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
Research Firms Offer Conflicting Views of Apple's Second Quarter Mac Shipments
Research firms Gartner and IDC have both released preliminary reports details U.S. and worldwide PC shipments for the second quarter of 2009, and the two firms offer conflicting pictures of Apple's performance during the quarter.
According to Gartner's report, Apple maintained its fourth place ranking for U.S. shipments with an 8.7% market share on unit growth of 2.5% over the year-ago...
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Steve Jobs Makes Appearance at Coldplay Concert
One of Coldplay's roadies reports that Steve Jobs attended the band's concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California on Monday night and made a backstage visit to chat with some of the band members and other VIPs. I'll be honest with you folks, the only thing that mattered to me tonight was the presence of one Steve Jobs. I'm a confirmed Apple devotee and I really cannot imagine...
Microsoft Targeting Apple Stores With New Retail Store Concept
ZDNet reports that Microsoft is planning to open a number of retail stores in close proximity to existing Apple Stores later this year. While the stores will reportedly be designed more to "showcase" Microsoft products and build brand awareness than to serve as retail distribution points, the move continues the aggressive attacks on Apple by Microsoft begun with its recent "Laptop Hunters" and Zu...
iPod Classic's Future in Doubt Due to Shrinking Market for 1.8" Hard Drives?
iPodNN reports that Samsung and Toshiba, the only remaining manufacturers of 1.8-inch hard drives, are having difficulties finding substantial markets for their drives. The issues are casting doubt on the future of Apple's iPod classic, which utilizes 120-GB versions of the drives. A new 250GB Samsung drive has failed to find significant sales, despite being deliberately marketed at builders of...
Apple to Break O2 iPhone Exclusivity in the UK, But Not for the 3GS?
Mobile reports that Apple will begin offering the iPhone 3G to wireless carriers Orange and T-Mobile in the UK later this year, while retaining exclusivity for the new iPhone 3GS for longtime partner O2. The move is set for as early as September and will end Apple's two year exclusive deal with O2.
Crucially, the manufacturer will continue to give O2 exclusivity for the new, faster 3GS version, ...
iTunes 8.2.1 Reportedly Breaks Palm Pre Syncing [Updated]
Earlier today, Apple released iTunes 8.2.1, describing the update only as providing "a number of important bug fixes and addresses an issue with verification of Apple devices." The notice regarding device verification has led to speculation that the update breaks the ability for the Palm Pre to sync directly with iTunes.
According to a posting at PreCentral and a report in our own forums,...
Apple Releases iTunes 8.2.1
Apple today released iTunes 8.2.1 via Software Update and the iTunes download page. The new update "provides a number of important bug fixes and addresses an issue with verification of Apple devices."
The update weighs in at 79.3 MB for OS X...
Apple Progressing Toward iPhone Release in China?
SinoCast Daily Business Beat reports that Foxconn, Apple's Taiwanese manufacturing partner for the iPhone, has begun production of a China-specific iPhone lacking Wi-Fi connectivity. Two production lines in the Foxconn Shenzhen plant are producing 90-coded mobile phones, device that looks like iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, said one source.
The mysterious products might be the very model designed...
Apple to Bring Back Matte Displays as an Option on More Macs?
AppleInsider reports that Apple is considering bringing back matte antiglare displays in the form of an option on more of the company's Mac offerings. Currently available only as a $50 option on the 17" MacBook Pro, the report speculates that the 13" and 15" MacBook Pros are the most likely candidates for future inclusion of the option. The transition towards glossy displays appears to have been...
OS X Snow Leopard 10A411 Brings a Few Minor Changes
Yesterday's release of OS X Snow Leopard Build 10A411 to developers has sent those with access to the new version searching for changes since the last update. Given that the previous seed had occurred only five days earlier, the changes found so far in the latest build are unsurprisingly minor for the most part. Here are a few of the changes observed so far:
QuickTime X Interface: QuickTime...
Apple Seeds OS X Snow Leopard Build 10A411 to Developers
Close on the heels of the iPhone OS 3.1 Beta 2 developer release today, Apple has also seeded OS X Snow Leopard Build 10A411 to registered developers. The new seed comes just five days after the release of Build 10A402.
The new update weighs in at about 750 MB, considerably smaller than last week's 1.3 GB update. Specific changes in the latest build have not yet been revealed. This Snow...
Microsoft Office 2010 to Gain Free Web-Based Components
Microsoft yesterday announced at its Worldwide Partner Conference 2009 that its forthcoming Office 2010 suite will gain a web-based component offering free, ad-supported access to browser-based versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote to anyone with a free Windows Live account. Notably, the online versions will be compatible with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.
Wired provides...
Apple's iTunes Store Launches Two-Track "Digital 45s"
iLounge points out that Apple has launched "Digital 45s" [iTunes Store] in the iTunes Store, a new concept offering a pair of songs from a single artist at a price slightly discounted from the individual track prices. Harkening back to the days of the vinyl 45 rpm record, the iTunes Store has launched a new section of the store for "D45s." As with vinyl 45s, these new digital packs contain two...
Windows 95 Running on iPhone
Russian site GooDiPhone demonstrates Windows 95 running on an iPhone via an emulator. While the performance is terrible, it does function as a proof-of-concept, and they note that performance would be improved if they had had access to an iPhone 3GS for testing.
The team is also reportedly working on booting Windows XP on the...
Apple Announces First-Year App Store Success: 1.5 Billion Downloads, 65,000 Apps
Apple today announced that iPhone and iPod touch users have downloaded over 1.5 billion applications in the App Store's first year of operation. There are currently over 65,000 applications available in the store. Apple today announced that customers have downloaded more than 1.5 billion applications in just one year from its revolutionary App Store, the largest applications store in the world....
Apple Blocking Push Notifications on Unlocked iPhones? [Updated]
In a blog post over the weekend and a press release issued today, Czech iPhone developer PoweryBase notes that Apple appears to be blocking Push Notifications on iPhones that have been unlocked for use on non-official wireless carriers. PoweryBase is the developer behind NotifyMe [App Store Links: Paid ($3.99), Free], a popular application that utilizes push notifications to offer reminders and ...
New GeForce GTX 285 Drivers Available Now, Offering Up to 20% Better Gaming Performance
NVIDIA has released new drivers for the GeForce GTX 285 aftermarket graphics card which has been available for the Mac Pro. NVIDIA representatives have also informed MacRumors that the new driver will deliver "up to 20% better performance" for gaming compared to previous driver versions.
Also, Mac Pro customers using the GeForce GTX 285 will need to update their card's driver before...
Apple Touchscreen Netbook to Launch in October at $800?
Taiwanese news site InfoTimes reports [translation] that Apple is slated to debut its long-rumored netbook this October. Taiwanese companies Foxconn, Wintek, and Dynapack have reportedly received orders from Apple related to the manufacturing of the new device.
The report notes that Apple is looking to adopt a 9.7-inch touchscreen for the new netbook, slightly smaller than the 10.1- or...
'Documents to Go' Updated With Cut, Copy and Paste, Pinch to Zoom, and More
iPhone Alley points out that DataViz has recently updated its Documents to Go office suite for the iPhone to add several new features, the most important of which is the inclusion of support for Apple's systemwide cut, copy, and paste tools. The suite comes in two flavors: a basic version [App Store, $4.99] and an enhanced version [App Store, $9.99] offering support for Microsoft Exchange...
Navigon's 'MobileNavigator North America Lite' Comes to the App Store
German GPS firm Navigon has begun branching out into North America with its release of MobileNavigator North America Lite [App Store, Free]. Readers should note that the free lite version does NOT offer the active route guidance most users are looking for in a GPS mapping application, although it can display a user's position on its map and locate nearby points of interest. Full turn-by-turn...
