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's US Market Share Slips in 1Q 2009
Gartner has released a preliminary report detailing U.S. and worldwide PC shipments for the first quarter of 2009. The report pegs Apple's U.S. market share in fourth place among vendors at 7.4%, down from 8.0% in the fourth quarter of 2008. More importantly, the report shows a slight decline in market share over the year-ago quarter, when Apple held 7.5% market share.
Apple's U.S. Market ...
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Nine Inch Nails iPhone Application Now Available
Last week, we reported on an upcoming Nine Inch Nails application utilizing location-based social networking features and integrating with the official nin.com website. The application, titled nin: access [App Store, Free], is now available. - Engage in location-based conversation and share photos with other NIN fans around the world.
- Access the latest NIN news and blog updates.
- Listen to a ...
'Leaf Trombone: World Stage' Arrives in App Store
Leaf Trombone: World Stage [App Store, $0.99], the latest application from Smule, has been released and is now available in the App Store at an introductory price of $0.99. Originally demoed at Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 media event last month, Leaf Trombone: World Stage is a musical instrument application in the vein of Smule's popular Ocarina application.
Leaf Trombone: World Stage allows iPhone ...
Apple Seeds OS X 10.5.7 Build 9J50 to Developers, Public Release Imminent?
Just four days after the last developer seed, Apple has released yet another version of OS X 10.5.7 to developers. The new seed, designated Build 9J50, contains only a single documented fix related to Bluetooth networking. World of Apple republishes the seed notes, revealing the extensive list of changes made throughout the series of developer seeds and noting that the inability to install...
'Absalt EasyWakeup' Monitors Sleep Patterns to Function as Smart Alarm Clock
Absalt EasyWakeup [App Store, $9.99] is a unique app that monitors muscle movements in order to wake users at the optimum point in their sleep cycles. The application functions by using the iPhone's built-in accelerometer to detect the minute muscle movements associated with transitions from periods of deep sleep to periods of light sleep while the device is attached to the user's hand or arm.
...
Apple Seeds iPhone OS 3.0 Beta 3 and New SDK to Developers
Apple today seeded the third beta version of iPhone OS 3.0, along with a new build of the software development kit (SDK), to developers. World of Apple republishes the seed notes for the SDK, detailing a number of changes to various components, including Xcode, Interface Builder, and Dashcode, and notes that applications targeting pre-OS 3.0 devices are unable to be tested on the latest beta. A...
Apple Releases iMovie 8.0.2, Aperture 2.1.3 and Server Admin Tools Updates
Apple today released a pair of software updates for iMovie and Aperture users.
iMovie 8.0.2 weighs in at 24.5 MB and requires OS X 10.5.6. This Software Update fixes an issue with projects having a size of 0 KB. Attempting to open these projects would cause iMovie to quit unexpectedly at launch.
This Software Update also addresses a problem where full-screen mode could not be accessed on...
Microsoft Releases Free Office 2008 Trial and Updates for Office 2008 and 2004
Microsoft today announced that it is now offering free, 30-day trial downloads of Office 2008 for users located in the United States. Many of us like to try something before we decide to buy. And with today's launch of the downloadable Office 2008 for Mac Trial, MacBU is giving our customers the option of trying out Office 2008 for 30 days: fully functional, no strings attached. It runs...
HP to Add iPhone App and Video Transcoding to MediaSmart Servers
HP's MediaSmart servers gained some attention at Macworld Expo 2009 for providing home server solutions for cross-platform environments including Windows, Mac and Linux. The MediaSmart EX485/EX487 servers were honored with a "Best of Show" award at the expo.
Electronista reports that HP is preparing to release a software update to the servers that enables video streaming to mobile devices, as ...
New iPod Shuffle Contains $22 Worth of Parts
BusinessWeek reports on a teardown of the new iPod shuffle by research firm iSuppli, revealing that Apple's diminutive player contains approximately $22 worth of parts. All told, the cost of the shuffle's components, the headphones, and the packaging it ships in comes to $21.77, according to iSuppli's estimates. That's about 28% of the device's retail price. The smaller the component cost as a...
OS X 10.5.7 Build 9J47 Seeded to Developers
Apple has continued its pattern of nearly-weekly seeds of OS X 10.5.7 builds to developers, this time releasing Build 9J47. World of Apple again publishes the seed notes, revealing a continued decrease in the number of fixes since the previous seed. Build 9J47 of Mac OS X 10.5.7 includes only three new fixes but Apple has also increased the number of focus areas in the build.
Mac OS X 10.5.7...
Apple Launches '1 Billion App Countdown' Promotion
Apple today launched a 1 Billion App Countdown promotion, offering the opportunity for users to enter to win a package of prizes valued at over $13,000. As of today, nearly one billion apps have been downloaded around the globe. So we just want to say thanks - a billion. Download an app and you'll automatically get the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and...
Apple to Discontinue .Mac HomePage and Groups
Apple today announced that two legacy tools associated with .Mac, HomePage and Groups, will no longer be offered as of July 7, 2009. The two services are not currently offered as part of MobileMe but were still accessible to former .Mac users whose accounts had been transitioned to MobileMe at its launch last year.
.Mac HomePage is a web hosting service that made its debut as part of Apple's...
Apple Still Pursuing iChat 'Answering Machine' Technology?
A patent application published today reveals that Apple may still be working on a video "answering machine" technology for inclusion with iChat. The technology made a brief partial appearance in early OS X Leopard developer seeds in December 2006, but was omitted from the finished product.
The patent application, filed in October 2007, describes the use of pre-recorded video messages that can ...
AutoCAD Returning to Mac?
Autodesk, creator of the industry standard design and drafting software AutoCAD, is apparently contemplating the return of a version of AutoCAD running natively on Macs. In a recent blog article, Autodesk "Platform Technology Evangelist" Shaan Hurley points readers to a survey allowing them to "help shape the future of the next generation of AutoCAD products for the Apple Mac OS X Operating...
Shutterfly for iPhone Now Available
Shutterfly for iPhone [App Store, Free] recently appeared in the App Store, bringing streamlined on-the-go access to the popular photo sharing site. - Access all your Shutterfly albums and pictures from your iPhone
- Show off and view your online Shutterfly pictures in a stunning full-screen slide show
- Easily add your iPhone pictures directly to your online Shutterfly account
- Instantly...
Amazon and Wal-Mart MP3 Stores Adopt Variable Pricing
Just after Apple instituted variable pricing for music in the iTunes Store, Electronista noticed that Amazon and Wal-Mart have followed suit in their MP3 download stores. The quiet price hike confirms that Apple's unofficial switchover date for variable pricing on its store is part of a larger move to raise prices across the industry. Concerns had been raised that the music industry might target...
Nine Inch Nails Application Coming to iPhone
As part of an extensive interview with Wired, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and collaborator Rob Sheridan revealed plans for an upcoming Nine Inch Nails iPhone application that is awaiting approval by Apple. The application is said to utilize the location-based social features found in Twinkle and known as "Nearby". The free Nine Inch Nails app, scheduled for release as soon as it gets...
Gmail and Google Calendar Update for iPhone
According to the official Google Mac Blog, Gmail and Google Calendar have been updated for the iPhone. Today I'm happy to announce that we've updated Gmail and Calendar for the iPhone. We've completely re-architected the code so you get more consistent performance, refreshed the user interface so it's easier to perform batch actions, and most importantly, laid the foundation which will allow us to ...
Apple Seeds OS X 10.5.7 Build 9J44 to Developers
Apple has seeded yet another version of OS X 10.5.7, this one termed Build 9J44, to developers. The release comes a little more than a week since the last developer seed was released. World of Apple republishes the seed notes, again revealing that a lack of support for Safari 4 beta is the only known issue mentioned by Apple.
In addition, the seed notes reveal five new fixes since the last...
