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 Claims That Apple Did Reject Google Voice iPhone Application [Updated]
Google today announced today that it has released an unredacted copy (PDF) of its response to an investigation by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission into Apple's apparent rejection of the company's Google Voice iPhone application. Most significantly, Google's filing claims that Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller personally informed Google that the Google Voice iPhone application...
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Star Trek Creator's Macintosh Plus to Be Auctioned
TUAW reports that auction house Profiles in History will be auctioning off as part of a sale scheduled for next month a Macintosh Plus given by Apple to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. The auction description states: This is the very first Macintosh Plus 1Mb personal computer to come off the assembly line at Apple Computer in Fresno, California. It was presented to Gene Roddenberry as a...
Microsoft Matches Snow Leopard Price With Windows 7, But Only for Students
Microsoft yesterday launched a Windows 7 campaign website announcing a discount program aimed at college and university students, bringing the cost of Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional for eligible customers down to $29.99 to effectively match Apple's Mac OS X Snow Leopard pricing. The offer, which expires January 3rd, 2010 is valid for the download version of Windows 7, and users wishing...
Wall Street Journal to Begin Charging for Mobile Access to Content
The Wall Street Journal today announced that it will begin charging for mobile access to its news content as of October 24th. While mobile applications such as the WSJ's iPhone application [App Store] will remain free of charge and will offer free access to selected content, full access will require a weekly subscription fee. Beginning Oct. 24, the WSJ Mobile Reader application, currently...
Music Publishers and Writers Lobbying Congress for Additional Compensation for Digital Distribution
CNET reports that a coalition of music groups including publishers, songwriters, and composers is looking to increase the compensation they receive from digital distribution of their work. Having been unsuccessful at negotiating increased fees with distributors such as Apple, the groups, which include the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc....
Early Snow Leopard Sales More Than Double Those of Leopard
According to market research firm NPD, Apple's Mac OS X Snow Leopard has seen very strong sales thus far, having sold more than twice as many copies during its first two weeks on the market as Mac OS X Leopard did in late 2007. Early sales of Snow Leopard also exceed those of 2005's Mac OS X Tiger by nearly four times. "Even though some considered Snow Leopard to be less feature-focused than the...
Navigon to Add Live Traffic Data as In-App Purchase for MobileNavigator
CNET reports that GPS firm Navigon will be releasing a new feature for its MobileNavigator North America [App Store, $89.99] iPhone application that will add live traffic data to assist users in plotting routes. The add-on will be available beginning next month as a one-time $24.99 in-app purchase, although it will be discounted to $19.99 for the first four weeks of availability. According to...
Grand Central Dispatch and Open CL Bring Significant Performance Improvements for Optimized Applications
Hardmac reports on a performance comparison between Mac OS X Leopard and Mac OS X Snow Leopard from Christophe Ducommun, developer of MovieGate, a video encoding and DVD creation software package. Ducommun, who is optimizing his application to take advantage of the Grand Central Dispatch and Open CL features of Snow Leopard, has found remarkable performance improvements for his software on the...
ARM Announces Dual-Core Cortex-A9 Processor Designs
Chip design firm ARM today announced the development of two dual-core chip designs based on the company's Cortex-A9 platform. Implementations of the new chip designs, which will deliver performance in excess of 2 GHz while drawing less than 0.25 W of power per CPU, will be available in the fourth quarter of this year. The Cortex-A9 speed-optimized hard macro implementation will provide system...
Analyst: iMac and MacBook Updates Coming Within Weeks?
Tech Trader Daily reports on a note to clients from research firm Wedge Partners predicting the release of updated iMac and MacBook models within the next several weeks. The refresh is expected to bring a significant redesign to the iMac, while the MacBook is likely to see only limited enhancements on the design front. Wedge sees a redesigned iMac witjh a "thinner, organic design, likely with...
iPod Touch Speed Tests Confirm Apple's Claims of 'Up to 50% Faster Performance'
At Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" media event last week, the company introduced new iPod touch models with 32 GB and 64 GB capacities, advertising the devices as offering "up to 50 percent faster performance". Macworld has performed speed tests comparing the new iPod touch to the previous-generation model, and found that on a number of tasks the new model does meet or exceed Apple's...
HP Introduces Updated Cross-Platform MediaSmart Home Servers
HP today introduced the MediaSmart EX490 and EX495 home servers, offering upgraded features and greater Mac compatibility for the company's line of cross-platform home servers that received significant praise at Macworld Expo earlier this year. HP today launched the HP MediaSmart EX490 and EX495 Home Servers, new models offering increased capacity, high-performance processors, more control, new...
Microsoft Begins Shipping Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition
Microsoft today announced that it has begun shipping Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition, replacing the previous Standard Edition and Special Media Edition with a single package offering the complete Office suite with support for Microsoft Exchange included. The new Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition is a lot like it sounds... a suite that's packed with tools and features needed to grow and...
Microsoft Launches Zune HD
Microsoft today officially launched the Zune HD, the company's next-generation touchscreen media player designed to compete directly against Apple's iPod touch. Originally announced in May, the Zune HD is available in 16 GB ($219.99 in black) and 32 GB ($289.99 in platinum) capacities. Zune HD marks a significant step forward for portable media players, combining powerful hardware components...
Former Intel Executive Joins Apple as General Counsel and Senior Vice President
Apple today announced that Bruce Sewell, former general counsel and senior vice president at Intel, will join Apple in a similar role, holding titles of General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Legal and Government Affairs. Sewell, who takes the position of the retiring Daniel Cooperman, will report directly to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "We are thrilled to have Bruce join our executive team, and...
Apple Tablet Rumors Revived: February 2010 Launch? P.A. Semi Processor?
After several quiet weeks on the tablet rumor front as it became clear that no such device would be introduced at Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" media event, a new report from Taiwan Economic News revives rumor discussions by claiming that Apple's tablet computer will launch in February 2010 at a price point between $799 and $999. The report also claims that the tablet will utilize a P.A....
U.S. Mac Sales Up 7% Year-Over-Year in July and August, iPod Sales Down 16%
Silicon Alley Insider reports on data from research firm NPD showing that U.S. Mac sales were up 7% year-over-year during the months of July and August, ahead of most analysts' projections. The data, reported by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, also shows a 16% decline in year-over-year iPod sales, a performance slightly below analysts' expectations. Munster says NPD data from July and August...
Apple Releases Xsan 2.2 Updates
Apple today released a number of updates for Xsan, the company's enterprise-class storage area network (SAN) solution. Xsan 2.2 brings support for Mac OS X Snow Leopard, as well as a number of other changes.
- Xsan 2.2 Admin Update for 10.6 (35 MB) The 2.2 update is recommended for all systems running Xsan 2. This update includes general administration fixes for remotely administering,...
Apple Retail Stores to Gain Dedicated iPhone Activation Areas and Staff?
MacRumors has heard from multiple sources that Apple is planning to enhance the in-store iPhone purchasing and activation process at its retail stores. The changes, due to be rolled out as soon as tomorrow, will involve layout changes to current stores to create "iPhone Activation Zones" where customers can pick up and activate iPhones after having gone through the pre-authorization process...
China Mobile Chairman Confirms Ongoing iPhone Talks
The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that China Mobile chairman Wang Jianzhou has confirmed that the company is still involved in talks with Apple to bring the iPhone to the carrier's network. The iPhone would have to be modified in order to operate on China Mobile's proprietary 3G network, or would be relegated to the company's slower 2G network. A stumbling block, however,...
