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 Reminds Users of iWork.com Discontinuation on July 31
Following this weekend's shutdown of MobileMe in favor of iCloud, Apple today sent out an email to users of its beta iWork.com service reminding them that it too will be discontinued on July 31.Dear iWork.com user,
Remember, as of July 31, 2012, you will no longer be able to access your documents on the iWork.com site or view them on the web.
We recommend that you sign in to iWork.com...
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Apple Campus 2 Qualifies for Expedited Environmental Review
The San Jose Mercury News reports that California Governor Jerry Brown's office has approved Apple's "Campus 2" project in Cupertino for a streamlined environmental review process. The new designation will not speed up construction on the project, which is scheduled to begin in early 2013, but will simplify the review process over the coming months."Apple's state-of-the art campus brings at...
Apple Testing Redesigned Genius Bar to Increase Capacity
ifoAppleStore posts a photo of Apple's concept for a redesigned Genius Bar for at least some of its retail stores, a move intended to increase capacity at the busy support location. Significantly, the change turns the entire Genius Bar by 90 degrees to provide stools for customers on both sides of the table.
The change also breaks down the barrier between customers and support staff, with...
Apple Settles Chinese 'iPad' Trademark Dispute with Proview for $60 Million
Associated Press reports that Apple and Chinese company Proview Technology have reached a settlement deal that involves Apple paying $60 million for the rights to the "iPad" trademark in China."The iPad dispute resolution is ended," the Guangdong High People's Court said in a statement. "Apple Inc. has transferred $60 million to the account of the Guangdong High Court as requested in the...
Apple Wins Injunction Barring U.S. Sales of Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone
Just days after Apple won an injunction barring U.S. sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, Reuters reports that the same judge has issued a second preliminary injunction that would bar sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone."Apple has made a clear showing that, in the absence of a preliminary injunction, it is likely to lose substantial market share in the smartphone market and to lose...
Longtime OS X Chief Bertrand Serlet Working on New Cloud Startup
Back in March 2011, Apple announced that senior vice president of Mac Software Engineering Bertrand Serlet was leaving the company after over 20 years working with Steve Jobs at NeXT and Apple. Serlet and Apple were quiet about his future plans at the time, noting only that he wished to "focus less on products and more on science".
Business Insider now reports that Serlet has been working on...
Retina MacBook Pro Pushes the Limits of its Graphics Capabilities
Just after the launch of the Retina MacBook Pro earlier this month, AnandTech provided a first glimpse of the machine's display performance, noting the various resolution options available to users and examining how its color and contrast compares to other notebooks.
After having more time to analyze the new machine, AnandTech last week published its full review of the Retina MacBook Pro,...
Apple Files Request to Obtain iPad3.com Domain
As noted by Domain Name Wire, Apple has filed a claim with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) seeking to gain control of the iPad3.com domain. The move comes even though the company opted to simply refer to the third-generation iPad as "the new iPad", but it seems likely that iPad3.com may still be a popular destination for those attempting to find out more about the device.iPad3...
Siri Shows Increasing Promise, But Accuracy Falls Short of Google Text Searches
In what should not be a surprise given Siri's beta status and its use of new technology for voice interaction with mobile devices, a study from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster finds that Siri's abilities are still eclipsed by the traditional text-entry Google searches that have been in place for years.
The study included presenting Siri with 800 queries in each of two environments, a quiet...
Adobe to End New Installs of Flash on Android as of August 15
Last November, Adobe announced that it was ending development of Flash Player for mobile platforms, opting not to optimize the plug-in for new browser, operating system, and device configurations. Adobe's announcement came roughly a year and a half after Steve Jobs penned his "Thoughts on Flash" open letter outlining why Apple had decided not to allow Flash to run on its iOS devices.
Now...
Google Chrome Causing Freezing and Crashing on New Mac Notebooks
Over the past several days, Gizmodo has been highlighting freezing and crashing issues on several of its staff's new MacBook Air models, linking the problems to Google Chrome. Switching to Apple's Safari browser eliminated all of the issues, and thus the site recommended that owners of the new machines avoid Chrome for the time being.
Google has now issued a statement to Gizmodo...
Three New Apple Retail Stores Opening This Weekend
Late June typically marks the time of year in which Apple retail store openings begin to ramp up, and this year appears to be no exception with three grand openings scheduled for this Saturday, June 30. The group of three is Apple's largest batch of openings since seven stores opened in one weekend last September. This week's openings include:
- Ridge Hill (Yonkers, New York): The new Ridge...
Virgin Mobile USA Opening Retail Stores in Chicago to Support iPhone Launch
As announced earlier this month, Sprint prepaid subsidiary Virgin Mobile USA is launching the iPhone tomorrow, and the carrier has begun taking orders ahead of the official launch.
As noted by Bloomberg Businessweek, Virgin Mobile is seeking to capitalize on the publicity generated by the iPhone to remake itself as a major player in the market, in part by opening its first ten retail stores...
Microsoft's Xbox Music Service to Include Streaming, Downloads, and Cloud Storage?
Earlier this month, we noted that Microsoft was making a major push into the living room, seeking to use its Xbox hardware as the hub for new streaming video content and a "SmartGlass" app for various platforms that will allow two-way Airplay-like wireless streaming between devices and an Xbox connected to a television.
Bloomberg now reports that Microsoft is also making a substantial push on...
New Pen-Based 'Modbook Pro' Tablet Launching in Early Fall
Five and a half years ago, a company by the name of Axiotron unveiled the Modbook, a MacBook that had been converted into a pen-based tablet by repackaging the internals into a new casing to yield the one-piece tablet form factor. Two years later, Axiotron introduced the Modbook Pro based on a similar concept, but delays in delivering its products ultimately led Axiotron to fade away.
Earlier ...
Sony's Sound Forge Audio Editing Software Coming to Mac?
A new website at FinallyOnTheMac.com has just gone live, teasing a major announcement from an undisclosed company. The site currently consists of a single YouTube video entitled "Countdown to a revolution", with the site containing an additional eight blank slots where other videos will presumably be posted in the coming days.
We believe that Sony is behind the teaser campaign, and the...
U.S. Ban on Samsung Galaxy Tab Sales Goes into Effect as Apple Posts Bond
Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh granted a preliminary injunction that would allow Apple to bar Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the United States while a full trial on Samsung's alleged design infringement is conducted.
Enforcement of the sales ban required that Apple post a $2.6 million bond from which damages to Samsung would be paid if Apple ultimately lost its...
Apple Planning Major Overhaul of iTunes to Emphasize iCloud and Sharing
Bloomberg reports that Apple is preparing a major overhaul of its iTunes software to more closely integrate its iCloud services and add new features for sharing music.With an increasing amount of content available on the store, the overhaul is intended to improve how people manage all their files, one person said. That includes changes to how users find new material and how they access what they...
Some Retina MacBook Pro Users Experiencing Display 'Ghosting'
Earlier this week, The Next Web noted that some early purchasers of the Retina MacBook Pro have been experiencing "ghosting" on their machines' displays, with remnants of previously-displayed screen contents remaining visible for some time afterward.Some readers on the ASC forum have reported the image retention issue with as little as 20 minutes worth of use. However it’s well worth noting...
Google Announces $199 Nexus 7 Tablet, $299 Nexus Q Media Streamer
At its Google I/O conference today, Google unveiled several new products intended to compete in the tablet and home entertainment markets, squarely targeting Apple's iPad and its rumored push into the living room for which the Apple TV has served as a foothold.
Google's presentation began with a spotlight on Android, noting that it is now activating more than one million Android devices per...
