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
Microsoft Releases Office for Mac Security and Performance Updates
Microsoft today released a series of updates for users of its Office for Mac productivity suites, bringing security, performance, and stability improvements to Office 2011, 2008, and 2004, as well as a pair of ancillary updates. - Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.1.3 Update (112.0 MB): Improvements include security fixes and a number of improvements for PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Outlook,...
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Apple to Offer New Replacement iPhones Instead of Refurbished Units in South Korea
Bloomberg reports that Apple has revised its warranty replacement policy for iPhones in South Korea under pressure from regulators, now offering customers returning their defective phones within the first month of ownership the option of receiving brand-new replacement phones rather than refurbished units as has been standard policy.Consumers who find defects in their iPhones within a month of...
Intel Previews Low-Power 'Haswell' Processors for 2013
Slide from Intel's Haswell preview (Source: Gizmodo) Intel today previewed its future "Haswell" family of low-power processors at its Intel Developer Forum, showing how the line of chips planned for a 2013 debut will be able to dramatically increase power efficiency to increase battery life on its so-called "Ultrabook" systems.[Intel CEO Paul] Otellini also described the new class of platform...
Belkin Shows Off Upcoming Thunderbolt Express Dock
Ever since Apple introduced its new Apple Thunderbolt Display, which should begin shipping in the very near future, users have been hoping for a product that offers the same docking station capabilities without the integrated monitor and $999 price tag. Belkin may soon have an answer for those users, as DailyTech notes that the company is using this week's Intel Developer Forum to show off a ...
Microsoft Previews Windows 8 for Tablets and PCs
Microsoft today officially unveiled its next-generation Windows 8 operating system, detailing how the company has "reimagined" the software to allow a single operating system to run on a variety of systems from tablets to desktops and Intel to ARM. The company's new "Metro" user interface emphasizes touch-centered input and full-screen apps much like the iPad, but also supports full mouse and...
Sprint Briefing Sales Reps for October iPhone 4 Launch? No Sprint iPhone 5 Until 2012?
TUAW reports that it has received word that Sprint has begun training its sales representatives for a planned October launch of the iPhone 4 on the carrier.A Sprint Nextel sales associate told TUAW that the carrier has started briefing its employees on an imminent Sprint iPhone 4 launch. The briefing reportedly told the sales team that Sprint will begin offering the iPhone 4 in October 2011...
AppleCare Prepping for October 10th Launch of iOS 5?
A source connected to Apple's AppleCare customer service call centers has reportedly indicated to AppleInsider that the company is expecting a large influx of iOS-related support calls beginning Monday, October 10th, potentially signaling a release of iOS 5 to current users on that date.For instance, one person familiar with the matter said his local AppleCare call center has been told to expect...
Survey Suggests 'Unprecedented' Demand for iPhone 5
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky today issued a new report sharing the results of a proprietary survey of 2,200 respondents, revealing significantly higher demand for the iPhone 5 than was evident for the iPhone 4 ahead of its release last year. The survey shows that 31% of respondents are either very likely or somewhat likely to purchase an iPhone 5, compared to 25% for the iPhone 4...
Apple Reportedly Open to Restoring MobileMe Features Lost in iCloud Transition
AppleInsider reports that it has heard from a customer who emailed Apple CEO Tim Cook expressing dismay over the discontinuation of several MobileMe features as the service is transitioned to iCloud. Surprisingly, the customer reports that he received a personal phone call from Cook's office noting that the company is indeed "open" to bringing some of the features back if customer demand...
Apple Requests Stay of Motorola Patent Suits as Samsung Sues in France, Appeals in Germany
Developments continue to arise on regular basis in the patent disputes between Apple and a number of Android handset manufacturers, with individual lawsuits seeing regular status updates and new suits being filed in countries around the world. Here is an update on a few of today's developments: - Apple requests stay of Motorola lawsuits: FOSS Patents reports that Apple has requested a stay...
iOS 5 Beta 8 on Friday, GM on September 23rd, Carrier Approval by October 5th?
BGR reports that it has received information from a "trusted source" outlining Apple's plans for finishing up work on iOS 5 and delivering it to the public. According to the report, Apple is planning to release the eighth beta version of iOS 5 to developers this Friday, September 16th. A golden master version is planned to follow about a week later "on or around" September 23rd.After beta 8,...
France Telecom CEO Suggests October 15th Launch Date for iPhone 5
As noted by Mac4Ever [Google translation], France Telecom CEO Stéphane Richard has reportedly claimed that the iPhone 5 appears set to debut on October 15th. It is unclear whether he has specific information on the release date or if he is simply basing his claim on circulating rumors of a mid-October launch, but as the top executive of a major iPhone partner Richard would be more likely to...
More Retail Store Openings Scheduled for El Paso, Texas and Bologna, Italy
Just yesterday, we noted that Apple was planning two retail store openings for this week, with the Stratford City store in London opening today and the Jungfernstieg store in Hamburg, Germany following suit on Saturday. Apple has now announced two additional store openings for this Saturday, continuing its third quarter retail push to bring dozens of new stores online ahead of the holiday...
Apple Preparing to Release Updated AirPort Express Base Station
AppleInsider reports that Apple is preparing to release an updated version of its compact AirPort Express wireless base station. Hints of the imminent refresh come from shortages of the existing model being observed at several third-party retailers, but the most concrete evidence comes from a source reporting that Apple is finishing work on its AirPort Utility 5.6 software which makes reference...
Apple Preps for Thunderbolt Display Release with MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update
Apple today released MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.1, a 3.99 MB update addressing a pair of issues on the company's latest MacBook Air models. The fixes include enhanced stability for Lion Recovery over the Internet and improvements for Thunderbolt-related issues including compatibility with Apple's forthcoming Apple Thunderbolt Display.This update includes fixes that enhance the stability ...
New MacBook Air and Mac Mini Models Driving Record Mac Sales for 3Q 2011
Business Insider reports on new sales data from market research firm NPD, as shared by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. According to NPD, Apple's U.S. Mac sales are up 22% year-over-year for the the first two months of the third calendar quarter of 2011, setting the company up to set a new record for quarterly Mac sales. The strong performance has unsurprisingly been driven by new MacBook Air...
NBC, TNT and TBS Bring Full-Length TV Episodes to iOS Devices
NBC's iPad application Late last week, NBC announced that it had enhanced its iPad application to offer viewers access to full-length episodes, providing a significantly improved set of offerings for users."We are thrilled to offer our fans full episodes via our NBC.com app. Now the app truly reflects the deep fan experience that we have created online at NBC.com," said [NBCUniversal Digital...
New UK and German Retail Stores Opening This Week, Largest Chinese Store Coming Soon
Apple is continuing to press forward with new retail store openings this week, working toward making good on plans to open over 30 new stores during the third quarter of this year. Apple's Stratford City retail store in London (Thanks, Luke!) One unusual store opening will take place tomorrow as the Stratford City store opens up in the new Westfield Stratford City shopping center in the...
Apple Sending iOS 5 to iPhone Assemblers at End of September, No Sign of Redesigned iPhone 5
In a new research note provided to MacRumors, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Apple is scheduled to send the golden master version of iOS 5 to its iPhone and iPod touch assembling partners during the timeframe of September 23rd through 30th, suggesting a launch for the new hardware around mid-October once the assemblers have had time to install the software on already-produced hardware and ship ...
Apple Rolls iCloud Beta into New OS X 10.7.2 Build 11C55
Apple today seeded a new version of OS X 10.7.2, termed Build 11C55, to developers. Notably, the build appears to fully incorporate iCloud functionality for the first time. The iCloud components had previously been included as a separate download to be installed on top of earlier OS X 10.7.2 builds.OS X Lion Software Update 10.7.2 is an update to OS X Lion 10.7 and includes support for iCloud ...