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
AT&T Announces Plans for 7.2 Mbps 3G Deployment
AT&T today announced its plans for deployment of HSPA 7.2 3G wireless technology topping out at 7.2 Mbps, doubling the speed of AT&T's current offerings and serving as an intermediate step to the deployment of LTE (4G) several years down the road. AT&T plans to begin rolling out the improvements later this year and will take until 2011 to fully deploy the necessary equipment. LTE trials are...
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Apple Launches U.S. Back-to-School Promo, Does Not Include iPhone
Alongside today's minor update to its white MacBook, Apple announced the launch of its annual Back to School promo for U.S. education customers. This year's program offers rebates of up to $229 on the full line of iPods when purchased with a qualifying new Apple computer, which includes all Macs except the Mac mini.
Both the Mac and iPod must be purchased at the same time on the same...
Apple Releases Minor Update to White MacBook
Apple today quietly bumped the specs on the white MacBook. Changes to the base specs include:
- Processsor speed bumped from 2.0 GHz to 2.13 GHz.
- RAM speed bumped from 667 MHz to 800 MHz.
- Hard drive capacity increased from 120 GB to 160 GB. Build-to-order options up to 500 GB are now available, up from a previous maximum of 320 GB. Notably, the aluminum MacBook and MacBook Pro...
Psystar Files for Bankruptcy
The Mac Observer reports that Psystar, the manufacturer of unauthorized Mac clones currently embroiled in a legal battle with Apple, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The move is likely to delay the proceedings in Apple's case, which is currently still in the discovery phase, although it also signals that Psystar may be unable to finance its continuing defense against Apple. Unauthorized Mac...
Apple Relents, Approves 'Eucalyptus' eBook App
On Friday, we reported on Apple's rejection of James Montgomerie's Eucalyptus eBook application due to its ability to access "objectionable" content, namely a translation of the Kama Sutra available through Project Gutenberg's collection of free eBooks created from public domain works.
Today, Montgomerie announced on his blog that Apple has reconsidered its decision and approved Eucalyptus as...
Orange Sells Millionth iPhone in France
Orange today announced that it has sold one million iPhones in France since its initial offering of the original iPhone in November 2007. In recognition of the milestone, Orange is offering its customers free access to its Roland-Garros iPhone application, providing tennis fans with mobile viewing of the upcoming French Open.
In the release, Orange also highlights a number of other iPhone...
Apple Rejects eBook App Over Access to Kama Sutra
In an extensive blog entry, James Montgomerie reveals that Apple has repeatedly rejected his eBook reader iPhone application, Eucalyptus, due to its ability to access a version of the ancient Indian text Kama Sutra, which Apple considers to contain objectionable content.
As Montgomerie describes, the Eucalyptus application does not contain the "objectionable" text, as it merely serves as an...
Apple Announces Free Summer Workshops for Kids
Apple has announced a series of free workshops at its retail stores targeted at children ages 8-12. Known as Apple Camp, the program consists of four three-hour workshops targeting such skills as movies, music, photos, and presentations. Workshops are offered in the latter half of July at most Apple retail stores, although not all locations will be offering all four workshops.
Participants ...
Apple Tablet Coming in 2010?
Silicon Alley Insider reports on a note from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster claiming that Apple's rumored "media pad" or tablet computer will not arrive until sometime in the first half of 2010. Munster also claims that the device will be more dramatically different from the iPhone and competing netbooks than most analysts and investors are expecting. The complexity of the operating system, ...
Unpatched OS X Java Vulnerabilities Drawing Attention
Programmer and former Apple engineer Landon Fuller has released a proof-of-concept exploit demonstrating vulnerabilities in Apple's current implementation of Java that allow arbitrary code execution in Java-enabled Web browsers. While the vulnerabilities, first discovered last August, were disclosed and patched by Sun last December, Apple has yet to roll out a fix for its own implementation of...
Amazon Brings Landscape Mode and Viewing Customizations to 'Kindle for iPhone'
Screenshot from TechCrunch Amazon's Kindle for iPhone [App Store, Free] has been updated to Version 1.1, bringing several important new features to the popular eBook reader. Most notably, Amazon has added support for viewing in landscape orientation and the ability to customize text and background colors. The changes include: * Read in portrait or landscape mode.
* Select alternate background...
Gartner: iPhone Doubles Share of Smartphone Market Over Year-Ago Quarter
Research firm Gartner today released a report covering mobile phone sales for the first quarter of 2009. As part of the report, Gartner released sales figures and market share for the smartphone category, which includes Apple's iPhone. According to Gartner's numbers, Apple more than doubled its share of the worldwide smartphone market to 10.8%, up from 5.3% in the year-ago quarter, maintaining...
Differentiation of Future iPhone Models to be Driven by Software?
Register Hardware reports on a meeting last week between Apple senior executives and analysts for investment firm Oppenheimer & Co. which provided a bit of insight into Apple's options for increasing iPhone market share. A report on the meeting issued by Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner mentions several obvious strategies that Apple could employ: Yair Reiner, an analyst at Oppenheimer, recently...
Palm Pre to Launch June 6th Priced at $199.99
Sprint today announced that the Palm Pre will launch on June 6th and will be priced at $199.99 with a two-year contract and mail-in rebate. Sprint today announced pricing and nationwide availability for the highly anticipated Palm Pre phone, offered exclusively from Sprint. Palm Pre will be available nationwide on June 6 in Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online at ...
Apple Beginning High-Volume iPhone OS 3.0 Push Notification Testing
In an e-mail sent to iPhone developers testing iPhone OS 3.0 betas, Apple announced the start of testing of high-volume Push Notifications using a pre-release version of the Associated Press iPhone application. The current test will run for seven days. As a developer actively working with iPhone OS 3.0 beta, we would like your help in testing the Apple Push Notification service. We have selected...
Snow Leopard Videos Demonstrating Several New Features Surface
Brazilian website MacMagazine links [Google translation] to YouTube user LeopardOctober, who has been posting video previews of new Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard features. Many of the features have already been described, but the videos provide examples of the features in use.
In HD + NEW - Snow Leopard Build 10A261: Demonstrates "Put Back" feature that restores trashed files to their original...
Discounted Limited Data Plan for iPhone Coming From AT&T?
BusinessWeek reports that AT&T is considering introducing a discounted limited data plan for the iPhone at $20 per month. AT&T currently offers only an unlimited data plan for $30 per month, and the data transfer cap for the rumored discounted plan remains unknown.
Analyst Richard Doherty claims that the additional data plan option is being driven by Apple, which wants to offer a lower-cost ...
More Rumors of Limited Third-Party Background Apps Coming to the iPhone? [Updated]
Silicon Alley Insider has heard some rumors that seem to corroborate MacRumors' report from February that Apple is working on allowing limited background processes in a future version of the iPhone's operating system. Our sources had told us they would be limited to one or two additional processes, while Silicon Alley Insider suggests that it could alternatively be for specifically-approved...
Email 'n Walk: Keeping an Eye on What's in Front of You
CNET highlights Email 'n Walk [App Store, Free for a Limited Time], a new application that utilizes the iPhone's camera and a transparent window to allow users to compose e-mails while keeping an eye on what's going on front of them. The idea is simple: start up Email 'n Walk, type in your subject, and start typing a message. While you write, Email 'n Walk uses your iPhone camera to show you...
Apple Hires Former Security Director of One Laptop Per Child
In a blog post, Ivan Krstić, former director of security architecture at One Laptop per Child (OLPC), has revealed that he has taken an unspecified position related to core security at Apple. Krstić is well-known among security experts, having been named the second most influential person in security by eWeek in 2008.
As Krstić notes on his personal web site, his expertise and passion lie in...
