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
iPhone Tops J.D. Power Smartphone Rankings Once Again
Influential customer satisfaction research firm J.D. Power today announced that Apple's iPhone has topped the list of smartphones for the fourth straight year in its new 2010 U.S. Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study - Volume 2. For a fourth consecutive time, Apple ranks highest in customer satisfaction among manufacturers of smartphones with a score of 800 on a 1,000-point scale, and ...
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Apple Bringing Former SurfaceInk Collaborators In-House
Late last month, we noted that Apple had apparently parted ways with longtime engineering design partner SurfaceInk over the consulting firm's recent efforts to create and design entire products for third parties. The final straw appears to have been a prototype tablet being shopped around by SurfaceInk, a move Apple viewed as a possible competitive threat.
Apple doesn't appear to be going...
Verizon CEO Plays Down Expectations for Imminent iPhone Launch [Updated]
While claims continue to build regarding a release for a Verizon iPhone early next year, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg is continuing to play things close to the vest by once again refusing to acknowledge that any deal might be imminent. In fact, Seidenberg is going as far as to say that he hopes the carrier's 4G network that it is preparing to launch in the next few months will be the impetus to...
Steve Jobs Ranked as 42nd Richest American With Net Worth of $6.1 Billion
Forbes has released its annual list of the 400 richest Americans, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs checks in in 42nd place with a net worth of approximately $6.1 billion. Jobs gained $1 billion in net worth over last year's calculations, but moved up only one position in the rankings. In January he unveiled Apple's iPad tablet amid a media frenzy; the device has so far beaten the hype with more than 3...
27-Inch LED Cinema Displays Shipping For Delivery Tomorrow, Apple TV Orders Being Charged
As we noted earlier today, software updates released by Apple today indicated that the release of the company's new 27-inch LED Cinema Display appeared imminent. We can now push things one step further, as customers have begun receiving shipping notices for their orders, some with delivery set for as early as tomorrow.
Apple's shipping department is also gearing up to start pushing out the...
Apple Releases Software Updates to Support New 27-Inch LED Cinema Display
Availability of Apple's new 27" LED Cinema Display appears imminent, as the company has just released several software updates to support the new display. The new display went on sale last Friday with estimated shipping times of 1-2 weeks, a timeframe that still holds for new orders as of today.
LED Cinema Display Software Update 1.0 weighs in at 75.79 MB and requires Mac OS X 10.6.4....
75% of 'iAd for Developers' Participants Renew or Increase Spending
Last month, we shared the story of one developer who participated in a trial of Apple's iAd for Developers program only to find that the experiment was not cost-effective for his 99-cent application given Apple's pricing structure for iAds.
The Los Angeles Times follows up with a more expansive look at the iAd for Developers program, finding that while many developers feel that the pricing...
NBC Universal Unlikely to Join Apple's 99-Cent TV Show Rental Program
Reuters reports on comments from NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker suggesting that the studio is not interested in joining Apple's new 99-cent TV show rental program, citing concerns over pricing. Offering NBC's shows for that price on the Apple TV service would undermine the value of their shows, he said.
"We do not think 99 cents is the right price point for our content. ... We thought it would...
'Filemaker Go' Updated With PDF Creation, Sharing and Photo Features
Apple subsidiary Filemaker today announced substantial updates to its Filemaker Go and Filemaker Go for iPad applications in the App Store, adding a number of new features that had been highly requested by users.
Several of the primary enhancements are related to new tools for enhanced sharing possibilities. Users can now create PDFs of their databases directly within Filemaker Go and store ...
Adobe CEO Reports 'Muted' Effect of Apple's Relaxing of App Store Rules on Product Sales
The Wall Street Journal reports on comments from Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen made during the company's earnings conference call indicating that Apple's recent decision to relax restrictions on third-party development tools for iOS app creation has had only a "muted" effect on Adobe product sales. Narayen said in June the public squabble with Apple had not hurt sales of the company's software...
Analyst Claims 3 Million CDMA iPhones Set for December Manufacturing Run
AppleInsider reports on a research note from Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Jeffrey Fidacaro, who claims that checks with Apple's suppliers indicate that the company is gearing up for an initial production run of 3 million CDMA iPhones in December of this year. The assertion concurs with a report from last month claiming that Apple had ordered CDMA chips for just such a December...
AT&T CEO Reports 500,000 iPads In Use on Carrier's Network [Updated]
Reuters reports on comments from AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson claiming that the U.S. carrier has seen about 500,000 iPad customers connect to its network. While the total number of 3G-capable iPads sold in the U.S. is unknown because Apple does not break down sales reports by model or country, at least one analyst thinks the number appears low considering Apple's overall sales of 3.27 million...
Apple and Facebook Reportedly Negotiated Over Ping for At Least 18 Months
Silicon Alley Insider reports that Apple and Facebook were in negotiations for at least 18 months about a music-focused social networking service, but that the two companies were unable to strike a deal before Apple decided to launch Ping as part of iTunes 10 earlier this month. Before Apple launched Ping, its iTunes team was in talks with Facebook for 18 months or more, a source with knowledge...
Netflix Set to Launch Streaming Service in Canada as Revamped Apple TV Nears Debut [Updated]
The Hollywood Reporter claims that DVDs-by-mail and streaming service Netflix is set to make its first foray outside the United States tomorrow by announcing that it will bring streaming video content to Canada. Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings will be in Toronto Wednesday to launch an online video subscription service that allows Canadians to download their favorite flicks and TV shows...
iPad Drives Apple to New Highs in U.S. Customer Satisfaction Survey for Personal Computers
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) today released new data on the personal computer industry, showing consumers awarding Apple the highest scores for the seventh straight year with a record satisfaction score of 86. Nearly all other computer manufacturers came in with scores of 77, with HP's Compaq brand bringing up the rear with a 74.
CNBC spoke with ASCI about the survey and...
Apple's Share of Mobile Phone Industry Profits Reportedly Rises to 39%
Fortune reports on a new research note from Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley which compares Apple's performance in the mobile phone industry to that of some of the other major players for the first half of 2010. According to the report, Apple sold 17 million iPhones during the first half of the year, a minuscule fraction of the 400 million handsets sold by top manufacturers Nokia,...
Survey Looks at Customer Carrier Preferences Once AT&T Loses iPhone Exclusivity
Credit Suisse yesterday released the results of a customer survey examining what current customers are likely to do once AT&T loses its exclusivity for the iPhone in the United States. Silicon Alley Insider shares some of the charts from the presentation, which suggests that 23% of AT&T's iPhone customers could defect to Verizon if the phone were to launch on the carrier early next year. A new...
Investigation Into Lost iPhone 4 Prototype Wrapping Up, Jobs Interviewed
CNET reports that the police investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a lost iPhone 4 that subsequently made its way into the hands of Gizmodo appears to be nearing an end. Stephen Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney for San Mateo County, Calif., told CNET today that police are close to wrapping up their theft investigation and could forward their final report...
Adobe Launches Photoshop Elements 9 and Premiere Elements 9
Adobe today announced the launch of Photoshop Elements 9 and Premiere Elements 9, the latest versions of the company's consumer-grade photo and video editing software packages for Mac and Windows. It marks the first appearance of Premiere Elements for the Mac OS X platform. Photoshop Elements 9 and Premiere Elements 9 feature all the tools users need to make the most of their photos and videos. ...
Apple Addresses AFP Vulnerability With Security Update 2010-006
Apple today released Security Update 2010-006, a minor update to Mac OS X Snow Leopard. According to a support document, the update addresses a single issue related to AFP shared folders. An error handling issue exists in AFP Server. A remote attacker with knowledge of an account name on a target system may bypass the password validation and access AFP shared folders. By default, File Sharing is...
