarily...
Final Cut Studio Update Scaled Back and Delayed?
Hardmac reports that Apple's plans for a thorough overhaul of its Final Cut Studio have "suffered significant setbacks" that will see a release pushed back to 2011 from a rumored goal of a 2010 launch and result in significantly scaled-back changes to the professional-level video production software package. A few months ago we told you that Apple were hoping to release a new version of their...
NVIDIA Class-Action Settlement for MacBook Pro Owners
Several MacRumors readers have forwarded us emails they received earlier today notifying them of a proposed class-action settlement for customers who purchased certain MacBook Pro models or other Dell and HP notebooks and have been experiencing failures of their graphics chips. A settlement of a class action lawsuit (The NVIDIA GPU Litigation, Case No. 08-cv-04312-JW) relates to the NVIDIA chips ...
Orders for New Apple TV Arriving in Customers' Hands [Updated]
Image via forum member "svega3"
MacRumors readers are beginning to report in our forums that they have received their new Apple TVs today, with a number of others reporting that online tracking is showing their orders out for delivery.
While a few media reviewers have already published their initial impressions of the new device, customers are invited to share their thoughts and questions...
Apple TV's 'Lowtide' Media Interface Running on an iPod Touch
Yesterday, we noted that users digging through the Apple TV firmware discovered that the operating system's interface application, known as "Lowtide", carries hidden settings indicating compatibility with the iPad. The discovery naturally led to speculation that some of the Apple TV's features, such as the ability to accept streaming video input via AirPlay, could make their way to the iPad.
...
China Unicom's 100,000 iPhone 4s Insufficient for Pre-Order Demand
IDG News Service reports that China Unicom has sold out of its initial shipment of nearly 100,000 iPhone 4s in the four days since the device launched in that country. With the company having taken 200,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4, the carrier has been unable to meet demand and has stopped taking new online reservations as it awaits a second shipment due to arrive by the end of the week. The ...
Dell's 7-Inch Tablet Coming Soon, 10-Inch Model Later
Dell's 5-inch Streak tablet
The Wall Street Journal reports on an interview it conducted with Dell executive Amit Midha, who revealed that the company plans to launch a new 7-inch tablet device within "the next few weeks", with a 10-inch model set to follow in 6-12 months. The company also plans additional devices in the 3-inch and 4-inch range, all set to join the company's recently-launched ...
New Apple TV Offers 8 GB of Internal Storage, 256 MB RAM
The teardown experts at iFixit have gotten their hands on the new Apple TV and have already begun opening the device up to have a look at what's inside. Regarding the most crucial piece of information, iFixit has already discovered that the device carries 8 GB of onboard NAND flash storage, an important piece of data that Apple has chosen not to speak about publicly, as the device's focus is...
iOS 4.2 Beta 2 and iTunes 10.1 Beta Seeded to Developers
Apple today seeded the second beta version of iOS 4.2, along with the associated software development kit (SDK) and Xcode 3.2.5, to developers. The company has also pushed out a beta version of iTunes 10.1 for developer testing.
We've yet to hear word about specific changes available in the new releases, but we will provide more details as the information surfaces.
iOS 4.2, which will...
Mozilla: No Plans for Full Firefox Browser on iPhone
In a blog post published today, Mozilla effectively announced that it has no plans to bring a full-fledged standalone browser to the iPhone, preferring instead to focus on its Firefox Home application designed to integrate the browsing experience among desktop and mobile environments. No Firefox Browser for the iPhone
We are working to bring as much of your Firefox experience as possible to...
Hulu Plus Coming to Roku and TiVo Premiere: Apple TV Next?
Roku and TiVo today announced that they are bringing support for Hulu Plus subscriptions to their set-top boxes, leading to speculation that a similar deal could eventually be struck for the new Apple TV. The service, which requires an additional $9.99-per-month subscription, will launch on Roku and TiVo Premiere boxes within the next few months. Hulu Plus offers one of the deepest offerings of ...
FaceTime Ads Come to Europe as Feature Disappears in Middle East
According to a pair of reports from MacStories, several European countries have seen the debut of iPhone 4 commercials centered around the device's FaceTime video calling capabilities. The four new commercials are all set to Louis Armstrong's "When You're Smiling" and contain no voice-over text, making them appropriate for airing in multiple countries. The new commercials also close with...
Steve Jobs to Build 'The iPhone of Houses'
Gizmodo reports on the plans for Apple CEO Steve Jobs' new house in Woodside, California, to be built on the site of a mansion Jobs purchased back in 1984. That mansion, which had been built in the 1920s by copper magnate Daniel Jackling, had been the subject of a contentious dispute between Jobs and preservationists, with Jobs ultimately winning the right to tear down the residence and build...
Office for Mac 2011 Launches October 26th, First Reviews
Microsoft today announced that Office for Mac 2011 will launch on October 26th, with pre-orders available through Amazon beginning today. The company also posted one final behind-the-scenes video from the Office for Mac team, highlighting speed improvements, dynamic reordering of layers in documents and presentations, and full screen view improvements.
Macworld has already published reviews ...
