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
TV Networks Continuing to Resist Apple's Effort to Slash iTunes Pricing
The New York Times reports that television networks are continuing to resist Apple's push to lower episode pricing for their shows to $0.99, down from the current $1.99 price point for standard definition content. The networks reportedly continue to be skeptical of the value of such price cuts, despite claims that some of them have agreed to participate in a trial of the lower pricing to...
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Apple Ranks Third in BusinessWeek Customer Service Rankings
In Bloomberg BusinessWeek's fourth annual customer service rankings released late last week, Apple placed third behind catalog retail site L.L. Bean and insurance company USAA, a new high for the company. According to the report, which combined data from consumer satisfaction firm J.D. Power with survey results from over 1,000 of the magazine's own readers, Apple scored A+ ratings for both...
Mac Pro Audio Update Seen as Fixing Performance Issues
Effect of Mac Pro Audio Update 1.0 on Aperture and Compressor tasks
(Times in minutes:seconds)
With last week's release of a software update addressing heat and performance issues experienced by users of Apple's Nehalem Mac Pro models while playing audio, many users have reported significant improvements brought by the software fix.
Macworld today provides some numbers to back up those...
Apple Modifies iPhone SDK to Allow Sweepstakes Applications
Register Hardware notes that Apple has modified the iPhone SDK to specifically allow developers to include sweepstakes and lottery functionality in their App Store applications. The new rule is unambiguous:
"3.3.17 Your Application may include promotional sweepstake or contest functionality provided that You are the sole sponsor of the promotion and that You and Your Application comply with any ...
Apple Updates Me.com Landing Page for iPhone Users
Apple today posted an updated support document detailing recent enhancements to its me.com landing page for iPhone and iPod touch users. The new landing page offers instructions for setting up MobileMe services via the device's Settings application, as well as direct links for Find My iPhone and Apple's MobileMe Gallery and MobileMe iDisk applications. Accessing me.com with your iPhone/iPod...
Hulu for iPad Likely to Be a Paid Subscription Service
Last week, a report that video site Hulu might be making its way to the iPad generated a significant amount of interest, with many users excited about the prospect of free access to television content on Apple's forthcoming tablet device. MediaMemo reports, however, that iPad access to Hulu is more likely to come as part of a paid subscription package than as free access like the computer-based...
Idaho Set to Gain First Apple Retail Store
ifoAppleStore reports that Apple is planning to open its first retail store in the state of Idaho, which will become the 42nd state in the U.S. with an Apple retail presence. Apple's first Idaho store is reportedly set to open in Boise as early as September. Far out and left out. That's the way Idaho residents have felt for nine years without an Apple retail store. Now their laments will end with ...
Apple Planning Smoother Transitions Between Graphics Processors in Upcoming MacBook Pros?
AppleInsider reports that it has received information that Apple is planning an enhancement to its next-generation MacBook Pros that will allow for automatic switching between integrated and discrete graphics processors based on whichever is the more optimal technology (power consumption vs. performance) at any given time.
Since October 2008, Apple has offered two NVIDIA graphics processors in ...
U.S. Trade Agency to Review Apple's Patent Complaints Against Nokia
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has been kept busy with claims involving Apple recently, as the company has found itself involved in several high-profile disputes with major corporations over claims of patent infringement. Just a day after the agency agreed to investigate claims made by Kodak against Apple and Research in Motion regarding possible patent infringement, Bloomberg...
Apple Adds App Store Support for More Countries
Apple today announced that it has added App Store support for a number of new countries, with developers able to update their offerings accordingly via Apple's iTunes Connect service. You can now distribute your apps to more customers with the addition of App Store support in Armenia, Botswana, Bulgaria, Jordan, Kenya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, and Uganda....
Apple Reportedly Lays Off 40 Final Cut Employees
AE Portal News reported last week on a Twitter post claiming that Apple has laid off 40 members of its Final Cut team focused on the company's professional-level video editing software tools. The cuts were apparently focused on remote teams based in the Los Angeles and Austin areas. And while it doesn't mean that Final Cut is doomed, it is interesting that Pro App teams in LA and Austin were cut...
Steve Jobs' Wall Street Journal Visit Reportedly Included Arguments Against Flash
Building on comments reportedly made by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at a town hall meeting for company employees last month, Valleywag claims that Jobs focused a significant amount of effort during his recent visit to The Wall Street Journal on selling newspaper executives on the need to move away from Adobe Flash for digital content. Jobs was brazen in his dismissal of Flash, people familiar with the...
Apple Increases iPhone's Cellular Download Cap to 20 MB in Advance of iPad Launch
MacRumors has received reports from several readers noting that the download cap for iPhone applications installed via 3G has been increased to 20 MB, a change that also appears to apply to iTunes Store content. Previously, users attempting to download content over 10 MB in size were prompted to connect to a Wi-Fi network or use a computer to obtain the applications. With the ceiling now...
Apple Patent Applications: Front-Facing Camera Depicted on Handheld Device, Rotatable Mouse
A pair of Apple patent applications published today have been generating a bit of attention for their disclosure of Apple's behind-the-scenes work on its products. The first application covers methods for addressing variations in individual digital camera lenses by capturing images of known color and calibrating the software driving the lens to compensate for any non-uniformity in the lens with...
27-Inch iMac Shipping Times Continue to Improve
Several MacRumors readers have reported that Apple's shipping lead times for its 27-inch iMac models in its online stores have improved today, with the U.S. and Canada now seeing lead times of 5-7 business days instead of 2 weeks and European stores seeing improvement to 2 weeks from earlier 3-week estimates.
Apple has continued to face lengthy shipping times for its 27-inch iMac models,...
Apple Reportedly Looking to Offer More Flexible iBookstore Pricing Than Previously Thought
The New York Times reports that recent shifts in the eBook publishing industry, spurred by Apple's entrance into the market, to allow for higher prices and greater publisher control over their content may offer more flexibility in pricing than previously thought. The "agency model" being promoted by Apple and pushed by many book publishers has been looking to break Amazon's stranglehold on the...
HP Looking to Undercut iPad Pricing With 3G-Capable Slate Device
The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) on plans from other PC makers to tackle Apple's iPad head-on, and HP is looking at undercutting the iPad on pricing as a significant component to that strategy. In the next few weeks, executives from Hewlett-Packard Co. will meet in the U.S. and Taiwan to tweak prices and features on an upcoming keyboardless computer dubbed the Slate, said...
U.S. International Trade Commission Opens Inquiry Into Apple, RIM After Kodak Complaint
Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has granted a request made by Kodak last month for an investigation of Apple and Research in Motion regarding possible infringement of Kodak patents related to digital camera technology. The U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington said today it will consider the complaint filed last month and decide whether ...
Report Profiles Secrecy at Apple's Asian Manufacturing Partners' Facilities
Reuters today reports on the secrecy demanded by Apple of its Asian manufacturing partners, profiling a sprawling Foxconn facility in Longhua, China complete where employees live and work while producing many of Apple's devices. Inside the walled city -- one of several compounds run by Foxconn International, a major supplier for Apple Inc -- employees are provided with most of their daily needs....
Adobe Executive Kevin Lynch Discusses Flash on Mac, iPhone, and iPad
BoomTown today sat down with Adobe Chief Technical Officer Kevin Lynch to discuss the relationship between Apple and Adobe and the deployment of Flash on Mac as well as the iPhone and iPad. Apple's decision not to include Flash Player capabilities on the iPhone and now the iPad has resulted in apparent tensions between the two companies.
Lynch's comments about Flash on the Mac indicate that...
