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 Announces Countdown to 25 Billion App Store Downloads with $10,000 Gift Card Prize
Apple has posted a new feature on its site promoting a countdown to 25 billion downloads for the App Store.As of today, nearly 25 billion apps have been downloaded worldwide. Which is almost as amazing as the apps themselves. So we want to say thanks. Download the 25 billionth app, and you could win a US$10,000 App Store Gift Card. Just visit the App Store and download your best app yet.Users...
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Foxconn Again Raises Wages for Entry-Level Workers
Reuters reports that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn has announced new wage increases for entry-level workers at its facilities in China, boosting pay anywhere from 16-25 percent. The increase, which comes as Foxconn is again under increasing global pressure stemming from reports on working conditions and worker rights issues at the company, is the company's third wage hike since 2010.In a ...
Apple Removes X11 in OS X Mountain Lion, Shifts Support to Open Source XQuartz
As noticed by several users running the developer preview version of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, Apple is no longer including its X11 application for running software through the X Window System interface. A popular option for scientists and others seeking to run specialized UNIX software both on local machines and across networks, X11 has been available on OS X for a number of years and has been...
Apple Shuns The New York Times in OS X Mountain Lion Coverage Over Foxconn Reporting
With yesterday's announcements from Apple regarding its forthcoming OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion operating system, a number of media outlets had been provided with advance briefings and early copies of the software for the purposes of having reviews prepared and ready to go. When Apple published its press release and went live with OS X Mountain Lion information at 8:30 AM Eastern yesterday, the...
Google Under Fire for Circumvention of Cookie Settings in Safari for iOS to Track Users
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google and several other advertising agencies have been discovered to be circumventing privacy protections in Apple's Safari browser for iOS devices in order to track users through ads on numerous popular websites. Google implemented the technique in order to embed +1 buttons on its ads, tricking users' systems into allowing cookies by using an invisible form ...
Gatekeeper Already Present in OS X 10.7.3, Available for Developer Testing
With developers needing to prepare for Apple's new Gatekeeper feature in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, Apple has revealed that the functionality is already baked into OS X 10.7.3 but hidden by default. Apple has instructed developers that they can enable Gatekeeper on OS X 10.7.3 from the command line in order to test the functionality.Mac OS X users will soon have the option of turning on...
OS X Mountain Lion Drops Support for Many 2006-2008 Macs with Integrated Graphics
Cult of Mac points to a report from French site MacGeneration highlighting the system requirements for OS X Mountain Lion. Among those Macs currently compatible with OS X Lion, those with lower-end Intel GMA X3100 or GMA 950 integrated graphics will not be able to upgrade to Mountain Lion:- Any Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook from late 2007 – late 2008 (Model Numbers: MB061*/B, MB062*/B, MB063*/B,...
Apple Seeds Safari 5.2 for OS X Lion to Developers
Alongside the OS X Mountain Lion developer preview released today, Apple has also pushed out Safari 5.2 for Lion to developers. The update brings a number of new features that will be included with Safari in OS X Mountain Lion later this year.
Among the new additions are a unified address/search bar, new persistent Reader icon that is blue when available and grey when inactive, and new URL...
OS X Mountain Lion's Documents in the Cloud Simplifies File Access Across Devices
One of the major new features in OS X Mountain Lion is greater integration with iCloud, with one of the additions being new Documents in the Cloud functionality. As noted by John Gruber, the feature expands significantly on the existing feature that allows limited syncing and transfer of iWork documents across their iOS devices and Macs.iCloud document storage, and the biggest change to Open and ...
Software Update to Move Inside Mac App Store in OS X Mountain Lion
Apple's Software Update has long been the primary method for users updating their systems, with the tool accessible through the Apple icon in the menu bar offering automatic weekly checks for new software updates from Apple. But as shown by iClarified, Apple is doing away with the standalone Software Update tool in OS X Mountain Lion and integrating it directly into the Mac App Store.
Pocket...
OS X Mountain Lion Limits Apps to Mac App Store, Signed Apps by Default
One of the significant new features in OS X Mountain Lion is Gatekeeper, a new security system to help keep users from installing nefarious applications on their machines.
The new system relies not only on Mac App Store distribution as means of vetting apps, but also on a new "identified developer" program under which developers distributing their applications outside of the Mac App Store can...
OS X Mountain Lion to Be True Mac App Store Exclusive
While OS X Lion was initially announced as an exclusive Mac App Store release, Apple did backtrack slightly before launch with a decision to offer a $69 USB thumb drive to assist users without access to broadband connections.
As reported by Pocket-lint, Apple has decided to end that experiment with OS X Mountain Lion, making the forthcoming release a true Mac App Store exclusive.Apple has...
Apple Releases Xcode 4.3, Now Offered as App Instead of Installer
Apple today released Xcode 4.3 [Mac App Store], making a number of improvements to the software. Among the notable changes, Xcode is now offered directly as an app. It had previously been offered as an installer package, and the move simplifies the installation and update process.What's New in Version 4.3
Xcode is now distributed as an application, rather than as an installer. This change...
Apple Releases Public Beta of New Messages App for OS X
Alongside today's OS X Mountain Lion news, Apple released a public beta version of its new Messages app for OS X for existing users. Set to replace iChat in OS X Mountain Lion, the new Messages app integrates features of iChat and FaceTime and adds compatibility with the iMessages service introduced for iOS last year.Download Messages Beta and get a taste of what’s coming in OS X Mountain...
Apple Releases First Developer Preview of OS X Mountain Lion, Public Launch in Late Summer
Apple today announced that it has released the first developer preview of the company's next-generation operating system, named OS X Mountain Lion. The release will bring over 100 new features, including a number of those familiar to iOS users such as Messages, Notes, Reminders, Game Center, Notification Center, Twitter integration, and AirPlay Mirroring. The first developer preview is...
Intel Delaying Mass Availability of Ivy Bridge Processors Until 'After June'?
Digitimes reports that Intel has apparently begun informing partners that mass availability of its forthcoming Ivy Bridge processors will be delayed until "after June". Intel is said to be sticking to its initial schedule calling for an April introduction of Ivy Bridge, but only very limited supplies of the chips will be available at that time.Intel recently notified its partners about plans to...
iPad Issues in China: Amazon Not an Authorized Retailer, Apple's Victory in Hong Kong Trademark Case
Earlier today, we noted that the iPad had been pulled from sale at online retailers Amazon China and Suning.com, with the development coming just days after authorities had seized some iPads over a trademark dispute involving the "iPad" name. At the time of the removal, an Amazon China spokesperson indicated that the iPad had been removed at Apple's request rather than as a result of actions...
Apple to Require Explicit Permission for iOS Apps Accessing Address Book Data
Just hours after a pair of U.S. Congressmen sent a letter to Apple requesting information on privacy practices, specifically as they relate to address book data being collected and stored by the apps' developers, Apple has issued a statement to AllThingsD indicating that the issue will be addressed in a forthcoming iOS software update.“Apps that collect or transmit a user’s contact data...
Apple Seeks Bankruptcy Court's Blessing to Sue Kodak over Patents
With Kodak having filed last-minute patent lawsuits against Apple and HTC as it was heading into bankruptcy last month, Bloomberg reports that Apple is looking to assert itself against the pioneering photography company with a new lawsuit alleging infringement of Apple-held patents.
While Apple says in its filing with the bankruptcy court overseeing Kodak's case that it is not required to...
Congress Weighs in on iOS Apps Collecting Address Book and Other Personal Data
Last week, controversy erupted when it was discovered that the popular iOS app Path was uploading users' entire address books to the company's servers without alerting users or asking for authorization. While Path quickly deleted all address book data on its servers and updated its app to make the data collection an opt-in service, the issue has cast a fresh light on user privacy issues on iOS.
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