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
Apple Parts Ways With Engineering Consulting Firm Over Tablet Prototype
The New York Times reports that Apple has parted ways with engineering design firm SurfaceInk, severing a nearly decade-long relationship that saw SurfaceInk assist with the development of several Apple products. The move comes as SurfaceInk has increased the availability of its "Turn-key" services that see it design and build entire products for sale to other companies. It was that latest part ...
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MPEG LA Declares H.264 Standard Permanently Royalty-Free
MPEG LA, the group that oversees licensing for a number of Internet media standards, today announced that Internet broadcast content using the H.264 video coding standard will remain royalty-free for the entire life of the license, quashing fears that the standard could suddenly become subject to royalty payments in 2016 after the current licensing term expires and is required to be renewed. MPEG...
Firmware Update Addresses Freezes on Mid-2010 15-Inch and 17-Inch MacBook Pros
Apple today released MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.9, addressing an issue with system freezes and stalls on the company's latest 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models. This update is recommended for all 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro mid 2010 models. The update resolves a rare issue that may cause the system to freeze during startup or intermittently stall during operation, and it improves...
Apple Brings ePub Export to Pages With iWork 9.0.4
Apple today released iWork 9.0.4, bringing a number of fixes to Apple's productivity suite but also deploying a new feature: the ability to export Pages documents in the ePub format for compatibility with the company's iBooks application for iOS. Keynote 5.0.4
- Addresses an issue when printing handouts with rule lines.
- Fixes an issue with the slide switcher.
- Resolves an issue when...
Mac OS X 10.6.5 Build 10H531 Seeded to Developers
As noted by AppleInsider, Apple has seeded a third version of 10.6.5, termed Build 10H531, to developers for testing. The new build comes one week after the previous one and suggest that Apple is continuing to make rapid progress on the update.
Whereas the previous version carried no documented known issues, Build 10H531 exhibits one known issue involving USB devices not operating properly...
Leaked Case Design Suggests iPod Nano May Gain Smaller Square Form Factor
Claimed next-generation iPod nano (top) and iPod touch (bottom) cases
iLounge points to a Chinese site showing cases purportedly for Apple's next-generation iPod nano and iPod touch models. The cases come from Chinese case manufacturer X-Doria.
Most interestingly, the iPod nano cases appear to be designed for a device roughly square in shape, suggesting that Apple's redesigned iPod nano...
Apple's Updated iPod Nano to Lose Click Wheel?
iPodNN reports on a new research note from Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu claiming that Apple may be preparing a significant redesign for its iPod nano that could see the device shrink in size and lose its physical click wheel. While Wu hedges his bets about whether the new design will actually be released, if true it would presumably be introduced at Apple's media event scheduled for next...
Apple's 'iAd for Developers' May Not Be Cost-Effective
Late last month, Apple enhanced its iAd mobile advertising platform to allow app developers to purchase ad space for simple banners that expand to display "in-app" App Store pages that allow users to read about and purchase applications without leaving the app they are currently in. Billed at $0.25 per click as opposed to the per-impression and $2-per-click fees for traditional advertisers using ...
iTunes Store to Move to Web, Gain Increased Social Features?
All Things Digital reports that any updates to Apple's iTunes Store set to debut at next Wednesday's media event may be likely to revolve more around creating a social, Web-based environment than a true cloud-based service. Apple plays its cards close to the vest even with the music labels it works with, so the people I've talked to are making informed guesses. That said, music sources tell me...
iPad Expected to Maintain Position as Tablet Market Leader
Research firm iSuppli today released a report detailing its predictions for how the nascent tablet market will shake out over the next several years, claiming that Apple will maintain its dominant share of the market.
According to iSuppli, Apple will command 74.1% of the tablet market for 2010, a market that includes long-standing "PC-style" tablets and slate styles similar to the iPad. And ...
Apple Media Event Scheduled for September 1st
Image from Apple's September 1st media event invitation
Engadget reports that Apple has issued media invitations for a special event to be held on Wednesday, September 1st in San Francisco. The event is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM Pacific Time and be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the traditional location for Apple's fall media events.
Apple is expected to introduce...
Liquidmetal's Manufacturing Process Promises Rapid, Low-Cost Fabrication
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Apple had acquired the rights to use technology owned by Liquidmetal that would allow the company to build its products out of metal alloys carrying high strength and corrosion-resistance that can also be easily cast into any number of forms.
Cult of Mac, which reported last week that the iPhone 3G's SIM card removal tool was made out of the technology...
Apple With Modest Expectations for 'iTV' and TV Show Rentals?
Bloomberg Businessweek's Peter Burrows writes a follow-up to his earlier report disclosing Apple's plans to announced 99-cent TV show rentals alongside a revamped Apple TV and updated iPod touch at a September 7th media event. The new piece focuses on Apple's ambitions with the video rental service, which Burrows notes is not expected to be a game-changer in the same sense that the iPod and...
Apple Hiring New Telesales Staff to Support 'Very Big New Product'?
MacDailyNews reports that it has received information from multiple sources indicating that Apple is in the midst of hiring new telesales staff in preparation for the October launch of a new product described as "huge" and "significant". These sources also tell us that Apple will begin an intensive four-week training course for these new hires starting next week. The training is said to be in...
PayPal Charges Result in Renewed Publicity Surrounding iTunes Account Phishing Attacks
A report in the San Jose Mercury News yesterday and a follow-up post by TechCrunch this morning are again bringing publicity to users who have experienced unauthorized charges via their iTunes Store accounts. According to the reports, the majority of complaints are coming from PayPal users who have linked their payment accounts to their iTunes Store accounts. At least one group of scammers has...
AT&T and 'The Switch' Join the iAd Rotation
Last week, we reported that, despite strong results for early adopters of Apple's iAd mobile advertising platform, roll-out of the ads has been slow due to Apple's tight control over the entire ad development process. At the time we noted that more high-profile ads were scheduled to be coming in the near future.
Silicon Alley Insider provides a walkthrough of two new iAds that have just gone...
Google Adds Gmail and Calendar Push Notifications to iPhone App
Google today announced an update to its Google Mobile App for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, bringing push notifications for Gmail and Google Calendar. Ever missed an appointment or important email because you were away from your desk? Now Google Mobile App can help with push notifications from your Google account to your iPhone -- an icon badge shows you've got new mail in Gmail, and Google ...
Apple Discloses Methods for Transitioning Between Mouse-Based and Touch Interfaces
Patently Apple reports on an Apple patent application published earlier this year that discloses how Apple might choose to implement systems for transitioning a single Mac computer between mouse-driven input for Mac OS X and touch-based input for iOS.
The method utilizes sensors such as a rotation hinge located in a stand for an iMac-like computer or accelerometer-based orientation sensors...
Apple Patent Application on Detecting 'Unauthorized' iOS Device Usage Causes Controversy
An Apple patent application published for the first time last week has been generating some discussion and controversy over exactly what the company intends to or could do with methods to identify "unauthorized" users of iOS devices.
The patent application describes how certain activities performed on a device such as an iPhone could be indicative of "suspicious behavior" that could reveal...
Mac Government and Enterprise Sales Leap in 2Q 2010
Fortune reports on a new research note from Needham analyst Charlie Wolf breaking down Apple's Mac sales by market segment for the second calendar quarter of 2010 and comparing that performance to the PC industry's as a whole. While Wolf found strong across-the-board growth for Apple, the company saw its strongest performance in government and business sales, where it far outpaced overall...
