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's Evolving Corporate Acquisition Strategy Examined
Bloomberg takes a look at Apple's spate of corporate acquisitions over the past six months, which has seen the company reverse a long-standing policy of making very infrequent deals with its recent purchases of Quattro Wireless, Lala Media, Intrinsity, and Siri. In particular, the report points to the growing rivalry between Apple and Google, stoked in large part on the acquisitions front by...
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3G-Compatible 'ABC Player' for iPad En Route
One of the early notes on the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G was the observation that several video streaming applications for the iPad such as Netflix and YouTube offer lower-resolution video over 3G than they do over Wi-Fi. Others, such as ABC's popular ABC Player application, refused to stream over 3G at all, restricting viewers to Wi-Fi networks only.
Despite some confusion over the reasons for ABC's...
Apple Facing Antitrust Inquiry Over Flash-to-iPhone Compiler Ban?
The New York Post reports that Apple may be facing a federal antitrust inquiry over a change made to its iPhone developer agreement last month prohibiting developers from using cross-compilers to create their applications. The move, which effectively bans developers from using Adobe's new Packager for iPhone feature in Flash Professional CS5 for App Store submission, has escalated an ongoing...
Apple Reaches iPad Milestone: One Million Sold
Apple today announced that it has reached one million iPads sold in the 28 days since the launch of Wi-Fi models in early April. iPad users have also downloaded over 12 million apps and over 1.5 million eBooks during that time. "One million iPads in 28 days -- that's less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Demand continues to...
Apple's Discontinuation of Lala Streaming Music Service Not Likely Leading to Imminent Launch of Web-Focused iTunes
With today's news that Apple is planning a May 31st shutdown for Lala Media, the streaming music service it acquired last December, speculation has arisen that Apple may be on the verge of launching its own cloud-based version of iTunes. MediaMemo reports, however, that industry sources are indicating that such a move would have to occur a bit further down the road. Sources tell me that in the...
Microsoft Looks to a Future of H.264-Based HTML5 for Web Video Content
Stepping into the Flash debate just hours after Apple CEO Steve Jobs issued his "Thoughts on Flash" letter discussing why Apple has elected not to include support for Adobe's Flash on its iPhone OS devices, Microsoft general manager for Internet Explorer Dean Hachamovitch noted this his company is throwing its weight behind the H.264 standard promoted by Apple for future HTML5 video content. The ...
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G Pre-Orders Arriving, Unboxing Galleries Posted
Comparison of Wi-Fi + 3G (left) and Wi-Fi (right) iPad models (Source: BGR)
Pre-orders of Apple's iPad Wi-Fi + 3G models have been arriving around the United States this morning, and a number of users have been putting together unboxing galleries featuring the new devices. Both iLounge and Boy Genius Report have posted extensive galleries of their own, offering a number of shots of the...
Apple Posts Step-by-Step Guide to Activating 3G Service on iPad Wi-Fi + 3G
With pre-orders for Apple's new iPad Wi-Fi + 3G models being delivered today and Apple retail stores gearing up for a 5:00 PM start to in-store sales, Apple has posted a new support document offering a step-by-step guide to setting up 3G service for the device through AT&T. The information expands upon a feature posted last month on Apple's iPad site and a fact sheet published by AT&T earlier...
StarCraft II Beta for Mac Now Available
With all of the recent excitement surrounding Valve's plans to bring Steam and its games to Mac OS X, it pays to remember that other game developers are still putting out Mac versions of their releases.
As noted by Kotaku earlier this week, Blizzard has released a beta version of StarCraft II for Mac OS X. StarCraft II is a highly-anticipated sequel to the popular StarCraft title originally ...
Apple Becomes Largest U.S.-Based Mobile Phone Manufacturer
In an article on Motorola's earnings report earlier this week, Forbes notes that Apple has passed Motorola to become the largest mobile phone manufacturer based in the United States. Motorola sold a total of 8.5 million phones in the quarter, while Apple sold 8.8 million iPhones. Four years ago, when the Razr was still popular, Motorola sold 46.1 million phones in the first quarter.On a related...
Apple Launches iTunes Store Movie Downloads in France and Ireland
Apple today announced the launch of movie downloads for its iTunes Stores in France and Ireland. The offerings include both purchases and rentals and come from major studios such as 20th Century Fox, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Disney, and Warner Brothers, as well as smaller European-focused studios. iTunes movies start at €7.99 for catalog title purchases, €9.99 for recent releases and €13...
Adobe Creative Suite 5 Now Shipping, Free Trials Available
Adobe today announced that it has begun shipping Creative Suite 5, introduced earlier this month. Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the availability of the Adobe Creative Suite 5 product family, the highly-anticipated release of the industry-leading design and development software for virtually every creative workflow. With more than 250 new product features, the Creative...
U.S. Apple Retail Stores to Close From 4-5 PM Tomorrow in Advance of iPad 3G Launch
As noted by 9 to 5 Mac, Apple will be closing each of its over 220 retail stores in the United States from 4:00-5:00 PM local time tomorrow to prepare for the launch of the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G. Even Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan, typically open 24 hours a day, will close for preparations. The store will be closed from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 30, to prepare for the...
Valve Announces May 12th Debut for Steam on Mac OS X
In a very brief press release, Valve Software today announced that the public launch of Steam for Mac OS X is scheduled for May 12th. Officially announced in early March, Steam will bring a major game distribution platform, including Valve's library of popular games, to the Mac. Valve today announced the public release of Steam for the Mac is May 12. Please stay tuned for more information.A...
Finder of Lost Next-Generation iPhone Identified [Updated]
Wired reports that it has identified the person who last month found a next-generation iPhone in a Redwood City, California bar and later sold the device to Gizmodo. Brian J. Hogan, a 21-year-old resident of Redwood City, California, says although he was paid by tech site Gizmodo, he believed the payment was for allowing the site exclusive access to review the phone. Gizmodo emphasized to him...
iPad Competitors Begin to Disappear Even Before Being Released [Updated]
Microsoft's "Courier" booklet-style tablet concept
Silicon Alley Insider yesterday noted that HP appears to be putting its "slate" tablet computer on hold as it looks to complete its acquisition of Palm. The move appears to be related to HP needing to make decisions about how exactly it will integrate Palm's webOS smartphone operating system into its product roadmap. An analyst asked what HP...
Apple Releases Aperture 3.0.3
Apple today released Aperture 3.0.3, addressing a number of issues with the company's professional-level photo management and manipulation software. This update improves overall stability and fixes issues in a number of areas. The key areas addressed include:
- Applying adjustments such as Retouch or Chromatic Aberration
- Creating and using Raw Fine Tuning presets
- Viewing, adding and...
Adobe CEO Responds to Steve Jobs' 'Thoughts on Flash'
The Wall Street Journal is currently conducting an exclusive interview with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen regarding an open letter posted earlier today by Apple CEO Steve Jobs sharing his thoughts on Adobe's Flash technology and reasons why Apple has not included support for it on iPhone OS devices. Video clips and the full interview will be available later, but the Journal is currently providing...
Jon Stewart on the Lost Next-Generation iPhone
Jon Stewart, host of the comedy news show The Daily Show, offered an extended segment on yesterday's show addressing the ongoing saga of the lost next-generation iPhone that was acquired by Gizmodo. The clip has been receiving a fair bit of attention today due to the show's popularity and Stewart's angle on the story taking Apple to task for its role in events.
Stewart's monologue, which...
First iPad Wi-Fi + 3G Arrives a Day Early
Engadget reports that despite Apple's plans for iPad Wi-Fi + 3G pre-orders to be delivered tomorrow in the U.S., at least one lucky customer has had their shipment slip through the cracks and be delivered a day early.
While no details on hidden differences between the 3G and Wi-Fi-only versions have been noted, the one image posted is clearly of a 3G-capable model as distinguished by the...
