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
Rumors of iPhone OS 3.1 Appearing Next Week Alongside MMS from AT&T Based on Questionable Sources
Over the past few days, a number of sites have been reporting a rumor that AT&T may be preparing to launch MMS for its iPhone customers alongside iPhone OS 3.1 at next week's media event. In tracing the history of this rumor, however, MacRumors finds rather questionable sources for the claim.
Many sites are pointing to Know Your Mobile as a source for the rumor. That story, however, appears...
Read Full Article • 98 comments
Apple Begins Seeding Mac OS X 10.6.1 for Testing
AppleInsider reports that Apple began seeding Mac OS X 10.6.1, the first maintenance update to Snow Leopard, earlier this week to a select group of developers. MacRumors can confirm that it received similar word earlier this week that Apple had opened a discussion forum through its invitation-only AppleSeed program to allow OS X 10.6.1 testers to provide feedback to Apple engineers and that...
Snow Leopard Installation Downgrades Flash Player to Vulnerable Version
Antivirus firm Sophos reports that Mac OS X Snow Leopard ships with an outdated version of Flash Player that contains several security vulnerabilities patched in the most recent version of Flash Player that was released by Adobe on July 30th. Importantly, an upgrade installation of Snow Leopard over an existing Leopard installation containing an up-to-date Flash Player downgrades Flash to the...
New Jersey Apple Store Robbed of MacBook Pros, iPhones, and iPod Touches
ifoAppleStore reports that the Sagemore Apple retail store was robbed in a smash-and-grab burglary last night conducted by five individuals. In only 31 seconds, the burglars were able to make off with 23 MacBook Pros, 14 iPhones and 9 iPod touches. A night shift security guard, whose position had been added due to a similar burglary at the store back in March, declined to intervene when one of...
Apple to Launch Pre-Cut Ringtones at Next Week's Media Event?
CNET reports that Apple has obtained the rights to distribute pre-cut ringtones via iTunes and is rushing to have the feature enabled in time for next Wednesday's media event. Owners of Apple's iPhone have long had the ability to create custom-made ringtones for their devices. The new music snippets are mainly a convenience, as they make it possible for iPhone owners to obtain a pre-cut ringtone...
YouTube in Discussions to Offer Movie Rentals From Major Studios
The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that YouTube is in discussions with several major movie studios to bring streaming movie rentals to the service. YouTube is talking to Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., Sony Corp., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. about charging for new titles on the existing YouTube site. In some cases, these titles might be...
Photoshop CS3 and CS4 Snow Leopard Bugs Under Investigation
Adobe Photoshop project manager John Nack reports that his team is currently investigating three bugs that have appeared for users of Photoshop CS3 and CS4 on Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
1. The most crucial of the bugs appears to be unexpected crashing during Open and Save operations, a bug which appears to affect other applications besides Photoshop, including non-Adobe applications.
2. A...
No Apple TV Refresh at Next Week's Media Event?
The Loop reports that "very reliable sources" are claiming that there will be no update to the Apple TV at next Wednesday's media event in San Francisco. The Loop has learned through very reliable sources that an updated Apple TV will definitely not be introduced at next week's event in San Francisco. Apple's invitation states, "It's only rock and roll, but we like it," solidifying the theme for...
Snow Leopard's 'Keyboard Viewer' Sparks Renewed Speculation Regarding Mac OS X-Based Tablet
9 to 5 Mac observed at the launch of Snow Leopard that the Keyboard Viewer feature found in earlier versions of Mac OS X has seen several changes that spark speculation that Snow Leopard may be showing hints of utility for touchscreen hardware such as Apple's much-rumored tablet computer. Notably, the Keyboard Viewer application, used to show keyboard layouts in various languages, can now be...
AT&T Announces 850 MHz 3G Coverage Improvements in New York City and Other Markets
AT&T's 3G coverage, which has been the subject of criticism from a number of iPhone users, has seen a boost in several markets recently, as noted by a handful of press releases from the company. The most notable market seeing improvements announced in recent days is the New York City market, including Long Island and New Jersey. That region, along with the San Francisco area, has been the...
Apple Looking to Bypass Chinese Carriers by Selling Unlockable iPhones Through Retailers?
BusinessWeek reports on a note from Wedge Partners research analyst Matt Mathison, who believes that Apple is looking to make a deal with Chinese retailer Di Xing Tong to offer iPhones that could be unlocked for use on the network of China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier. Despite ongoing talk about possible tie-up with the mother of all cellular carriers, China Mobile, equity research ...
40 GB Apple TV Shipping Date Slips, Leads to Speculation of Updates Next Week
The Loop reports on a new research report from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster noting that the shipping window on Apple's 40 GB Apple TV has slipped to 1-2 weeks. Coming just eight days before Apple's media event expected to focus on music and iTunes-related content, the change leads Munster to speculate that Apple may be making a change to its Apple TV lineup next week. Munster is basing...
Lack of ZFS File System Support in Snow Leopard Due to Licensing Issues?
In June, we noted that Sun's ZFS file system, previously mentioned by Apple as being included in Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard, had been removed from Apple's documentation for the release. The change was ultimately reflected in the released version of Snow Leopard, which does in fact lack support for ZFS.
MacRumors had heard that the removal of support for ZFS, which had even made appearances...
Developer Offers Inside Look at Sales Gap Between App Store and Android Market
TechCrunch points to a blog post from mobile app developer Larva Labs highlighting the company's sales data for its high-ranking Android Market applications and comparing that performance with that of successful iPhone applications.
Larva Labs, which currently holds the #5 and #12 rankings on the Android Market list of top paid applications, brought in an average of $62.39 per day total during ...
Analysts Disagree Over Whether Steve Jobs Will Present at September Media Event
A pair of research reports released today from prominent research analysts disagree over whether Apple CEO Steve Jobs will make his first public appearance since returning from a medical leave of absence for a liver transplant by presenting at next week's media event in San Francisco.
Fortune points to a note to clients from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who predicts that Jobs will take...
Apple Releases Mac OS X Server 10.5.8 Version 1.1
Apple today released Mac OS X Server 10.5.8 Update Version 1.1, a re-release of Mac OS X Server 10.5.8 initially released earlier this month. While Apple has not provided any documentation on what changes are present from the initial release, Version 1.1 likely offers bug fixes for issues missed in the initial release.
- Mac OS X Server 10.5.8 Update v.1.1 (274 MB) - for users running OS X...
Apple Releases Mac Mini EFI Firmware and SuperDrive Firmware Updates
Apple today released a pair of firmware updates, one addressing memory compatibility in Mac minis and another addressing optical noises on startup and wake from sleep in the iMac and Mac mini.
- Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2 improves compatibility with the latest memory kits. This update improves compatibility with the latest Apple memory kits on Mac mini computers.
To complete the...
Apple's iPhone Deal With China Unicom Not Exclusive
Dow Jones Newswires reports that Apple's deal with Chinese wireless provider China Unicom to bring the iPhone to that country, announced last week, is in fact not exclusive. Early reports had claimed that the deal contained a multi-year exclusivity arrangement for China Unicom, but the official denial by Apple opens the door to the company allowing other Chinese wireless providers to offer the...
Apple Issues Invitations for September 9th Media Event
CrunchGear reports that invitations for Apple's September 9th media event have been issued. Apple has chosen "It's only rock and roll, but we like it," a take on the Rolling Stones song "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)," as the tag line for the event.
The event will be held at 10:00 AM Pacific Time at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, the site of several previous ...
SEC Investigating Insider Trading of Apple Stock
The Huffington Post reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating possible illegal insider trading of shares of Apple stock. Insider trading, or the buying and selling of stock by those with access to information not held by the general public, is closely regulated by the SEC.
Notably, the SEC is requesting information from brokers on trades made during four...
