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 Researching Pen-Based Input Recognition for Tablet Devices?
Illustrative Diagram of "Tablet" Allowing Pen-Based Input and Output
Unwired View reports on a newly-published patent application from Apple disclosing software methods for processing pen-based computer input. While the patent application, which was filed on July 19th, 2009, is broadly written to apply to computers in general with pen-based input-only "tablets", the inventors also make...
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Apple Grabs 17% of Worldwide Smartphone Sales in Third Quarter
Worldwide Smartphone Sales in 3Q09 in Thousands of Units (Source: Gartner)
Research firm Gartner today issued a report covering worldwide mobile phone sales for the third quarter of 2009. The highlight of the data for Apple is the company's third-place showing in the smartphone category, grabbing 17.1% of that market in finishing behind market leader Nokia and Research in Motion. Apple's...
Apple's Upper West Side Store Unveiled [Updated]
ifoAppleStore notes that Apple has taken the wraps off the company's new Upper West Side retail store in New York City in advance of the public opening scheduled for Saturday morning. At night the store is a beacon visible for several blocks, especially for those approaching by car or on foot from the south. The glow of the ceiling lights, the backlit logo and the back-lit wall graphics are...
Apple Adds Status Updates to App Store Approval Process
Wired reports that Apple has recently rolled out a new feature for iPhone developers, offering a history of status updates for each application submitted for inclusion in the company's App Store. In Apple's Dev Center website, iPhone app developers can view Apple's progress on reviewing their apps from start to finish. When an app is in line to be reviewed, the status will read "Waiting for...
Apple Releases Safari 4.0.4
Apple today released Safari 4.0.4, bringing improvements for JavaScript and History search performance, stability improvements in a number of areas including third-party plug-ins, and fixes for a handful of security issues. This update is recommended for all Safari users and includes improvements to performance, stability, and security including:
- Improved JavaScript performance
- Improved...
Mac Market Share Surges to 5% in UK
A new study from market research firm Gartner pegs Apple's share of the personal computer market in the UK at 5.0% for the third quarter of 2009, ranking the company fifth among all vendors. The company's unit shipments increased 26.6% to move up considerably from a market share of 3.8% in the year-ago quarter.
Gartner's UK PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q09 (Thousands of Units) ...
New Malware Allows Hackers to Access Personal Information on Jailbroken iPhones
Security firm Intego reports that it has spotted new malware, termed iPhone/Privacy.A, that is capable of allowing hackers to access personal information stored on certain jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches. Non-jailbroken iPhones are not vulnerable to the malware.
While full details of the tool are not disclosed, it is reported to utilize the same method as the "Rickrolling" worm deployed...
Core i7-Based 27" iMac Now Shipping, 3% Discount at MacMall
Earlier this week, we noted that customers were receiving notifications that their quad-core Core i5-based 27" iMac orders had begun shipping. At the time, we had not received word about the status of order for machines carrying Intel's Core i7 processor, a $200 upgrade over the Core i5 models.
A number of readers have now reported, however, that their Core i7-based iMac orders have been...
Apple Widens Lead Over Nokia as Most Profitable Handset Manufacturer
Telephony Online reports on data from research firm Strategy Analytics that places Apple as the most profitable mobile phone manufacturer in the world for the third quarter of 2009. Apple's estimated $1.6 billion profit easily topped Nokia's $1.1 billion take for the quarter. The firm estimates that Apple's iPhone operating profit came in at $1.6 billion in Q3, while Nokia recorded only $1.1...
Orange Claims Record 30,000 iPhone Sales on Launch Day in UK
Pocket-lint reports that UK wireless provider Orange is claiming that it has sold over 30,000 iPhones as of 4:00 p.m. on launch day for the carrier, reportedly smashing records for one-day mobile phone sales. The news comes via a Twitter post from Conor Maples, a member of Orange's communications team. Orange UK had sold more than 30k iPhones,smashing what we believe is the previously published...
Microsoft Issues Office 2008, Office 2004, Open XML Converter Updates
Microsoft today issued a handful of updates for users of the company's Office productivity suite. While much of the documentation for these releases mysteriously lists October release dates, the updates do appear to have just been issued today.
- Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.2.3 Update (349.5 MB): According to the associated support document, the update includes suite-wide security and...
VESA Approves Apple's Mini DisplayPort Standard
The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today announced that it has officially issued specifications as part of the DisplayPort 1.1a standard for the Mini DisplayPort connector developed by Apple and implemented on its Macs since the October 2008 introduction of the 24" LED Cinema Display and refreshed MacBooks and MacBook Pros.
Apple had initially offered the standard on its own as ...
NVIDIA CEO's Tablet Device Sparks Interest
Engadget points to an article from Shufflegazine about NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang's recent visit to Dubai where he was photographed with a slim slate-style tablet computer. The device's sleek profile, iPhone-style "home" button at the bottom front of the device, and suggestions of an iSight-like webcam in the top of the front bezel led to some initial speculation that the device might be...
'MobileNavigator North America' Adds Live Traffic as In App Purchase
Navigon's popular turn-by-turn GPS iPhone application MobileNavigator North America [App Store, $89.99] has been updated to offer live traffic information in the U.S. and Canada. The new addition, known as Navigon Traffic Live, is available via In App Purchasing for an additional one-time $19.99 fee.
News of the addition first surfaced in mid-September at which time it was noted that the...
Mac OS X 10.6.2 Confirmed to Drop Support for Intel Atom Processors
OS X Daily confirms widespread reports of the loss of support for Intel's Atom processors in the Mac OS X 10.6.2 update released yesterday, confirming on-again, off-again claims of the change in developer seeds of the update. Given that the final public release of 10.6.2 is labeled Build 10C540, the same as the most recent developer seed that reportedly lacked Atom support, it comes as no...
Apple Releases Wireless Keyboard Update 2.0
Apple today released Wireless Keyboard Update 2.0, weighing in at 10.95 MB. The update description page provides scant information beyond compatibility with "special features" of the new wireless keyboard released alongside new iMacs last month. Install this software to take advantage of your 2009 aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard's special features. The update requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or...
Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.6.2 and Security Update 2009-006
Apple today released Mac OS X 10.6.2, the second maintenance update for Snow Leopard, via Software Update and the company's software downloads page. The update brings several bug fixes, reportedly including one for a serious issue involving Guest accounts that has caused some users to lose all data from their primary user accounts. The 10.6.2 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X...
Shazam Introduces 'Shazam Encore' Paid Application
Shazam today announced the introduction of Shazam Encore [App Store, $4.99], a new paid version of the popular iPhone application that allows users to tag and automatically identify songs simply using the device's built-in microphone. Shazam Encore offers a number of enhancements and new features over the original application, which was one of the early App Store success stories and was featur...
O2 Offers to Unlock iPhones in UK
Starting tomorrow, UK wireless carrier will begin offering to unlock its customers' iPhones, allowing them to be used on any compatible network. The move comes as rival carrier Orange begins selling the iPhone there.
O2 will be offering unlocking for both customers on monthly prepaid plans and on pay-as-you-go plans. Customers under contract for monthly prepaid plans will be able to have...
Intel Core i5 Quad-Core iMac Begins Shipping
Several MacRumors readers have reported that they have received notification from Apple that their Intel Core i5-based quad-core 27" iMac orders have been shipped from Shanghai. There is no word yet on whether the upgraded Intel Core i7-based version of the quad-core model has also begun shipping.
Apple released its new 21.5" and 27" iMacs late last month, but announced at the time that the...
