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 Acquires Indoor Mobile Location Positioning Firm WifiSLAM for $20 Million
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has acquired indoor location company WifiSLAM, paying around $20 million for the firm. Apple has confirmed the purchase, but declined to offer any details on its plans for the acquisition.The two-year-old startup has developed ways for mobile apps to detect a phone user’s location in a building using Wi-Fi signals. It has been offering the technology...
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Apple Adds 'Offers In-App Purchases' Disclosure for App Store Apps [Update: Now on iOS Stores]
As noted by The Guardian, Apple today rolled out a new "Offers In-App Purchases" disclosure directly underneath the Buy/Free button for App Store apps supporting the feature. The addition helps make clear to potential purchasers that free or even paid apps may require additional purchases in order to unlock the apps' full functionality or for other benefits such as acquiring in-game currency.The...
Apple Updates OS X Anti-Malware Definitions to Block 'Yontoo' Adware
Yesterday, word surfaced of new malware targeting major browsers on the Mac platform with adware capable of injecting advertising into users' browsing experiences. The malware, known as "Yontoo", masquerades as a video plug-in or download accelerator in order to trick users into installing the package.
As noted by security firm Intego, Apple has already updated its "Xprotect" anti-malware...
Alleged iPhone 5S Home Button, Vibrator and Volume/Mute Flex Cable Parts Surface
Nowhereelse.fr reports [Google translation] that it has spotted a pair of alleged parts for the iPhone 5S. The parts appear to have been posted by Japanese vendor Moumantai.
The first part is the device's home button, which looks very similar to the home button on the iPhone 5 with the exception of the flex cable used to connect to the main logic board. The cable on the iPhone 5S is much...
Apple's Contracts With European iPhone Carriers Examined for Potential Antitrust Issues
The New York Times reports that regulators with the European Union are taking a close look at contracts between Apple and its iPhone carrier partners, seeking to determine whether Apple's strict terms amount to anti-competitive behavior. In particular, Apple's practice of requiring carriers to commit to selling a certain number of iPhones has placed pressure on the carriers to promote the iPhone ...
Apple's Lower-Cost iPhone to Lack Retina Display?
RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani has released a new research report today citing supply chain checks as the basis for predicting a June or July launch for both the iPhone 5S and a lower-cost iPhone, in line with other recent reports. Daryanani says, however, that the lower-cost iPhone appears set to omit a Retina display.Our supply-chain checks indicate that AAPL is working to launch...
Apple's Data Centers Now Running on 100% Renewable Energy, Corporate Facilities at 75%
Bloomberg notes that Apple has posted the 2012 update of its environmental policy pages, noting that the company has now achieved 100% renewable energy usage at all of its data centers. On a worldwide basis, the company's corporate facilities are now running on 75% renewable energy, up from 35% just two years ago.Our goal is to power every facility at Apple entirely with energy from renewable...
Eric Schmidt on Google Now for iOS: 'You'll Need to Discuss That With Apple' [Updated]
Last week, Google apparently accidentally leaked a promotional video revealing that its Google Now app will be coming to iOS. Google Now is currently an Android-only app designed to automatically integrate relevant bits of information such as weather, traffic, appointments, and more into users' lives. The video was quickly removed, but Google had not issued a statement on its appearance.iPhone...
Future Smartphone Displays May Use Sapphire Instead of Glass
While Apple has received much praise for the aesthetics of its iPhone designs, it has also received criticism over durability issues, with many users unfortunately experiencing the problems with glass displays after dropping their devices onto hard surfaces. The iPhone 4 and 4S in particular have received criticism for their use of glass rear panels in addition to the front panel needed to...
Black Pixel to Revive 'NetNewsWire' With Cross-Device Syncing
With Google's move to shut down its popular RSS service Google Reader, users and developers have been considering alternatives to keep on top of the latest news updates from their favorite sources.
NetNewsWire has long been one of the most popular RSS readers for Apple users, having a long-standing presence on the Mac before expanding to the iPhone and iPad, but development on the software had ...
New 'Yontoo' Adware Trojan Targets Major Browsers on OS X
Russian security firm Doctor Web this week highlighted a new trojan (via The Next Web) affecting OS X systems and which installs an adware plug-in capable of injecting ads into users' browsing experience.
As with other trojans, this new Yontoo malware relies on tricking users into installing the package, which in this case masquerades as a movie trailer video plug-in, download accelerator, or...
GarageBand for iOS Updated With Audiobus Support and Other Enhancements
Apple today updated its GarageBand app for iOS to version 1.4, bringing handful of improvements including support for playing and recording audio routed through Audiobus.What's New in Version 1.4
- Play and record music apps supported by Audiobus directly into GarageBand*
- Turn off grid snapping to get finer control over region and note editing
- Fixes an issue that resulted in feedback...
Walmart Expanding 'Scan & Go' iPhone Self-Checkout to Over 200 Stores
Reuters reports that Walmart is expanding its iPhone-based Scan & Go self-checkout system to over 200 of its stores, up from 70 currently. The company began pilot testing on the project, which allows users to scan items into an iPhone app as they shop and then easily pay for their items at a checkout station as they leave the store, last August.For now, "Scan & Go" only works on Apple Inc...
Apple's Hiring of Kevin Lynch Questioned Amid Concerns Over His Staunch Defense of Flash
Following yesterday's news that Adobe Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch will be leaving to join Apple as vice president of Technologies, reporting to Bob Mansfield, there has been a considerable amount of discussion about the move. In particular, observers have pointed to the role Lynch played in backing Flash in the face of Apple's insistence that it was a technology with too many problems...
Adobe Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch Joining Apple as VP of Technologies
CNBC's Jon Fortt has just issued a Tweet reporting that Adobe Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch is leaving the company to join Apple. A second Tweet from CNBC claims that Lynch's departure from Adobe is coming this week.
It is not yet clear what role Lynch will be taking on Apple, but Fortt presumably has a full report coming soon.
Lynch spent ten years as Chief Software Architect at...
Sapphire Launches Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition Graphics Card for Mac Pro
After previewing its Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition graphics card at CeBIT earlier this month, Sapphire Technology today officially announced the launch of the new card.
Exclusive to SAPPHIRE, the HD 7950 Mac Edition is based on AMD’s latest Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture. This highly acclaimed architecture delivers a significant graphics performance boost for Mac Pro users in a wide...
Apple Releases iOS 6.1.3 With Passcode Bug Fix and Japanese Maps Enhancements, Kills Evasi0n Jailbreak
Apple today released iOS 6.1.3 to the public, delivering several minor enhancements including a fix for a passcode security bug.This update contains improvements and other bug fixes including:
- Fixes a bug that could allow someone to bypass the passcode and access the Phone app
- Improvements to Maps in Japan
Apple last week quietly delivered some server-side improvements to Maps for...
Bowers & Wilkins Introduces Lightning-Equipped Zeppelin Air and Z2 Speaker Docks With AirPlay
TechCrunch notes that high-end audio firm Bowers & Wilkins has introduced its first two Lightning-equipped speaker docks for iPhone 5 owners, with both the Zeppelin Air and Z2 also supporting AirPlay wireless music streaming from iOS devices.
Zeppelin Air
The new Zeppelin Air is essentially a Lightning version of the company's original Zeppelin Air wireless speaker with 30-pin dock connector, ...
Apple Still Facing Criticism Over Warranty Issues in Europe as Lawsuits Spread to More Countries
Following multiple fines in Italy over what regulators have called inadequate disclosure of consumer warranty rights, Apple is facing continued scrutiny in the broader European Union, with Dow Jones Business News reporting that Apple is now facing lawsuits from consumer associations in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and Portugal.
Apple was taken to task today in a speech by EU Justice...
Samsung Confirms Work on Smart Watch Project
Bloomberg reports that Samsung has confirmed last month's rumors that it is working on a smart watch. With rumors of Apple working on its own "iWatch" project for launch as soon as later this year, it appears that the two rivals will be be going head-to-head yet again as the battle over mobile devices widens.“We’ve been preparing the watch product for so long,” Lee Young Hee, executive...
