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's 'Daily Download' Internal iPad News App for Retail Store Employees Revealed
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Earlier this week, it was reported that one aspect of Apple's rumored retail store revamp reportedly set to launch this weekend was the deployment of new iPad 2s equipped with an updated version of the company's RetailMe training and information software for store employees.
9 to 5 Mac has gotten access to the new software, obtaining screenshots of Apple's new "Daily...
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Mac OS X 10.6.8 Build 10K524 Seeded to Developers
Following last week's seed of the first developer build of Mac OS X 10.6.8, Apple has now pushed out a second version known as Build 10K524.
With the update checking in as a 1 GB download, developers are reportedly being asked to focus their testing on AirPort, Graphics Drivers, Mac App Store, Networking, QuickTime and VPN, the same areas highlighted in the initial developer build last week.
...
Apple Reaches Cloud Music Deal With Sony, Universal Last Major Label Still to Sign
Following up on news from earlier this week regarding Apple having signed EMI Music to a deal to permit cloud-based music streaming of the label's content, Bloomberg now reports that Sony has reached a similar deal with Apple. With Warner Music Group having already agreed to a deal, Universal remains the lone holdout among the major labels, although sources indicate that Apple and Universal are...
Apple Debuts as Top 5 PC Maker in Western Europe, UK
Earlier this week, research firm Gartner reported that Apple broke into the top 5 PC manufacturers in both the United Kingdom and broader Western Europe markets for the first time in the survey's history in the first quarter of 2011. Apple's year-over-year shipment growth of 10-15% in those markets bucked the trend that saw all of the other top manufacturers see a decline in shipments, a...
Qualcomm Delivering Augmented Reality Tools for iOS
All Things Digital reports that Qualcomm has announced that it will release an augmented reality software development kit (SDK) for iOS developers in July, making it easier for developers to integrate virtual content with real content such as images captured by cameras found on many portable devices. The company previously released a similar SDK for Android.It's an interesting move for...
Verizon Reiterates Claims of World-Mode Next-Generation iPhone, Simultaneous With AT&T Debut
Reuters reports that Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo today reiterated his earlier claim that the next-generation iPhone will in fact be a "world mode" device capable of running on both GSM and CDMA. Furthermore, Shammo noted that Verizon will be able to launch the iPhone simultaneously with the device's debut on rival AT&T.While Verizon has sold fewer iPhones than some analysts...
Prototype of Original Apple TV ('iTV') Hits eBay
An eBay listing for a prototype of the original Apple TV has appeared on the auction site, giving interested users nearly a month to snap up the collectible item with a "Buy It Now" price of $350.
Photos accompanying the listing show an Apple Development Team inventory barcode on the side along with a sticker marking the unit as a "DVT" prototype and listing the manufacturers of a number...
Study Finds Apple Nabs 50% of Mobile Revenue in April
Mobile advertising firm Millennial Media today announced the release of its "Mobile Mix" report covering device, operating system, and revenue share for the month of April. After receiving a bit of a boost in March, Apple's iOS platform has dropped back from 31% of the total ad impressions seen on the network to 28%. Conversely, Android has bumped back over the 50% mark to grab 53% of...
MobileMe Web Apps Down Again
Just days after Apple's MobileMe service experienced an email outage for some customers, MacRumors readers are once again reporting difficulties with the service, this time reporting problems accessing the various web applications available through me.com.
Apple's system status page confirms the issue:Some MobileMe members are unable to access most of the web applications via me.com....
'Yahoo! Messenger' Goes Universal, Adds Video Calling for iPad 2
Yahoo yesterday released an update to its Yahoo! Messenger application for iOS devices, going universal with an iPad-specific interface and adding voice and video calling capabilities for the iPad 2.What's new
- iPad-optimized layout
- Voice & video calling for iPad 2
- Improved spam management: block one or all add requests from a single view
- Fixed multiple bugs including the...
Apple Investigating 'MACDefender' Malware, Support Staff Barred From Assisting Customers
Earlier this month, a new malware threat known as "MACDefender" popped up, targeting Mac OS X users with requests to install an application claiming to be an antivirus program. The malware has continued to be a problem for many users, showing up with regularity under several different variants.
ZDNet's Ed Bott has been looking into the issue, and while some may dismiss his claims due to his ...
Apple's Music Streaming Service to Eliminate Buffering Lag With Locally-Stored Snippets?
As noted by AppleInsider, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today published a patent application from Apple describing a system for eliminating delays in streaming media by storing small portions of the content locally on a user's mobile device. The content covered in the patent application, which is entitled "Local Storage of a Portion of Streamed Media Items" and was filed in November...
OmniVision's New 5-MP 1080p Camera Sensor Opens Door to Thinner Devices
Apple's longtime camera sensor supplier for iOS devices, OmniVision Technologies, today announced the introduction of a new 5-megapixel sensor that could lead to thinner mobile devices while also offering the ability to shoot video at 1080p. The new sensor checks in at under 5 mm high, 20% thinner than other industry-leading sensors.OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI), a leading...
Apple Building Out Minor Data Center Capacity Expansion in California
Data Center Knowledge reports that while Apple's massive new data center in North Carolina has been gaining all of the attention over the past year or so, the company is still looking to expand capacity elsewhere, as evidenced by a recent commitment for space in a third-party data center in Santa Clara, California near the company's headquarters.In April, Apple signed a seven-year lease for...
'Parallels Transporter' Eases Migration From Windows to Mac
Virtualization software firm Parallels today announced the debut of Parallels Transporter, a new Mac OS X application to help users transition from Windows-based machines to Mac OS X.The Parallels Transporter app is designed for Mac users who may not need to run Windows on their Mac at all; it is a simple way to bring everything you need from your PC together on your Mac without wasting your...
Approvals for Apps Equipped With In App Purchase On Hold? [Updated]
TUAW reports that developers seeking to submit applications featuring in app purchase to the iOS App Store have had their submissions stalled by an error message on Apple's end linked to a test account required for evaluating the in app purchase functionality.As a matter of policy, Apple requires developers to test in-app purchases (IAP) with a test user account before the application in question ...
Weekend Retail Store Meetings Related to New iPad-Focused Staff Software? [Updated: Minor Store Makeovers]
There has been a considerable amount of back-and-forth regarding staff meetings and other activities reportedly scheduled for this weekend at Apple's retail stores, with some speculation suggesting that Apple could be readying a product launch or other activities related to the company's 10th anniversary of the opening of its first retail stores.
It is beginning to appear, however, that the...
Apple Online Store Downtime Leads to New Link to Returns Policy
With Apple's online stores around the world going down for maintenance earlier today and a flood of MacRumors readers reporting the event, observers were of course curious about what changes were being made, despite the fact that no new product releases were expected.
When the stores went live again, it was not immediately apparent that there had been any changes, suggesting that the downtime...
Apple Planning Huge New Retail Store in the Heart of Madrid?
Spanish newspaper El Pais reports [Google translation] that the mayor of Madrid has announced that Apple will occupy the entirety of a landmark building in the center of the city on the Puerta del Sol, snapping up 6,000 square meters (~65,000 square feet) of space. The building, famous for its large neon sign advertising popular sherry brand Tio Pepe that has temporarily been removed for...
iPhone 4 Noise Cancellation Delivered by Chip From Audience
White-labelled Audience audio processor highlighted in yellow
iFixit reports that the chip responsible for handling the noise cancellation capabilities of the iPhone 4 has finally been identified, with chip teardown firm Chipworks pegging it has having come from Audience, the producer of high-end voice processors found in such devices as the Nexus One. The identification was made more difficult ...
