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 Pushes Automatic Mac Software Update to Remove Vulnerable Zoom Web Server
Earlier this week, a serious vulnerability with the Zoom video conferencing app for macOS was disclosed, with attackers potentially able to hijack users' webcams.
The vulnerability was particularly notable because Zoom had installed a hidden web server on users' computers in order to allow for automatic answering of incoming calls, and that web server was not only the weak point that could...
Read Full Article • 115 comments
Searchable Transcripts of WWDC 2019 Session Videos Now Available
Apple today announced that transcripts of all of its WWDC 2019 session videos are now available through the WWDC video page.
Individual transcripts can be searched by keyword or phrase, and clicking on search results will jump you straight to the corresponding timestamps in the video, making it easy to find just what you're looking for and share those specific sections with timestamped...
AT&T Jumps to First Place in U.S. Mobile Speeds, but Verizon Still Most Consistent
Ookla, the company behind the popular Speedtest bandwidth measurement service, today released its 2019 Speedtest Mobile Performance Report, leveraging over 11.5 million speed tests from over 4 million unique devices to rank the network performance of the major U.S. carriers during the first half of 2019.
Overall, Ookla found that the mean mobile download speed rose to 33.88 Mbps during the...
Apple Releases Revised Version of iOS 13 and iPadOS Developer Beta 3
Alongside the second public beta versions of iOS 13 and iPadOS, Apple today also released a revised third beta version of the operating systems for developers.
The reason for the new version isn't entirely clear, but the original third developer beta was not available for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus for some reason. Today's update, build 17A5522g, is only a very minor increment from the 17A5522f ...
Apple Experiencing Issues With iCloud Services and Retail Store Systems [Resolved]
Apple today is experiencing problems with a host of iCloud-related services, as outlined on the company's system status page. Affected services include all of the basic iCloud services, as well as services like Find My Friends, Find My iPhone, Game Center, Photos, and Screen Time.
The company says only that "some" users are affected, but social media reports suggest the outage is fairly...
Tim Cook Talks Privacy, Steve Jobs, and the 'Difference Between Preparation and Readiness' in Stanford Commencement Address
Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered the commencement address at Stanford University today, sharing his thoughts on privacy, the need to always "be a builder," and how the loss of Steve Jobs made him learn the "real, visceral difference between preparation and readiness."
On the subject of privacy, Cook acknowledged that so many of our modern technological inventions have come out of Silicon Valley, ...
WWDC 2019 Spoiler-Free Video Stream [Update: Video Posted]
Apple's WWDC keynote will be kicking off at 10:00 am Pacific Time today, and as is tradition, some MacRumors readers who can't follow the event live are interested in avoiding all of the announcements and waiting until Apple posts the recorded video of the event so as to experience it without already knowing the outcome.
For those individuals, we've posted this news story, which will be...
Apple Putting Finishing Touches on WWDC Decorations at McEnery Convention Center
The first WWDC 2019 events kick off in just two days with the early arrival of student scholars, and Apple is putting the finishing touches on decorations at and around the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose.
Decorations on the convention center, light poles, and public transit stops all carry the same neon theme on dark blue as seen on other WWDC materials, with the front entrance area...
Review: 2019 Subaru Forester Pairs CarPlay With a Great Multi-Display Infotainment System
Subaru is experiencing growing popularity in the U.S., developing a strong reputation based on emphasizing safety, all-wheel drive operation, and technology. The redesigned 2019 Subaru Forester is no exception, offering standard all-wheel drive, a roomier cabin, and new DriverFocus technology that uses facial recognition and monitoring to not only save your driver presets but alert you if it...
Supermarket Chain Publix Says It's Rolling Out Apple Pay Support All Stores [Update: No]
Florida-based supermarket chain Publix, which has over 1200 stores throughout the southeastern United States, has announced (via Reddit) that it is rolling out support for Apple Pay to all of its stores "within the coming weeks."
The news comes via Publix's Twitter account yesterday, responding to a customer who asked about the lack of support for Apple's mobile payments system.
Good ...
Apple Releases AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.9.1
Apple today released AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.9.1 for AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule base stations with 802.11ac support.
According to a support document, the update addresses a number of security issues on the affected models.
The models covered by the update are the last generations of the AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule, which were discontinued by Apple ...
What Will macOS 10.15 Be Called: Mammoth, Monterey, Rincon, Skyline, or Something Else?
Following Apple's shift to California-themed names for its Mac operating systems with OS X Mavericks back in 2013, Apple appeared to take steps to protect a number of other California-related names by filing for trademarks under a series of shell companies intended to mask the true identity of the applicant.
All told, we identified 19 trademarks that were applied for under six different...
Apple Releases iOS 12.3.1 With Fixes for Messages and VoLTE Bugs
A week and a half after releasing iOS 12.3 with a revamped TV app, Apple today released iOS 12.3.1, a bug fix update that isn't expected to include any significant new features.
The iOS 12.3.1 update is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings > General > Software Update. As with all iOS updates, iOS 12.3.1 is free to download,...
Apple Stores Quietly Carrying New LG 23.7-Inch UltraFine Display
Over the past few months, supplies of the LG UltraFine 4K and 5K displays have dried up at Apple's retail and online stores, leading to speculation on the future of Apple-approved displays beyond a rumored ultra high-end 6K display perhaps coming alongside a revamped Mac Pro later this year.
As shared by TidBITS, however, Apple retail stores are now quietly carrying a new $700 23.7-inch...
Hands-on With Boss Audio's Latest CarPlay Receiver (With Exclusive Deal for MacRumors Readers)
A couple of months ago, Boss Audio debuted its latest aftermarket CarPlay receiver, the BVCP9685A, offering a relatively low-cost way to add wired CarPlay (and Android Auto) to your existing vehicle.
The BVCP9685A is a double DIN unit with a 6.75-inch capacitive screen and a vertical strip of capacitive touch controls along the left side. With an external microphone and support for steering...
Proposed Tariffs Could Lead to 14% Increase in U.S. iPhone Prices
While U.S. tariffs on Apple's chargers and cases are already at 25 percent, the company's main products like the iPhone have so far escaped the extra taxes. That may soon change, however, as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has begun the approval process to subject an additional $300 billion in Chinese-made products, including iPhones, to tariffs that could go into effect in late June.
...
iPhone XR Successor Could Replace Coral and Blue Options With Green and Lavender
Apple's colorful iPhone XR lineup comes in a total of six colors, offering plenty of options for users to choose one that best suits their preferences. This year's successor to the iPhone XR will similarly be available in six colors, but Mac Otakara says Apple will be tweaking a couple of the options.
Mac Otakara's examples of expected 2019 iPhone XR colors
According to the report, the 2019...
Apple Shares More Details on Parental Control App Crackdown
Following an email from Phil Schiller to a MacRumors reader yesterday addressing a report from The New York Times on Apple's removal of a number of App Store apps focused on screen time monitoring and parental controls, Apple has issued a public statement sharing additional perspective on the situation.
The statement, entitled "The facts about parental control apps," is very similar in its...
Phil Schiller Lays Out Apple's Case for Cracking Down on Screen Time Monitoring Apps
Earlier today, a report from The New York Times highlighted Apple's removal of a number of App Store apps that had allowed users to monitor usage of their devices or those used by their children. The report suggests that Apple's move to pull the apps is related to having rolled out its own Screen Time feature in iOS 12 that competes in some ways with these apps, raising concerns over...
Apple Spending $30 Million Per Month on Amazon Cloud Services
While Apple has built out a significant network of data centers to support iCloud and other services, it still relies on other companies to help support those services. According to CNBC, Apple has a multiyear agreement with Amazon Web Services that sees Apple paying Amazon $30 million per month.
In a February job posting, Apple said it was looking for someone who could “lead and architect...
