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 Releases iPhone OS 4 Beta 3 and SDK to Developers [Updated]
Following a trend of biweekly releases it established with earlier developer seeds of iPhone OS 3.2 for iPad, Apple has released the third beta version of iPhone OS 4 and the associated Software Development Kit (SDK). Available to registered developers via the iPhone Dev Center, the third beta is a refinement of the operating system and developer tools initially released in early April...
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Google Set to Roll Out eBook Sales as Early as Next Month
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is planning to begin selling eBooks in late June or July of this year, creating yet another area where it will compete head-to-head with Apple, which rolled out its own iBooks application and associated iBookstore alongside the iPad in the United States last month. Google says its new service--called Google Editions--will allow users to buy digital...
Apple Facing New Patent Lawsuit Over iPhone
The Loop reports that Apple is facing a new patent lawsuit from NetAirus Technologies over the iPhone. While Apple is routinely the target of such actions, this particular lawsuit is interesting if only because it appears to be targeting the entire concept of the iPhone rather than a minor aspect of its features or technology. Filed in the Central District of California Western Division, NetAirus ...
U.S. Federal Trade Commission Looking Into Apple's iAd?
In a report covering a potential antitrust inquiry for Apple regarding its exclusion of cross-platform compilers for applications submitted to the App Store, The Wall Street Journal notes that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also been looking into iAd mobile advertising platform. The investigations come as the FTC is scrutinizing Google's attempt to acquire mobile ad firm AdMob, with ...
Apple Continues to Make Progress on Chinese Wi-Fi-Capable iPhone
IDG News Service reports that Chinese regulators have approved the required frequency ranges for a new iPhone offering the Chinese version of Wi-Fi, a feature the device has lacked since its launch there last October. Chinese regulators last month approved the frequency ranges used by a new Apple mobile phone with 3G and wireless LAN support, the Web site of China's State Radio Monitoring Center ...
Dropbox iPhone App Goes Universal to Add iPad Support
Dropbox, the popular document syncing and sharing service, has updated its iPhone application originally released last September to add iPad compatibility. The new universal Dropbox application now supports all three iPhone OS devices with the iPad gaining access to a customized interface able to take advantage of the much larger screen size. What's New
- iPad support
- Take advantage of...
'ABC Player' Updated to Support 3G Streaming and Landscape Orientation
Earlier today, we noted that ABC had updated its ABC Player application for the iPad to support video streaming over 3G networks and that the new version had been submitted to Apple for review.
Apple certainly didn't take long to look it over, however, as the updated version is now live in the App Store. In addition to 3G streaming, the new version brings a number of other improvements,...
Apple Addresses Noise Anomalies With Mac Pro Audio Update 1.1
Apple today released Mac Pro Audio Update 1.1, addressing a specific audio issue being experienced by users of the company's "Early 2009" Mac Pro models under Mac OS X 10.6.3. This update addresses an audio anomaly that some customers may hear coming from inside their Mac Pro computer when using FireWire audio devices. This update is for Mac Pro (Early 2009) computers running Mac OS X v10.6.3.The...
Apple Updates Epson Printer Drivers for Snow Leopard
Apple today released Epson Printer Drivers v2.3.1 for Mac OS X v10.6, bringing updated support for a number of Epson printers and multifunction devices. The full download, which weighs in at 688.23 MB, requires Mac OS X 10.6.3.
Apple maintains an extensive list of current printer support for Snow Leopard, with the latest changes to Epson's drivers included in the appropriate section....
'Spirit' Jailbreak Tool for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch Released
Over the weekend, a new jailbreaking tool known as "Spirit" was released, offering users the ability modify their iPhone OS devices to run third-party applications not approved or distributed by Apple. Notably, Spirit is compatible with all three iPhone OS devices: iPhone, iPod touch, and now Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G iPad models. Spirit also offers an untethered jailbreaking solution, allowing...
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...
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...
