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
Google Releases Browser-Based Google Voice Web App for iPhone
Reuters reports that Google has released a new browser-based web app version of Google Voice, offering iPhone users access to a broader array of features than had previously been available through the service's basic mobile interface. Google already had a version of Google Voice available through mobile Web browsers.
But Google described the new version of Google Voice as a "Web app," noting...
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Apple Addresses Battery Life Issues With Aluminum Wireless Keyboard Firmware Update 1.1
Apple yesterday released Aluminum Keyboard Firmware Update 1.1 for the 2007 model of its wireless keyboard, addressing both battery life issues when used with the company's new multi-touch Magic Mouse and an issue related to unexpected key repeating. This firmware update improves battery performance of the 2007 aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard when used in combination with other bluetooth devices...
Apple Pressuring TV Networks to Halve iTunes Episode Pricing?
Financial Times reports that Apple has been pressuring TV networks to lower their prices for iTunes content, hoping to pass along the savings to customers in order to spur sales. According to the report, Apple has been unhappy with the sales of television content and would like to drop the cost of TV episodes from the current $1.99 to $1 to introduce a new pricing dynamic. The plan is seen as an...
Apple Reports Record $3.38 Billion Profit for Q1 2010 on Highest Revenue in History
Apple today announced financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2010, corresponding to the fourth calendar quarter of 2009. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $15.68 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.38 billion, or $3.67 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $11.88 billion and net quarterly profit of $2.26 billion, or $2.50 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross...
Numerous Suspect Apple Tablet Images Surfacing
With less than 48 hours to go until Apple's media event where it is widely expected to introduce its tablet device, the Internet has been awash in claimed "leaked" images of the new device. We've gathered here a few of the recently-surfaced images for interest's sake, but we believe that none of them are genuine.
French site Be Geek published [Google translation] a set of three images...
Apple Tablet Devices Detected in Mobile Analytics?
Mobile analytics firm Flurry yesterday reported that it has detected in its usage data what it believes is evidence of approximately 50 tablet devices in testing at Apple's campus in Cupertino, California. According to the report, the devices are running an as-yet-unreleased iPhone OS 3.2 and have sampled approximately 200 traditional iPhone applications from the App Store. Using Flurry...
Book Publishers Offer Details on Apple's Tablet Plans?
9 to 5 Mac summarizes information it has received from contacts in the publishing industry in recent days, revealing that Apple has been pushing aggressively forward in discussions with publishers about bringing their content to Apple's tablet rumored for introduction on Wednesday.
According to the reports, Apple has been touting the tablet's software as a "game changer" for the e-reader...
New York Times Reportedly Working Closely With Apple on Tablet App
As part of a broad report in advance of Apple's media event scheduled for Wednesday, The Los Angeles Times claims that a team of New York Times employees has been traveling to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California to work on a new version of the newspaper's iPhone application offering video and optimized for a large-screen tablet device. Apple has been slowly amassing digital reading...
Apple Seeds Mac OS X 10.6.3 Build 10D538 to Developers
AppleInsider reports that Apple has seeded a new version of Mac OS X 10.6.3, termed Build 10D538, to select developers for testing. According to the report, the update addresses issues in several areas, including QuickTime X and Logic Studio. More specifically, people familiar with Friday's beta say it includes an update to QuickTime X that, when finalized, will improve security and compatibility ...
BumpTop 3D Desktop Released for Mac
BumpTop, the popular physics-based 3D desktop environment for Windows, has now been made available for Mac OS X 10.5 and later, offering users new features for organizing their desktops. BumpTop offers users multiple surfaces on which to store files, allowing users to alter the sizes of individual items and take advantage of several organizational features such as piles.
BumpTop for Mac is...
Vodafone Sells 100,000 iPhones in First Eight Days of UK Sales
TechRadar reports that in its first eight days of availability, 100,000 iPhones have been sold in the UK by Vodafone. "The demand from both consumer and business customers has been phenomenal. They want an outstanding phone on an outstanding network and we're delivering that," claimed Vodafone UKCEO Guy Laurence.Vodafone previously announced that it shipped 50,000 pre-ordered iPhones at launch...
Multi-Touch Trackpad Gaming Demonstrated on MacBook
Illusion Labs, developer of the popular iPhone game Touchgrind, has posted a video demonstrating a Mac version of the game utilizing the multi-touch capabilities of the MacBook's trackpad.
The developer describes it as tech demo and hasn't committed to releasing it. Illusion Labs is the same developer who
Potential MacBook Air Update Delayed Due to Chip Shortage?
Hardmac reports that new ultra-low voltage Intel chips, introduced earlier this month as part of a major roll-out in conjunction with CES and presumably destined for the next revision to Apple's MacBook Air, are not yet being produced in mass quantities. The delay in chip availability may result in Apple having to push back the introduction of updated MacBook Air models by several weeks or else ...
Apple and McGraw-Hill Reportedly Collaborating on e-Textbook Tablet Offerings
BusinessWeek reports that Apple has been in talks with the educational arm of publishing giant McGraw-Hill to bring e-textbook content to Apple's tablet device. The discussions also reportedly include portions of McGraw-Hill's Connect online learning system. Apple's talks with McGraw-Hill cover how the two companies can market textbooks for the tablet and ways their software development teams can ...
Apple Set to Release Q1 2010 Financial Results on January 25th
Apple today issued a media alert announcing details for the January 25th release of its financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2010, corresponding to the fourth calendar quarter of 2009. The results will be released after the close of trading on Monday at approximately 4:30 PM Eastern / 1:30 PM Pacific. Apple's conference call discussing the results will follow at 2:00 PM Pacific and...
Apple Tablet Design Reportedly Akin to Flattened First-Generation iPhone
AppleInsider reports that it has received information from sources detailing the appearance of Apple's much-rumored tablet device, noting that it is reminiscent of a "first-generation iPhone that's met its match with a rolling pin."
Concept rendering said to closely resemble actual Apple tablet
According to the report, the device looks remarkably similar to a concept rendering published...
Apple Patent Applications: Input Device Gestures, Solar-Powered iPods and iPhones
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today published several new patent applications from Apple, revealing research into several areas, including the use of gesture-based input devices and solar panel technology in the casings of iPods.
Detection of "contact" and "lift" mouse gestures
In the first application, entitled "Methods and Apparatus for Processing Combinations of Kinematical...
Amazon Releasing Software Development Kit to Bring Apps to Kindle
The New York Times reported late last night that Amazon is deploying a software development kit (SDK) to allow developers to bring applications to the company's Kindle e-book reader. The move follows a change in the Kindle Store's e-book royalty program, with the two events suggesting that Amazon is making a major push to tackle Apple's as-yet-unreleased tablet device head-on. Amazon says it has...
More Hints at Apple's Desire to Hold 'iPad' Trademark for Tablet Device
Yesterday, we uncovered evidence that Apple has been pursuing trademarks for the name "iPad", with some filings occurring as recently as late last week. The move has obviously led to speculation that Apple may be planning to use that name for its tablet device rumored for introduction next week.
At the time, we noted that Apple had not pursued an "iPad" trademark in the United States,...
More Claimed Images of Apple Tablet Bezel
Following up last week's report of a claimed image of Apple's tablet "glass" that appears to be more accurately described as the front bezel, The Mac Observer has received two additional images that provide a greater sense of scale for the part.
The Mac Observer again notes that it has been unable to corroborate the information presented in the images, and we remain skeptical of their...
