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 Retail Roundup: New Stores Coming in Germany, Netherlands, UK
A number of tidbits related to Apple's retail store initiative have surfaced in recent days, with Apple apparently making progress on several new stores in Germany and the Netherlands as it opens a new store in the United Kingdom this weekend.
iFun.de reports [Google translation] that workers have begun removing scaffolding and barriers outside of Apple's first Berlin store. The site reported...
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Google Play Catching iOS App Store in Download Volume, but iOS Still Dominating Revenue
App Annie today released its latest data on mobile app downloads, finding that continued momentum for Android has allowed the Google Play marketplace to nearly match Apple's App Store in download volume. But while Google Play is making great strides in generating revenue for developers from these downloads, the App Store remains far out in front, indicating that iOS device users in general remain ...
Apple Releases Safari and Java Updates With Plug-In and Security Improvements
Apple today released a series of updates for both Safari and Java, addressing continued issues with Java security.
The Safari updates arrive as version 6.0.4 for OS X Mountain Lion and Lion and version 5.1.9 for OS X Snow Leopard. The updates, which can be obtained through the Software Update mechanism in OS X, add new site-specific options for enabling the Java plug-in.Safari 6.0.4 and 5.1.9...
Mailbox Removes Reservation System After Server Boost
Just a day after rolling out an updated app with several new features and enhancements, the team behind popular Gmail management app Mailbox has announced that it has removed the reservation system that had previously left some interested users waiting up to several weeks to gain access to the service.Good news! Mailbox is now available without having to wait in line. After 10 weeks of...
Lodsys Publishes May 2011 Legal Response to Apple's Challenge
Over the past two years, a number of app developers have been contacted by patent holding firm Lodsys, demanding licenses for and in some cases filing suit over patents related to in-app purchasing and other functionalities. Earlier this month, Lodsys gained renewed attention when it began a new round of lawsuits targeting a number of developers large and small, including Disney and Gameloft....
More 'iPad 5' Cases Surface Showing Smaller and Thinner Design
With both front and rear casing parts and several case designs for the fifth-generation iPad having surfaced over the past several months, we are starting to get a very good idea of how Apple is drawing on design cues from the iPad mini to design a thinner and narrower full-size iPad.
Building on this concept of an iPad mini-inspired design, several more cases have appeared today offering a...
Apple Hiring Chip Engineers for 'Orlando Design Center'
As noted by AppleInsider, over the past month Apple has posted listings for eight jobs related primarily to hardware engineering in Orlando, Florida. The listings come as Apple is also hiring at its "Melbourne Design Center" that is apparently part of its acquisition of fingerprint sensor firm AuthenTec, but these new positions located roughly an hour away from Melbourne appear to be part of a...
Adobe Launches Photoshop Lightroom 5 Public Beta With New Healing Brush, 'Upright' Tool
Adobe today announced the launch of a free public beta of Photoshop Lightroom 5 for both Mac and Windows, offering a peek at the next major version of the company's digital photo management and post-production software. The beta program runs through June 30, with the official release of Lightroom 5 planned for later this year.
Lightroom 5 Upright tool (Click for full size) Lightroom 5 beta...
YouTube for iOS Updated With Live Streaming and More
Google today updated its YouTube app for iOS with a number of new features, including quick access to new uploads and support for viewing live streaming events.What's New in Version 1.3
* Quick access to new uploads from subscriptions via "My Subscriptions" feed on the Guide
* Access to Live streams
* Queue up videos to play on TV
* One Channel branding for video creator channels
*...
iPhone Launch Gives T-Mobile USA 'One of Its Biggest Weekends'
Last Friday, T-Mobile USA Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert told AllThingsD that the carrier's iPhone launch that day had been "gangbusters" for the carrier with "lines out the door" at its retail stores. While the lines dissipated fairly quickly, T-Mobile undoubtedly believes that the strength of the iPhone and new "Uncarrier" plans unbundling device cost from service charges will help its...
Faked Photo of 'iPhone 5S Logic Board' With A7 Chip Making the Rounds
It's certainly not the first time fake photos alleged to be parts from upcoming Apple products have surfaced, but a particularly egregious case occurring today is starting to be picked up by other sites, so we thought it would be a good idea to nip this one in the bud.
Earlier today, we received a tip about a site sharing photos of what was said to be the iPhone 5S logic board with an A7 chip...
Chinese Repair Shop Employees Scam Apple With Counterfeit iPhone Parts
Tech in Asia highlights a report [Google translation] from Chinese site TechWeb describing how employees at a repair shop in China scammed Apple by turning in counterfeit iPhone parts to be replaced with genuine parts.The scam saw a Wenzhou Apple shop owner turning in what he claimed were 121 iPhone 4S BAND parts (the core of the phone, worth about $476 each) that were broken and asking that they ...
Apple Executives Dominate Highest-Paid List Among S&P 500 Companies
Bloomberg Businesweek reports that a survey of executive compensation at Standard & Poor's 500 companies for fiscal 2012 shows four Apple executives holding down the second, third, fourth, and fifth slots behind Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. The group of Apple executives, which does not include CEO Tim Cook, benefited from a massive stock grant shortly after the death of Steve Jobs, with the grants...
Foxconn Hiring Workers for iPhone 5S Production
Both The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are reporting that Foxconn has begun hiring new workers in support of iPhone 5S production. The articles follow a separate report from The Wall Street Journal earlier this month claiming that production on the new iPhone would begin this quarter ahead of a potential summer launch.
From today's Wall Street Journal report:A company spokesman declined to ...
Microsoft Looking to Join the Smart Watch Race
With rumors of an Apple smart watch ramping up over the past few months, a number of other companies have also reportedly been working on their own projects involving watches and other wearable devices. Last month, both Samsung and Google were reported to be working on their own projects, and now The Wall Street Journal indicates that Microsoft is also exploring the possibility of a smart watch.Ea...
T-Mobile USA Launches iPhone, Rolls Out New TV Ad
In line with its launch previously announced launch plans, T-Mobile USA today officially launched the iPhone, offering the iPhone 5 nationwide and the iPhone 4S and 4 in markets where the devices are supported on its network. The T-Mobile iPhone is also available through Apple's online store at full price with interest-free financing offered through Barclaycard.
TechCrunch notes that some...
Kevin Lynch Reportedly Heading Up Team of iPod Engineers, Is iWatch Involved?
French site MacGeneration reports [Google translation] that former Adobe executive Kevin Lynch, who joined Apple as a vice president of Technologies last month, is now heading up a team of engineers with experience designing iPod products.
Source: Stephen Shankland/CNET
While MacGeneration does not know for certain what project the group is working on, the site speculates that Lynch's team...
Production Challenges to 'Delay' Launches of iPhone 5S, Lower-Cost iPhone and New iPad Mini?
Back in January, reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo laid out a thorough roadmap of his expectations for Apple's product launches in 2013, pointing to a very busy third quarter for the company with launches for updated iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Mac notebook lines. As recently as last month, Kuo was targeting a June/July launch for the new iPhone models, with a version specific to China...
U.S. Judge Expresses Frustration at Apple's and Google's Use of Litigation as 'Business Strategy'
Bloomberg reports on comments from a U.S. District Court judge in Miami chastising Apple and Google for engaging in patent lawsuits as part of a broader business strategy rather than focusing on resolution of the disputes. The judge is currently overseeing a legal dispute that began with an initial complaint by Motorola Mobility in late 2010 and was expanded in January 2012 with the approval of...
Alleged Parts for Upcoming iPhone Leak Again, Mute Switch to Become Push Button?
Several weeks ago, photos of a pair of parts alleged to be from the iPhone 5S surfaced through a Japanese parts vendor. The parts included a flex cable for the device's home button and a second flex cable housing the vibrator and volume/mute controls.
Another Japanese parts vendor, iLab Factory, has now posted a new set of photos showing not only those two parts but also a third flex cable...