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
iCloud Supports Re-Downloading Some Discontinued Apps
As noted by MacStories earlier this week, Apple's new re-downloading feature in iCloud allows users to obtain previously-purchased applications that are no longer available in the App Store. Engadget was even able to download Tris, an old Tetris clone that was removed from the App Store nearly three years ago.
While handy for grabbing apps that have become unavailable, the feature does...
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Apple Borrows iOS 5's Wi-Fi Sync From Rejected App Submission
It's no secret that Apple's forthcoming iOS 5 incorporates a lot of new features and ideas that might say the company "borrowed" from third-party developers, but one feature in particular is raising some eyebrows: Wi-Fi Sync.
Way back in April 2010, we profiled an app called Wi-Fi Sync that allowed users to sync their iOS devices wirelessly to iTunes. The application was submitted to Apple...
iOS 5 Brings Improvements to Weather App
One staple of iOS since its inception has been the Weather app, a simple home screen powered by Yahoo and The Weather Channel that allows users to add locations and see the current conditions as well as a six-day forecast of high/low temperatures and an icon showing the conditions for each day.
With iOS 5, Apple has made several minor improvements to the weather functionality, starting of...
Apple Registers 50 New Domain Names Associated With WWDC Announcements
Dot Weekly posts a list (via TechCrunch) of fifty new domain names registered by Apple on Monday in association with its announcements made at its WWDC keynote. While none of them appear to be a surprise given the features and products announced at the event, the list does provide an interesting glimpse at how Apple is locking up web references to its products.airplaymirroring.com,...
iOS 5 Includes Airport and Time Capsule Setup Software
One of the major highlights of Apple's iOS 5 discussion at the WWDC keynote was "PC Free" a series of changes designed to make it easier for users to own an iOS device without the need for a Mac or PC for activation, syncing, and other activities.
Apple noted during the event that it is increasingly hearing from users who want an iPad or iPhone to be their only Internet-connected device, and...
Apple Addresses Graphics Issues on Mid 2011 iMacs With Firmware Update
Apple today released iMac Graphic FW Update 2.0, a firmware update to addresses graphics issues on the company's latest iMac models.About iMac Graphic FW Update 2.0
This firmware update fixes an issue that in rare cases may cause an iMac to hang during startup or waking from sleep.
Do not shut off the power on your iMac during this update. Loss of power could result in your iMac failing...
Apple Appears Set to Support FaceTime Over 3G in iOS 5, But Will Carriers Follow Suit?
9 to 5 Mac reports that one of its readers has passed along a screenshot of an iOS 5 dialog box suggesting that Apple is preparing to support FaceTime video calling over cellular networks with the new operating system set for release this fall.FaceTime Unavailable
Turn on cellular data or use Wi-Fi to use FaceTime.FaceTime has officially been limited to Wi-Fi on iOS devices since its debut...
Leaked Screenshots From Final Cut Pro X and Motion 5?
Twitter user @BWilks2001 today posted a series of screenshots (via AppleInsider) claimed to be from Apple's forthcoming Final Cut Pro X and associated Motion 5 release, potentially offering a further glimpse at what users can expect in the next-generation professional video production suite.
The screenshots are primarily from Motion 5 and reveal such aspects as the Project Browser, rigging ...
Apple Tops List of Largest Semiconductor Buyers in 2010
Top 10 OEM Semiconductor Buyers
(Ranking by Revenue in Billions of U.S. Dollars)
According to a new research report from IHS iSuppli, Apple became the world's largest semiconductor buyer among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in 2010, leaping past HP and Samsung to comfortably grab the top spot with $17.5 billion in spending. Apple's surge has seen it rise from third place in 2009 and...
2011 Apple Design Award Winners Announced
Apple last night held its annual Apple Design Awards ceremony at WWDC, recognizing twelve applications for excellence in design and innovation across four categories: Student, iPhone, iPad, and Mac. All eligible applications were required to be available via either the iOS or Mac App Store.
This year's winners come from a range of genres, from games to news to books to music and beyond. In...
Lodsys Patents Under Attack as Legal Challenge to Their Validity Commences
FOSS Patents reports that Lodsys, the company that has begun filing lawsuits against App Store developers for implementing in app purchases and upgrade links, now finds itself on the receiving end of legal action. According to the report, a Michigan firm has filed a request for declaratory judgment regarding the validity of the four patents Lodsys is using in its own lawsuits. While a...
Apple Releases iTunes 10.3.1, Potentially Fixing iOS Device Syncing Bug [Updated]
Just a day after releasing iTunes 10.3 to support some early iCloud features such as automatic downloads and access to previously purchased content, Apple has already pushed out iTunes 10.3.1 via Software Update and the company's software downloads page.
The documentation accompanying the release merely offers the same information as found with the original iTunes 10.3 release, providing no...
iOS 5 Contains References to Two Next-Generation iPad Models
TUAW reports that references to two new iPad models have been discovered in the just-released iOS 5 beta: "iPad3,1" and "iPad3,2". Given that there are currently three iPad 2 models internally identified as "iPad2,1" (Wi-Fi), "iPad2,2" (GSM), and "iPad2,3" (CDMA), the appearance of only two models in iOS 5 lends credence to rumors that the next-generation cellular-capable iPad may come as a...
Apple Updates iBooks With 'Read-Aloud' Feature for Children's Books
Apple today pushed out an update to its iBooks application for iOS devices [App Store], bringing several improvements including a new "read-aloud" narrator to select children's books. iBooks 1.3 adds several new features and improvements:
- Help your children learn to read with the new read-aloud feature included in select children's books from the iBookstore.
The read-aloud feature uses a ...
OS X Lion Developer Preview 4 Adds 'Find My Mac'
Alongside yesterday's announcements related to OS X Lion, Apple pushed out a fourth developer preview version of the next-generation operation system set to make its public launch next month. Among the new features in this build of Lion is "Find My Mac", a feature similar to the one already in use for iOS devices.
Evidence for Find My Mac functionality in Lion had been building, but the...
Demo of iPad's AirPlay Mirroring in iOS 5
One of the new iOS 5 features quickly touched on by Apple yesterday in its iOS 5 introduction was AirPlay Mirroring for the iPad 2, enabling users to wirelessly transmit the on-screen content of the device to an Apple TV for display on a television. The iPad 2 currently supports display mirroring via a Digital AV Adapter that provides a wired connection to a TV via HDMI.
One of the...
Apple Still Planning to Include Nuance/Siri Voice Features in iOS 5?
One of the major rumors for iOS 5 that failed to materialize at Apple's WWDC keynote yesterday was new voice features from Nuance and Siri. The rumors had pegged iOS 5 as receiving significant integration of voice recognition capabilities, potentially handing off much of the processing for that functionality to its new North Carolina data center.
Apple's keynote was of course devoid of any...
Magellan Updates 'RoadMate' GPS Apps With Lifetime Traffic and Maps, Yelp, and Google Local
Magellan today released an update to its RoadMate North America and RoadMate USA apps for the iPhone, bringing an overhauled user interface, lifetime traffic and maps, and integration with Yelp and Google Local Search.Magellan today announced a new version of its RoadMate North America App for iPhone is now available on the App Store. With major user interface enhancements designed for mobile...
Apple Seeds Safari 5.1 Developer Preview for Mac and Windows to Developers
Alongside yesterday's high-profile developer seeds of OS X Lion Developer Preview 4, the first iOS 5 beta, and several iCloud-related betas including iTunes 10.5 and iPhoto 9.2, Apple also provided developers with a developer preview version of Safari 5.1 for both Mac and Windows. According to an announcement on Apple's developer portal, Safari 5.1 brings a number of enhancements to the...
iTunes 10.3 Now Available for Download
Yesterday, we noted that Apple had begun promoting availability of iTunes 10.3 on its main iTunes site but that the actual download page was still serving up iTunes 10.2.2 and that Software Update had yet to begin offering the new version to users.
A few hours later, iTunes 10.3 did in fact become available for download, bringing compatibility with some early iCloud features making their way...
