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
Amazon Preparing to Take on Apple's Siri with Acquisition of Speech Recognition Firm?
The Atlantic reports that a Securities and Exchange Commission filing reveals Amazon has quietly acquired voice recognition firm Yap, perhaps signaling intentions to take on Apple and Google in the market.Though the acquisition was apparently completed in September, no public announcement has been made by either company. The filing does not mention Amazon by name, but Yap merged with a company...
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Apple Jumps to Fourth in Greenpeace's Environmental Rankings of Electronics Companies
Fortune notes that Apple has risen to fourth place in Greenpeace's annual ranking of electronics manufacturers by environmental criteria, as published in the organization's annual Guide to Greener Electronics. Apple moved up to fourth place this year from ninth place in last year's survey, making gains in the greenness of its products and sustainability efforts in its operations, but remaining ...
Gallery of Storefront Photos from Apple's 357 Retail Stores
Thomas Park has put together an interesting gallery of storefront photos from all 357 of Apple's retail stores around the world. While the photos are simply pulled from the individual retail store pages on Apple's site, the gallery format ordered by date of opening makes for easy browsing and examination of the evolution of Apple's store designs. Some of the stores have of course been renovated ...
Kindle Fire Seen Slowing Some Previously-Planned iPad Purchases
With Amazon's forthcoming Kindle Fire tablet staking out a new position at the bargain end of the tablet market with its $199 price tag, some have wondered how significantly the device will eat into Apple's potential iPad sales.
A new survey from RBC Capital Markets and ChangeWave Research now puts some numbers to that impact, revealing that 26% of those surveyed customers who have either...
Apple Cutting Fourth Quarter iPhone Component Orders?
Digitimes shares a report from Taiwan's Commercial Times claiming that Apple has cut orders for iPhone components during the fourth quarter by 10-15%. The report claims that sales of the device have slowed significantly since the pre-order and launch phase and that shortages of a few components have also been impacting overall production. iPad production may also be seeing some cutbacks.Accordi...
Apple Releases Java 6 Updates for Lion and Snow Leopard
Apple today released a pair of Java 6 updates for users of OS X Lion and Mac OS X Snow Leopard, patching vulnerabilities and increasing reliability and compatibility.
- Java for OS X Lion Update 1 (62.53 MB)Java for Mac OS X 10.7 Update 1 delivers improved compatibility, security, and reliability by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_29.- Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 6 (75.45 MB)Java for Mac OS X...
Work on iOS 5 Battery Issues Continues with Customer Testing, Internal Support Notices
Last week, Apple confirmed that some iOS 5 users are experiencing battery life issues on their devices due to some bugs in the operating system, issues that Apple is working to address with iOS 5.0.1 currently in developer testing.
9to5Mac reports that Apple has now expanded its testing to include some of those users who have reported problems with their devices, reaching out to them through...
Settlement Reached in Lawsuit over Frayed MagSafe Connectors
Apple today posted a new support document outlining procedures users should follow if they experience strain relief problems with their "T" style MagSafe power cables on various notebook products. Long-standing issues with fraying on those cables resulted in Apple redesigning the MagSafe several years to adopt an "L" style connector that puts less strain on the cable.
While Apple has for...
Oregon and Apple Test Vote-by-iPad with Disabled Voters
The Associated Press reports that Apple has donated five iPads to the state of Oregon in support of a pilot program to help disabled voters more easily fill out their election ballots. Combined with a $75,000 investment by the state for software development, the iPads allow voters to adjust font size and screen colors to help them read the ballots, among other accessibility improvements made...
Australian Retailer Ready for 'Cat and Mouse' Game with Apple over Galaxy Tab Sales
Late last month, we noted that Apple had begun notifying Australian resellers of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 of the injunction prohibiting the sale of the device in that country. While the injunction applies only to Samsung, Apple's notice of infringement would make it easy for the company to target the retailers with separate suits.
dMavo's note of defiance on its Galaxy Tab 10.1 order page ...
China Unicom Eyeing iPhone 4S Introduction Before Year-End
As noted by CapitalVue, China Unicom is planning for an introduction of the iPhone 4S before the end of 2011, hoping that official certification of the device from regulatory authorities comes through in time to meet the timeframe.China Unicom (600050, 0762.HK) will endeavor to introduce the iPhone 4S into the Chinese market by the end of 2011, reports sohu.com, citing company president Lu...
'Consumer Reports' Satisfied that iPhone 4S Fixes Antenna Issues
Influential ratings and reviews magazine Consumer Reports, which famously refused to recommend both the GSM and CDMA iPhone 4 models due to antenna issues, has now determined to its satisfaction that the iPhone 4S does not suffer from the same issue. The determination means that Consumer Reports is now willing to list the iPhone 4S as a "recommended" device.Apple’s newest smart phone...
'Apple Store' App for iOS Updated to Support New Self-Checkout System for Retail Stores
In line with our report from the previous weekend, Apple has updated its Apple Store application for iOS [App Store] with new support for self-checkout at the company's retail stores.
What’s New in Version 2.0
- Personal Pickup: Buy in the app and choose to pick up your order at any Apple Retail Store. Most in-stock orders are available for pickup within an hour. (U.S. only)
- EasyPay:...
Mark Zuckerberg Discusses Steve Jobs' Influence on Facebook
Much has been made of the apparently tense relationship between Apple and Facebook, sparked in large part by the spat over Facebook integration in Apple's Ping social networking service last year. According to one report, the companies have also faced over such topics as Apple's desire for systemwide Facebook integration in iOS 4 and Facebook's plans for tablet platforms.
But in a new...
iPhone 4S Demand Remains Strong as International Rollouts Continue
According to a pair of research notes issued today, demand for Apple's new iPhone 4S remains very strong as the company continues an aggressive international rollout schedule, with Apple's own retail stores typically running out of available units on a daily basis and pre-orders for the device in Hong Kong having sold out in only ten minutes.
Barron's details the first note, which comes from ...
Motorola Wins Legal Victory Over Apple in Germany, Impact Disputed
Late Friday, FOSS Patents reported that Motorola Mobility had won an injunction against Apple in Germany, a decision that could potentially prevent Apple from selling any of its mobile devices in the country. Curiously, the injunction was issued as a default judgment, with Apple apparently deciding not to defend itself for unknown reasons.
The strange circumstances have led to some dispute...
Apple Adopting Dual Light Bar System for iPad 3 Display?
Digitimes reports that Apple is currently evaluating a pair of options for addressing issues with LED backlighting on the iPad 3, noting that the current backlight bar design used in the iPad 2 is insufficient for the higher-resolution display reportedly set to debut in the next-generation tablet.One of the new LED light bar designs has proposed to keep the light bar in a single-bar form factor ...
Adobe Brings Photoshop Elements 10 and Premiere Elements 10 Editors to Mac App Store
Back in July, Adobe entered the Mac App Store for the first time with the release of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 Editor, a slightly scaled-down version of the company's consumer image editing application. When the company released Photoshop Elements 10 in boxed form in mid-September, we asked Adobe about a Mac App Store release for the new version and were told that it was in the works but under...
Eddy Cue Receives Another 100,000 Shares of Apple Stock
As revealed in a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple has awarded Eddy Cue an additional 100,000 shares of company stock in the form of restricted stock units. The stock units were issued on November 2nd and will vest in September 2014 (25,000 shares) and September 2016 (75,000 shares) if Cue remains employed by Apple at those milestone dates.
At Apple's present...
Over 10% of U.S. Mobile Phone Users Now on an iPhone
comScore today released the results of its latest survey of mobile phone usage in the United States, noting that Apple has reached a milestone in surpassing a 10% share of the U.S. mobile phone market. As has been the recent trend, Apple again led the major phone manufacturers in growth between the three-month period ending in June and the period ending in September, growing by 1.3 percentage...
