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 Tablet Set for Second Quarter Launch With Aluminum Casing?
Reuters reports on information from Apple's supply chain indicating that touchscreens for the company's long-rumored tablet device are in manufacturing and that production of the device's casing, which is reportedly aluminum, will begin next month. The beginning of mass production of components for the device suggests that it is likely to launch in the second quarter of this year. Suppliers for...
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Apple Reportedly Looking to Purchase LED Camera Flash Components
AppleInsider reports on information from a source claiming that Apple is looking to acquire significant quantities of LED camera flash components, sparking speculation that the company is planning to add flash capabilities to its camera on the iPhone, and possibly the iPod touch should it also gain a camera. People familiar with Apple's initiative claim the electronics maker is seeking allotments...
Apple-Backed Imagination Technologies Announces PowerVR SGX545 Mobile Graphics Chip
Imagination Technologies today announced the launch of its PowerVR SGX545 graphics IP core, a new, high-end addition to the company's SGX series already used in the iPhone 3GS and third-generation iPod touch. In comparison to the SGX535 used in Apple's current handheld devices, the new SGX545 offers a number of enhancements, including increased performance of 40 million polygons per second (up...
Apple Planning New Prototype Retail Store in Palo Alto
The Daily News of Palo Alto, California reports that Apple has filed planning documents there for a new retail store that the company is calling "a new prototype for the company." While Apple's name has not been officially associated with the project in public filings and discussion, numerous sources have indicated that the company is the tenant involved in the project.
Planning documents...
Apple Releases Bonjour Update 2010-001
Apple today released Bonjour Update 2010-001 via Software Update, addressing issues with Apple TV connections. The update, which weighs in at 959 KB, has not yet appeared on Apple's Support Downloads page for manual download. This update improves the reliability of connections between iTunes and Apple TV....
CES: Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, Dell 5-Inch Tablet Prototype
Announcements are continuing in full force at CES today, with a number of Apple competitors showing off new gadgets looking to set the bar for technology in 2010.
Palm Pre Plus
Palm today unveiled several new products and initiatives, including the new Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, both destined for Verizon later this month. The Palm Pre Plus bumps storage to 16 GB from the 8 GB found in the...
Apple Tablet Operating System Claims: 'A Good Bit of New Sexy'
With Apple's long-rumored tablet device reportedly set for an introduction later this month, much remains unknown about the operating system it will be using. Speculation has ranged from a touch-sensitive Mac OS X to a scaled-up iPhone OS to an all-new hybrid of the two, but little word has leaked from sources claiming to know details of what users can expect.
Today, Silicon Alley Insider...
Apple Researching Technology to Provide Image Pixels With Touch Sensing Capabilities
Patently Apple reports on a newly-published patent application from Apple disclosing research on touchscreen technology involving the use of pixels with dual-function capacitive elements that are capable of both displaying images and registering touch input. The invention is designed to simplify the current process of overlaying traditional image pixels with transparent touch sensing...
Apple Adds 30-Second Song Samples to Browser-Based 'iTunes Preview'
GigaOM briefly noted late yesterday that Apple has added 30-second song samples to its browser-based iTunes Preview pages that quietly appeared several months ago. The report notes that Apple is serving the previews, which are encoded in 44.1 KHz AAC format at 300+ kbps, via QuickTime.
The addition is a likely benefit of Apple's recent acquisition of Lala Media, a popular web-based...
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Officially Opens CES, Briefly Demos Forthcoming HP Slate Device
Steve Ballmer Demoing HP Slate-Style PC
After some technical difficulties resulted in delays kicking things off, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer this evening is currently giving the opening keynote for the CES conference in Las Vegas. After word surfaced that Ballmer would be introducing a slate-style tablet device tonight, many Apple watchers have been interested to see how Microsoft's offering...
Analyst Claims: Qualcomm 3G Chip Destined for Verizon iPhone, Tablet Based on P.A. Semi Processor
A pair of reports today from Scott Moritz of TheStreet share claims from Northeast Securities analyst Ashok Kumar that Qualcomm has struck a deal with Apple to provide a 3G EV-DO chip for a CDMA-based iPhone scheduled for launch later this year and that Apple has also officially decided against utilizing Intel's Atom platform in its forthcoming tablet device.
In the first report, Kumar claims...
Facebook iPhone Application Gains Push Notifications [Updated]
Facebook today updated its iPhone and iPod touch application [App Store, Free] to Version 3.1, adding highly-anticipated push notifications and the ability to sync Facebook friends with users' address books. Facebook's push notifications offer a fairly high degree of customization, allowing users to choose whether to receive alerts for seven categories of information.
Push notifications had ...
Apple Begins Seeding Mac OS X 10.6.3 Build 10D522 to Testers
Apple has reportedly begun seeding Build 10D522 of Mac OS X 10.6.3 to a limited set of developers, marking the first official beta version of the third maintenance release for Mac OS X Snow Leopard. According to those familiar with the release, Apple has addressed approximately 225 issues in the update, which reportedly weighs in at roughly 666 MB.
Apple documents four remaining known issues...
Former Apple Marketing Insider Sheds Light on Apple's 'Controlled Leaks'
Former Apple Senior Marketing Manager John Martellaro today penned an interesting piece describing the company's strategy for issuing controlled leaks, pointing to Monday's Wall Street Journal article on Apple's tablet device as a likely instance of such an information release.
Martellaro notes that Apple engages in the practice of controlled leaks for a number of reasons, including...
Apple Tablet Interface to Come With 'Steep Learning Curve'?
Cult of Mac reports that it has received a tip from someone claiming to have contact with an Apple employee who revealed that the company's much-rumored tablet will have a "steep learning curve" when it comes to the device's interface. According to reader Tom: "I just heard [to] be ready for a steep learning curve regarding the "new" Apple product about to be released [and its] interface. This...
AT&T Announces Completion of 7.2 Mbps Software Updates, But Backhaul Upgrades Still Needed
U.S. iPhone wireless carrier partner AT&T yesterday announced the completion of its nationwide software upgrade program designed to make all of its 3G cell sites compatible with 7.2 Mbps data speeds, double the current standard. The deployment of High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 technology across 3G cell sites is the first of multiple initiatives in AT&T's network enhancement strategy designed...
Microsoft Reportedly Scheduled to Introduce Tablet Today [Updated]
The New York Times reported last night that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is set to introduce a new tablet device during his keynote address tonight at CES in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, Mr. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, will unveil a novel take on a slate-type computer during his evening keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, according to people familiar with Microsoft's plans. ...
Google Launches Nexus One: T-Mobile Plan Available Now, Verizon and Vodafone Coming Soon
Google today announced the launch of its Nexus One smartphone, ushering in what the company calls the first of its "superphones" based on the Android operating system. The Nexus One, which offers an 800x480 screen, 5 megapixel camera with flash and is powered by Qualcomm's 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, utilizes the Android 2.1 operating system.
As revealed last week, the Nexus One is priced...
Apple Patent Application Points to 3D Multi-Touch Manipulation
The Baltimore Sun yesterday dug up a relatively recent patent application from Apple describing the manipulation of three-dimensional images on a variety of devices, including such implementations as the iPhone or the company's as-yet-unreleased tablet. Curiously, while the patent application is credited to several Apple engineers in France, the company's name appears nowhere on the...
Apple's Purchase of Quattro Wireless Confirmed
Mobile advertising company Quattro Wireless confirms today that it has been acquired by Apple. The news follows a report late yesterday that the deal had been reached, with Apple agreeing to pay $275 million for Quattro. Happy New Year from Quattro Wireless!
We are thrilled to let you know that Apple has acquired Quattro. We want to share with you our excitement about this news and what it...
