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
Tweaked Apple TV Contains Die-Shrunk A5 Chip, Not A5X
Back in late January, an update to the Apple TV software revealed a new "AppleTV3,2", with FCC documents for the device showing up the following day. By digging into the software files for this new device, it was discovered that the device appeared to be using an A5X chip rather than the single-core A5 chip found in the third-generation Apple TV.
This conclusion was based on the chip carrying...
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15-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Users Experiencing Fan Issues Related to SanDisk SSDs?
Earlier this week, Geek.com highlighted a growing a number of complaints from owners of Apple's 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro regarding overactive fans. The issue has been noted in our forums and is the subject of a lengthy thread in Apple's discussion forums. From one report:My first instance of runaway fans was under the lightest of conditions, having only one browser open only a few tabs and a...
Apple Reportedly Offering Half of Pandora's Royalty Rate for Streaming Music Service
The New York Post reports that Apple has been seeking to undercut its potential competitors with regard to royalty rates for its rumored streaming music service, currently offering a rate that is just half that paid by Pandora despite rumors that Apple is looking for more flexibility than allowed under the license used by Pandora.The tech titan, the most valuable company in the world, made an...
Latest OS X 10.8.3 Beta Adds NVIDIA Quadro K5000 Graphics Card Drivers
As noted in our forums, Apple's latest OS X 10.8.3 beta seeded to developers as build 12D76 yesterday contains new drivers for NVIDIA's high-end Quadro K5000 graphics card. NVIDIA announced the Quadro K5000 for the Mac Pro last September, but has yet to actually release the product.
The first developer build of OS X 10.8.3 seeded last November added AMD Radeon 7000-series drivers, so it...
Apple's Suppliers Set New High in January With 99% Compliance Rate for Working Hour Limits
Early last year, Apple launched a new initiative to more openly share information on worker rights and safety throughout its supply chain with working hours and mandatory overtime being a major focus of the effort. Apple's code of conduct specifies that workers may generally work no more than 60 hours per week, although the company does permit limited exceptions during periods of high demand.
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Apple Launches $1099 21.5-Inch iMac With 3.3 GHz Dual-Core i3 Processor for Educational Institutions
Apple appears to have quietly introduced an updated version of its low-end 21.5-inch iMac for educational institutions, taking advantage of a cheaper dual-core Intel Core i3 processor and integrated graphics to offer pricing of $1099, $200 cheaper than the entry-level pricing for consumer models. The education-only iMac, which carries a model number of ME699LL/A, also includes just 4GB of RAM...
iMac Shipping Estimates Improve to 'Within 24 Hours' in Apple's North American Online Stores
Just days after experiencing a dramatic improvement in shipping times for new orders through Apple's online stores in North America, the iMac has seen its availability improve once again with stock configurations now shipping "within 24 hours". The rapid improvement in availability indicates that Apple is quickly reaching supply-demand balance for the new iMac some three months after its debut.
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Google Maps for iOS Receives First Update Since Launch with Google Contacts Integration, Local Business Search
Google today updated its Google Maps for iOS to version 1.1, marking the first update since the company launched its standalone app in mid-December after Apple replaced Google with its own default mapping app in iOS 6.
The new update brings a few enhancements to Google Maps, including integration with Google Contacts addresses and easier searching of local businesses by category.What's New in ...
Apple Updates iBooks with Paid Japanese Books, Greater Asian Language Support
Apple today updated iBooks to version 3.1, bringing new support for paid books in Japan and enhanced support for Asian languages.What's New in Version 3.1
The iBookstore in Japan now has hundreds of thousands of books available for purchase, including fiction,
manga, light novels and more. This version of iBooks also includes a number of improvements for reading
Asian language books.
iBoo...
Sapphire Previews Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition Graphics Card for Mac Pro
As noted by Accelerate Your Mac and tonymacx86, German site PCGamesHardware.de reports [Google translation] that Hong Kong-based company Sapphire Technology is previewing its new Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition graphics card at CeBIT this week. The high-end card arrives following Apple's introduction of Radeon HD 7000-series drivers in OS X 10.8.3 betas last November, although the update has yet to...
New iPhones Still Expected to Launch in June/July, Fingerprint Sensor for iPhone 5S?
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new research report claiming that Apple is expected to unveil its iPhone 5S and lower-cost iPhone alongside iOS 7 this June, with the devices coming available in July. Versions supporting the time-division duplexing (TDD) standard used by China Mobile are said to follow in September.We expect Apple will introduce its new iPhones and iOS7 in June,...
White House Backs Petition in Support of Mobile Phone Unlocking
As of late January, it became illegal in the United States to unlock newly purchased mobile phones without carrier authorization. The decision, which came from the Librarian of Congress declining to issue an exemption for such activity under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, serves to restrict U.S. customers from shifting service to other carriers or using their devices abroad with local SIM ...
Warren Buffett Says Apple Should Buy Back Stock, Ignore Einhorn's Calls for Preferred Stock
Barron's reports on a couple of Apple-related comments made by Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett during a three-hour appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box show this morning. Buffett, known as America's most famous investor, suggests that Apple ignore all of the recent controversy surrounding a recent proposal from Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn to issue new dividend-paying preferred stock ...
Apple's 'iWatch' Said to Run Full iOS, but Battery Life an Issue in Prototypes
Piggybacking on Bloomberg's latest report about Apple's "iWatch" plans, The Verge has weighed in with its own claims about the project. Most notably, the report's sources claim that Apple is planning for the watch to run a "full" version of iOS rather a simpler operating system such as that seen on the iPod nano.Interestingly, we're also told that Apple's chosen to rework the full iOS to run on...
Judge Voids Nearly Half of Apple's $1 Billion Judgment Against Samsung, Calls for New Trial to Settle Revised Damages
FOSS Patents reports that judge Lucy Koh has struck nearly half of the $1 billion in damages awarded to Apple in its patent lawsuit against Samsung last August, calling for a new trial to set revised damage amounts for the affected portions of the judgment.The $450 million amount [struck from the damage award] corresponds to 14 Samsung products, with respect to which a new damages trial must be...
Greenlight Capital Drops Lawsuit Against Apple Over Preferred Stock Proxy Proposal
Bloomberg briefly notes that hedge fund Greenlight Capital has unsurprisingly dropped its lawsuit against Apple over a company-backed proxy proposal that had bundled together several provisions including a move to limit Apple's ability to issue preferred stock to investors without explicit shareholder approval. Apple CEO had previously called the lawsuit a "silly sideshow" and reiterated that...
Analyst Says iPhone 5S and Cheaper iPhone Coming in August/September With China Mobile Support
Taiwan's Commercial Times reports [Google translation] on a new research note from Barclays analyst Kirk Yang claiming that Apple is indeed preparing both an iPhone 5S and a lower-cost iPhone for launch in the August/September timeframe.
Yang notes that each of the devices will be available in two models: one supporting the standard frequency-division duplexing (FDD) technology used in most of ...
Apple's Polycarbonate iPhone with 4.5-Inch Display Arriving for $330 in 2014?
Japanese blog Mac Otakara reports (via AppleInsider) that Apple's plans for a lower-cost iPhone have now been pushed back to 2014, with the company reportedly planning to use a polycarbonate body similar to that seen on the discontinued white plastic MacBook. Apple is said to be targeting a price of $330 for unsubsidized models, significantly lowering the cost of entry in markets where carrier...
Corning Says Devices With Flexible 'Willow Glass' Displays Unlikely to Appear for at Least Three Years
While The New York Times reported earlier this month that Apple is working on a curved glass smart watch that could potentially make use of Corning's recently-announced bendable Willow Glass, Bloomberg now reports that Corning sees a wait of at least three years before devices using Willow Glass displays will be able to hit the market.“People are not accustomed to glass you roll up,” [Corning ...
iTunes U Hits One Billion Downloads of Free Educational Content
Apple today announced that its iTunes U service has hit one billion downloads, less than six years after its official debut.“It’s inspiring to see what educators and students of all types are doing with iTunes U,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “With the incredible content offered on iTunes U, students can learn like never before―there...
