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
HP Introduces Updated Cross-Platform MediaSmart Home Servers
HP today introduced the MediaSmart EX490 and EX495 home servers, offering upgraded features and greater Mac compatibility for the company's line of cross-platform home servers that received significant praise at Macworld Expo earlier this year. HP today launched the HP MediaSmart EX490 and EX495 Home Servers, new models offering increased capacity, high-performance processors, more control, new...
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Microsoft Begins Shipping Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition
Microsoft today announced that it has begun shipping Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition, replacing the previous Standard Edition and Special Media Edition with a single package offering the complete Office suite with support for Microsoft Exchange included. The new Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition is a lot like it sounds... a suite that's packed with tools and features needed to grow and...
Microsoft Launches Zune HD
Microsoft today officially launched the Zune HD, the company's next-generation touchscreen media player designed to compete directly against Apple's iPod touch. Originally announced in May, the Zune HD is available in 16 GB ($219.99 in black) and 32 GB ($289.99 in platinum) capacities. Zune HD marks a significant step forward for portable media players, combining powerful hardware components...
Former Intel Executive Joins Apple as General Counsel and Senior Vice President
Apple today announced that Bruce Sewell, former general counsel and senior vice president at Intel, will join Apple in a similar role, holding titles of General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Legal and Government Affairs. Sewell, who takes the position of the retiring Daniel Cooperman, will report directly to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "We are thrilled to have Bruce join our executive team, and...
Apple Tablet Rumors Revived: February 2010 Launch? P.A. Semi Processor?
After several quiet weeks on the tablet rumor front as it became clear that no such device would be introduced at Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" media event, a new report from Taiwan Economic News revives rumor discussions by claiming that Apple's tablet computer will launch in February 2010 at a price point between $799 and $999. The report also claims that the tablet will utilize a P.A....
U.S. Mac Sales Up 7% Year-Over-Year in July and August, iPod Sales Down 16%
Silicon Alley Insider reports on data from research firm NPD showing that U.S. Mac sales were up 7% year-over-year during the months of July and August, ahead of most analysts' projections. The data, reported by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, also shows a 16% decline in year-over-year iPod sales, a performance slightly below analysts' expectations. Munster says NPD data from July and August...
Apple Releases Xsan 2.2 Updates
Apple today released a number of updates for Xsan, the company's enterprise-class storage area network (SAN) solution. Xsan 2.2 brings support for Mac OS X Snow Leopard, as well as a number of other changes.
- Xsan 2.2 Admin Update for 10.6 (35 MB) The 2.2 update is recommended for all systems running Xsan 2. This update includes general administration fixes for remotely administering,...
Apple Retail Stores to Gain Dedicated iPhone Activation Areas and Staff?
MacRumors has heard from multiple sources that Apple is planning to enhance the in-store iPhone purchasing and activation process at its retail stores. The changes, due to be rolled out as soon as tomorrow, will involve layout changes to current stores to create "iPhone Activation Zones" where customers can pick up and activate iPhones after having gone through the pre-authorization process...
China Mobile Chairman Confirms Ongoing iPhone Talks
The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that China Mobile chairman Wang Jianzhou has confirmed that the company is still involved in talks with Apple to bring the iPhone to the carrier's network. The iPhone would have to be modified in order to operate on China Mobile's proprietary 3G network, or would be relegated to the company's slower 2G network. A stumbling block, however,...
iPhone 3G and iPod Touch Gain Video Trimming Capabilities in iPhone OS 3.1
Gioga23 notes [Google translation] that the iPhone 3G and iPod touch, despite not having built-in video cameras, are able to utilizing the iPhone 3GS video trimming feature when running iPhone OS 3.1.
E-mailed videos can be saved to the user's Photos application, where they can then be opened, trimmed, and saved as edited copies. While the feature's utility is somewhat limited due to the...
Accounting Rule Change May Affect Apple's Future Earnings Reports
Silicon Alley Insider reports that a change to accounting standards that received preliminary approval last week may alter the way Apple treats revenue from the iPhone and Apple TV. The issue relates to Apple's policy of recognizing revenue from the iPhone and Apple TV over a two-year period from the date of purchase, a policy developed to satisfy accounting regulations as Apple provides free...
New iPod Touch Models and Chinese iPhone Launch Constrain Worldwide Flash Memory Supplies
DigiTimes reports that the flash memory market is currently experiencing shortages, as manufacturers have been dedicating increased amounts of their capacity to Apple. The company has been purchasing considerable amounts of NAND flash for its new iPod touch models with capacities up to 64 GB and to prepare for the launch of the iPhone in China later this year. Samsung Electronics has informed...
Apple Officially Adds Support for Up to 16 GB of RAM on Quad-Core Mac Pro
Apple has quietly added additional build-to-order RAM options to its Quad-Core Mac Pro, now allowing users to configure new systems with either 12 GB (3 x 4 GB) or 16 GB (4 x 4 GB) of RAM. The new options using 4 GB RAM DIMMs carry significant price tags, with the 12 GB option resulting in a $1350 up charge over the base 3 GB configuration and the 16 GB option carrying an $1850 premium.
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Apple Offers Clarification on Mobile Safari Anti-Phishing Feature
Last week, some questions were raised about apparent inconsistencies in the way that Safari on the iPhone and iPod touch was employing a new anti-phishing feature added in iPhone OS 3.1.
The Loop spoke with Apple about the issue, and learned that the anti-phishing database is updated on a user's iPhone via the charging/syncing process in order to preserve battery performance and prevent hidden ...
Apple Releases Updated Brother and Canon Printer Drivers for Snow Leopard
On the heels of updated HP printer drivers for Snow Leopard, Apple has now released similar updates for both Brother and Canon printers and multifunction devices.
- Brother Printer Drivers for Mac OS X v10.6, Version 2.1 weighs in at 95.52 MB and requires Mac OS X 10.6.1. The download offers updates for many of Brother printers that had already been supported, and adds support for a number of ...
Third-Generation iPod Touch Teardown Reveals 802.11n-Capable Wi-Fi Chip, Empty Space for Camera
iFixit has managed to get its hands on a 32 GB third-generation iPod touch and is in the process of tearing apart the device to get a look at the internals. While the new iPod touch is similar in many respects to the second-generation model, especially given the absence of a camera module, there are some hardware differences.
One of the more intriguing differences uncovered so far is the...
Portions of Apple's Grand Central Dispatch Go Open Source
Daring Fireball's John Gruber noted yesterday that Apple has released libdispatch, the source code for the user space implementation of Grand Central Dispatch, taking a significant portion of the company's technology for more efficiently utilizing multicore processors open source. While some may consider the move a surprise due to the technology's key role in the core of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Ma...
Apple Details MobileMe Enhancements Delivered by Latest Software Updates
Apple has posted a support article detailing a number of enhancements to its MobileMe service made possible by the launch of iPhone OS 3.1, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and MobileMe Control Panel for Windows 1.5.
iPhone OS 3.1 brings enhancements to Find My iPhone, which now allows users to remotely set a passcode lock to prevent others from accessing the device, plays device alerts at the loudest...
Apple Releases Updated HP Printer Drivers for Snow Leopard
Apple yesterday released Version 2.1 of HP Printer Drivers for Mac OS X v10.6, adding Snow Leopard-compatible drivers for a number of HP printers and multifunction devices.
Complete information on Snow Leopard-compatible drivers can be found in Apple's support document on the issue, which has been updated to include the newly-added HP drivers, which are marked with an asterisk.
The download ...
Apple Releases New 'Get a Mac', iPod Touch, and iPod Nano Ads
Apple this week has launched three new television commercials, including one new "Get a Mac" ad featuring Justin Long and John Hodgman in their usual roles, one highlighting the gaming focus of the iPod touch, and a third showing off the video capabilities of the new iPod nano.
The newest "Get a Mac" commercial, entitled PC Innovation Lab and posted yesterday to Apple's ad gallery, highlights...
