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
Developer Builds of Google Chrome for OS X and Linux Now Available
A Chromium blog post yesterday has announced the availability of developer builds of Google's Chrome browser for both OS X and Linux. The news comes several weeks after the release of initial OS X builds of Chromium, the open source project behind Chrome. The announcement, however, warns that most users should not install the new builds, as they are buggy, unstable, and feature-incomplete. How...
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Steve Jobs on Track for a June Return to Coincide with a Media Event?
The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that Steve Jobs is on track to return from his six-month medical leave of absence later this month. While Mr. Jobs has been on sick leave, some Apple directors have gotten weekly updates about his medical condition from the CEO's physician, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Jobs's recovery "is coming along" and he is on...
Apple Releases iLife and Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Updates
Apple today released a number of software updates targeting its iLife suite of applications and adding RAW image support for several digital camera models.
- iLife Support 9.0.3 (55.1 MB) addresses several minor issues and offers several general improvements to the entire iLife suite of applications. This update addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability for the Media...
Carphone Warehouse Adds Four Placeholders for New 16 GB and 32 GB iPhones
AppleInsider reports that UK authorized iPhone distributor Carphone Warehouse has added four new iPhone "V3" entries to its inventory system covering 16 GB and 32 GB models in both black and white.
Entries in resellers' inventory systems should typically taken with some skepticism, as such additions are frequently made on a "best guess" basis without any inside knowledge of future product...
Apple Patent Applications: Multi-Touch Scroll Wheel, Sharing Digital Media During iPhone Calls
A number of patent applications from Apple were released by the United States Patent and Trademark Office this morning, and two of them have received a fair bit of attention, having been first brought to light in a pair of reports (#1, #2) from AppleInsider.
The first application, entitled "Multi-dimensional scroll wheel", was filed in September 2008. It describes a scroll wheel, such as that ...
Apple Retail Store News Roundup
Over the past few days, a number of items regarding Apple's retail stores have popped up, and we've collected some of them here for visibility and discussion.
- USA Today reported last week about Apple's plans for its retail stores, revealing that Apple is planning to remodel 100 of its existing stores this year, in addition to the 25 new stores under development. Renovated stores will offer...
Apple Releases AirPort Utility 5.4.2
Apple today released AirPort Utility 5.4.2 for both Mac (16.86 MB) and Windows (10.92 MB). The update offers several fixes to Apple's software for managing the AirPort Express Base Station, the AirPort Extreme Base Station, and Time Capsule. Issues addressed include: - An issue causing AirPort Utility to be unable to read certain AirPort wireless device configurations.
- An issue causing...
Apple Officially Selects North Carolina for New $1 Billion Data Center
North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue officially announced today that Apple has selected the state as the location of a new data center, which will see the company invest more than $1 billion over a nine-year period. Gov. Bev Perdue today announced that Apple has selected North Carolina as the location for a new data center. The company is expected to invest more than $1 billion in the project...
iPhone OS 3.0 to Allow Users to Share and Recommend Apps?
BusinessWeek reports that Apple has included features in its upcoming iPhone OS 3.0 that would allow users to share apps with other iPhone users, although whether Apple decides to activate those features remains to be seen. Apple's new iPhone 3.0 software includes features that, if activated by Apple, may let users share software with one another, according to a person familiar with the...
'The Sims 3' for iPhone Debuts
EA's The Sims franchise is one of the most successful video game series of all time, and has come to define the genre of "life simulation" social gaming. The latest release in the series, The Sims 3, launched today simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and iPhone [App Store, $9.99]. TouchArcade offers up a "first impressions" review of the iPhone version of the game, revealing a well-done and...
Apple Wraps Up Push Notification Testing Ahead of WWDC
Several weeks ago, Apple began testing high-volume Push Notifications using a special build of the AP Mobile iPhone application distributed to developers testing beta versions of the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0. While the test was scheduled to last one week, Apple is apparently just now putting the final wraps on its testing, thanking developers for their assistance throughout the testing process.
...
Apple Makes Changes to 'One to One' Program
Apple today deployed a series of changes to its 'One to One' program that provides personalized setup and training for Mac users. The $99/year program is now available only to users who have purchased a Mac directly from an Apple sales channel (retail store, online or phone), and is only available at the time of machine purchase. Memberships may be renewed twice for a total of three years of...
Apple Releases MobileMe Control Panel for Windows 1.4
Apple today released MobileMe Control Panel for Windows 1.4 (2.3 MB), bringing support for connections through proxy servers. Required to set up and manage MobileMe syncing and manage iDisk settings on a Windows PC. This update provides support for connecting to MobileMe through various proxy servers.
More information about supported proxy configurations in this support article.
Apple has...
Four iPhone Models Ranging From 4 GB to 32 GB Coming?
Engadget reports that Apple has just received approval from a certification board for four new iPhones with capacities ranging from 4 GB to 32 GB. 4GB to 32GB -- that's one hell of a range, but we're hearing from a trusted source that new iPhones in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities just garnered approval by the PCS Type Review Certification Board, the standards body responsible for...
Apple Releases GarageBand 5.0.2
Apple today released GarageBand 5.0.2 via Software Update, addressing a number of minor performance issues. This update addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and fixes a number of other minor issues. The issues addressed include:
- Improved purchasing experience for Artist Lessons in the GarageBand Lesson Store
- Accessing installed Jam Packs in the loop browser
...
Apple Releases iTunes 8.2 and QuickTime 7.6.2
Apple today released iTunes 8.2 via Software Update. The update adds support for iPhone OS 3.0, which is expected to be featured at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference next week and be released in the near future. iTunes 8.2 now supports iPhone or iPod touch with the iPhone 3.0 Software Update. iTunes 8.2 also includes many accessibility improvements and bug fixes.
For information on the...
More Claims of Wireless Movie and TV Downloads to iPhone Surface
AppleInsider reports that Apple has begun internal training of its AppleCare staff to prepare for the deployment of wireless movie and TV downloads in the forthcoming iPhone OS 3.0. The report comes on the heels of a blog entry posted last week showing screenshots of a testing version of the iTunes Store download pages. Now however, AppleInsider has learned from people familiar with Apple's...
Apple Releases iWork '09 9.0.2 and MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update 1.3
Apple today released a pair of software updates, one for iWork '09 users and one for MacBook Pro users.
iWork '09 9.0.2 (42.8 MB) addresses issues with saving documents and Keynote. This update improves reliability when saving some iWork documents and when playing some presentations more than once per Keynote session.The update requires iWork '09 and OS X 10.4.11 or 10.5.6 or later.
MacBook...
Apple Launches Additional Back-to-School Promotions Internationally
In something of a surprise move, Apple has launched its annual Back to School promotion for education customers in a number of its international online stores alongside the U.S. and Canadian promotion. Apple has typically offered the promotion outside of the United States and Canada later in the calendar year.
The promotion is available to education customers purchasing a Mac and an iPod on...
Palm Pre to Sync with iTunes on Macs?
Fortune reports that the forthcoming Palm Pre is able to sync with iTunes on Macs, appearing in iTunes' device list just like an iPhone or iPod with the only limitation on syncing being its inability to handle older, copy-protected tracks from the iTunes Store. Although not mentioned in the report, the Pre would also presumably be incompatible with movies and other videos from the iTunes Store,...
