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 Researching Methods to Turn iPhone Into Feature-Rich Bike Computer
Patently Apple reports on an Apple patent application published today that describes Apple's vision for using the iPhone, iPod, or other electronic device as an interface for a multi-feature bicycle computer. While current bike computers are typically limited primarily to such data as speed, distance, and cadence with the possibility for integration of other devices such as heart rate...
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European Commission Set to Adopt Universal Micro-USB Smartphone Charging Standard in January
Late last week, Deutsche Welle reported that the European Commission has formally approved a policy that will require nearly all smartphones and simpler data-enabled phones to adopt a standard micro-USB charging connector as of January 2011. The policy is a formalization of an agreement signed by ten top mobile phone manufacturers, including Apple, last year. "Introduction of the universal...
Inside Apple's New Covent Garden Retail Store
We've mentioned Apple's new retail store set to open in the Covent Garden district of London on Saturday several times over the past week, but the location is an interesting one given its status as the company's largest store yet. Yesterday we shared some photos of the exterior of the store after the wraps came down, but today Electricpig.co.uk follows up with a brief video walkthrough of the...
Apple to Purchase Chinese Game Developer Handseeing?
We're really not quite sure to make of this one, but Chinese SinoCast Daily Business Beat is reporting that Apple is preparing to purchase Handseeing Information Technology, a Chinese game developer focused on Rich Internet Applications (RIAs). As US-based Apple Inc. is close to making the purchase of Handseeing Information Technology Co., Ltd., a mobile Internet service provider and a mobile game ...
Case Manufacturer Shows Off Claimed Next-Generation iPod Touch Design Mockup
HardMac reports that it has received from a case manufacturer a design mockup for the next-generation iPod touch, showing an off-center rear camera and flash similar to that found on the iPhone 4. Even if it is hard to have a perfect view through the case, it looks like the back is rounded, unlike the one of the new iPhone, and of course, there is a camera and a flash.
This source is very...
Apple Learning Interchange Shutting Down in Favor of iTunes U
Apple today announced that it will be phasing out its Apple Learning Interchange (ALI) site as of September 3rd, diverting its users to iTunes U for that program's educational resources. For years the Apple Learning Interchange (ALI) has served as an important resource for educators to access great education content, share best practices, and learn more about using technology in the context of...
CES Keynote by Verizon CEO Stokes Speculation Regarding iPhone Announcement
The Consumer Electronics Association today announced that Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg will be making the opening keynote speech at CES 2011, the major consumer electronics expo held each January in Las Vegas. Seidenberg's keynote speech will be held on the morning of January 6th, 2011.
While the topic of Seidenberg's keynote is obviously unknown at this point, news of his speech is already...
Software Fix for iOS PDF-Handling Vulnerability Awaiting Release
CNET reports that Apple has developed a software fix for the iOS security hole exploited to enable a Web-based jailbreak over the weekend, and that the fix will be deployed in an upcoming software update. On Wednesday an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement, "We're aware of this reported issue, we have already developed a fix and it will be available to customers in an upcoming software...
Apple Seeds 'Snow Leopard Graphics Update' to Developers
Apple has reportedly seeded a new software update called "Snow Leopard Graphics Update" to developers. While the exact focus of the update in testing is unclear, it appears from the areas in which developers are being asked to focus their testing that it addresses several aspects of graphics performance including VRAM utilization and hot-plugging and wake-from-sleep issues. The general...
'MobileMe iDisk' Music Streaming Functionality Gaining Renewed Attention
In what seems to be a bit of a time warp, a number of sites are reporting on the ability of Apple's MobileMe iDisk application for iOS devices to stream music from a user's iDisk, including support for background audio via multitasking. The feature was introduced and plainly noted by Apple as part of a broader update to the application released nearly a month ago.
Today's publicity appears...
Survey Claims Fewer Dropped Calls for iPhone 4 Than iPhone 3GS
Research firm ChangeWave today released the results of a recent survey assessing customer satisfaction with the new iPhone 4. While the report reveals strong satisfaction with the device, users are somewhat less impressed with the new device than they were with the iPhone 3GS at its launch last year. The emerging pattern is that while the iPhone 4 has been very well received by new owners, the...
Next-Generation iOS Device Rumors: New iPods Soon, Smaller iPad and iPhone 5 in Early 2011?
iLounge has put together a summary of recent information it has received regarding Apple's plans for the next generation of its iOS devices. Among the claims are a set of revised iPod devices possibly including a touch screen iPod shuffle, a new 7" iPad set for launch early next year at the latest, and a fifth-generation iPhone release scheduled for as soon as January.
- iPod: Apple...
Vonage Launches iPhone App for Free Calls to Facebook Friends
Vonage and Facebook today launched a new calling program that allows users to call their Facebook friends for free. In order to participate in the program, users must have either the new Vonage Mobile for Facebook application for iOS or Android installed.
Once the app is downloaded, users can sign in with their Facebook account and see a list of their Facebook friends they can call for...
Apple Investigating iOS Vulnerability Allowing Web-Based Jailbreak
Over the weekend, a new Web-based jailbreak became available for iOS devices, offering users a simple method to open their devices to installation of unauthorized third-party applications.
At the time, we noted potential security implications of the method, which involves a security hole in how the mobile Safari browser included on all iOS devices handles embedded fonts. Exploiting the hole...
Apple Releases iOS 4.1 Beta 3 and Updated SDK to Developers
Just one week after the last developer build was seeded to developers, Apple has pushed out iOS 4.1 Beta 3 for testing. Apple has also released an updated software development kit (SDK) to provide developers with tools for building for the new beta version.
The release is a bit of a surprise, as Apple has typically stuck to a biweekly release cycle for its iOS developer builds....
Research in Motion Launches 'Torch' Smartphone and BlackBerry 6 OS
With much fanfare, Research in Motion (RIM) today announced the launch of its BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone, running the company's new BlackBerry 6 operating system. The launches are a key milestone in RIM's effort to reverse sagging interest in the pioneering smartphone platform in the face of continued strong growth in iOS and the surging Android platform.
The BlackBerry Torch 9800...
Apple's Flexible Engineering Teams Said to Operate Like a Startup
In an interesting blog post, Posterous co-founder and former Apple engineer Sachin Agarwal describes how Apple runs its engineering divisions "like a huge startup", with engineers frequently being moved from project to project based on whatever is the highest priority at the moment. As an example of the effect of Apple's lean staffing policies, Agarwal points to the company's stagnated Remote...
Apple Receives Approval to Sell iPhone 4 in South Korea
Bloomberg reports that Apple has finally received approval from government regulators in South Korea to begin selling the iPhone 4. According to a spokesman for Apple's carrier partner KT, the company plans to launch the device in that country sometime in September. The regulator said it granted a certification after reviewing documents submitted by Apple, including the results of tests...
Apple Releases Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.3
Apple yesterday released Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.3, bringing support for the RAW image format to Aperture 3 and iPhoto '09 with the following cameras: - Canon PowerShot SX1 IS
- Olympus E-PL1
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10
- Samsung NX10
- Sony Alpha DSLR-A390
- Sony Alpha NEX-3
- Sony Alpha NEX-5The update weighs in at 5.68 MB and requires Mac OS X...
Apple Scaling Back Near-Term Plans for Cloud-Based iTunes?
CNET reports that Apple may be scaling back its initial plans for cloud-based iTunes offerings as it continues to struggle to reach agreements with record labels to allow users to stream their iTunes content from Apple's servers to a variety of Internet-connected devices. Apple has been thought to be placing a priority on developing the service since its acquisition of streaming music firm Lala...
