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 Discontinues Free Trials of Aperture and iWork
As noted by MacStories, Apple has discontinued its free trials of Aperture and iWork, directing users to the Mac App Store where the apps are available for purchase. The discontinuation of the Aperture trial is not particularly recent, as discussion forum reports indicate that it has been missing for at least a month, but the removal has gone mostly unnoticed. It is not entirely clear when...
Read Full Article • 157 comments
New Dedicated Apple Product Displays Showing Up at Walmart
ifoAppleStore shares some photos of a newly-revamped Apple product display section in an Arkansas Walmart store near the retail chain's headquarters. Coming with dedicated wood display surfaces and lighted signage, the new displays mark a distinct improvement over the previous Apple product displays that had simply been integrated into existing display shelving. The displays feature tall,...
Apple Partners with Chinese Environmental Group for Supplier Audit
While Apple has received much publicity for its partnership with the Fair Labor Association to audit working conditions at several of its manufacturing partners' facilities in China, Financial Times reports that the company has now also partnered with the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) for an environmental audit of a supplier's facilities.Apple has agreed to a jointly...
Apple Reportedly Looking to Launch ‘iPad Mini’ Priced at $249-$299 in Q3
Kotaku reports on claims [Google translation] from Chinese web portal NetEase regarding Apple's plans for the launch of a smaller "iPad mini" in the third quarter of this year. According to the report, Apple is planning to launch with six million units of the device at a price of either $249 or $299 in order to combat forthcoming Windows 8 products, although smaller Android tablets such as...
New iPad Launches in 21 More Countries by End of April
Apple today officially announced two more rounds of launches for the new iPad, with the first round coming on Friday, April 20 and including twelve markets led by South Korea. The second round comes on Friday, April 27 and includes nine more countries.Apple today announced the new iPad, the third generation of its category defining mobile device, will arrive in South Korea and 11 additional...
Apple Releases Flashback Removal Tool for Macs Running OS X Lion without Java
Following yesterday's release of fresh Java updates to remove the Flashback malware system from Macs running OS X Lion and Snow Leopard, Apple today released a standalone Flashback malware removal tool to clean infections from OS X Lion systems without Java installed.About Flashback malware removal tool This Flashback malware removal tool that will remove the most common variants of the...
Apple Treats Employees to Performances of Cirque du Soleil's 'Totem'
MacRumors has learned that Apple has bought out two performances of Cirque du Soleil's traveling show Totem, currently playing in San Jose, California. According to our source, Apple purchased the entire block of 2,500 tickets for each of two shows yesterday and today for employees and their guests, with Apple also picking up the tab for food and drink. Scanning Twitter and other social...
Philippe Starck's Project With Apple is Steve Jobs' Yacht
In the wake of a claim from French designer Philippe Starck that he has been working with Apple on a "revolutionary" new project, Apple has issued a statement to AllThingsD specifically denying the assertion.Reached for comment, an Apple spokeswoman said the company is not working on a new product with Starck. And while she declined to speculate about what the designer might have been referring...
Apple CEO Tim Cook Visits Headquarters of Video Game Firm Valve
AppleInsider reports that Apple CEO Tim Cook paid a visit today to the the headquarters of Valve, the video game firm behind the Steam digital distribution platform and a number of popular PC and Mac games. While the purpose of Cook's visit is unknown, his presence at the company's headquarters in Bellevue, Washington suggests that it may have been of some importance potentially relating to...
Sharp Begins Mass Production of Retina-Resolution IGZO Displays
IDG News reports that Sharp has announced the start of mass production of new ultra high-resolution displays based on IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) materials. Early rumors had suggested that Apple might use the IGZO displays in the new iPad, but whether due to later-than-expected availability or other considerations, Apple elected not to do so. Apple has, however, also been claimed to be co...
Ban on Push iCloud Email Upheld in Germany as Fight over 3G Devices Continues
Back in February, Apple announced that it was suspending push functionality for iCloud and MobileMe email users in Germany following a victory by Motorola Mobility in a patent lawsuit. As noted by Dow Jones Newswires, an appeals court has upheld that ruling, requiring that Apple continue to refrain from offering push email in the country and that the company pay unspecified damages to Motorola.Th...
Designer Philippe Starck Says Working on 'Revolutionary' Product with Apple, Release in 8 Months
As noted by Mac4Ever [Google translation], legendary French designer Philippe Starck revealed on a radio show today that he has been working with Apple on a "revolutionary" new product, with the product set to launch within the next eight months. Philippe Starck (Source: Flickr/jikatu) French newspaper Le Figaro has more on Starck's comments [Google translation], noting that he met with...
Intel Looking Toward Retina Display PCs by 2013
As reported by Liliputing (via Electronista), Intel is envisioning the high-resolution "Retina" displays pushed by Apple in its iOS devices as the future of PCs, with comments at its Intel Developer Forum in Beijing noting that the company is supporting those plans with its chips. Specifically, Intel sees handheld and tablet devices targeting resolutions in the range of 300 pixels per inch...
Apple Granted Limited Permission to Intervene in Lodsys Case
Last year, patent holding firm Lodsys took on app developers using Apple's In App Purchase system for iOS, suing a number of large and small developers over their implementation of the feature in their apps. Apple stepped forward to assist its developers by claiming that its existing licensing arrangement with Lodsys protected developers, but Lodsys has persisted in its efforts to require...
Legal Experts Suggest Justice Department Unlikely to Win Antitrust Suit Against Apple
In the wake of yesterday's announcement that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and a number of book publishers over alleged price fixing, CNET notes that the government may have a hard time winning its case against Apple. The publishers may, however, find themselves on the losing end of the case should they be unwilling to settle."It's a harder case...
Apple Enhancing Apple ID Safety by Enforcing Security Question Requirements
The Next Web reports that Apple has begun enhancing the security of users' Apple ID accounts, requiring those who have do not have alternate email addresses and security questions on file to add them.In the past 24 hours, Apple appears to have started prompting iOS devices owners and those with Apple IDs within iTunes to make their accounts more secure, requiring them to pick three security...
Intel Reportedly Shipping New Thunderbolt Controllers Ahead of April 23 Ivy Bridge Introduction
VR-Zone reports that Intel has begun shipping its second-generation Thunderbolt controller chip, known as "Cactus Ridge". As previously discussed, Cactus Ridge will arrive in both four-channel (DSL3510) and two-channel (DSL3310) versions, offering Apple a pair of options for including the new chips in its forthcoming products.Another aspect that makes the DSL3510 interesting is that it supports...
An Inside Look at How iPads Are Assembled and Tested
Rob Schmitz of public radio show Marketplace played a key role in debunking a number of Mike Daisey's claims about his trip to China to see working conditions at Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn. As part of his investigation, Schmitz tracked down Daisey's translator and learned that a number of the experiences Daisey related as part of his "The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs" theater...
Apple Holds Third-Place Ranking Among U.S. PC Manufacturers in 1Q 2012
Research firm Gartner today released its preliminary personal computer shipment data for the first quarter of 2012, offering up a picture of market performance during the quarter. While Apple experienced only small year-over-year unit growth of over 3.8% and was beaten among top 5 vendors by HP's 6.6% growth, the company did once again outperform the overall industry and its 3.5% decline. Gar ...
Antivirus Firms Release Free Tools for Cleaning Macs Infected by Flashback
Yesterday, Apple disclosed for the first time that it is working to develop a software tool to detect and remove the Flashback malware from infected machines. We also previously profiled Flashback Checker, a simple app designed to allow users to easily see if their Macs are infected but which provides no assistance with disinfection. While Apple works on its own official solution, other...
