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 Alerts Customers About Upcoming 'Sales Tax Holidays'
Apple has been sending out e-mails to customers in a number of U.S. states alerting them to upcoming "sales tax holidays" that may entitle them to tax-free purchases of qualifying Apple products. A number of states sponsor these programs on an annual basis, lifting state sales taxes on limited items for a brief period to stimulate retail sales. The programs are frequently billed as...
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Apple Censors 'Ninjawords Dictionary' iPhone Application
Daring Fireball's John Gruber reports on the case of Ninjawords Dictionary [App Store, $1.99], a dictionary application for the iPhone based on Wiktionary offering a high-quality user experience and information content that was recently approved by Apple for inclusion in the App Store. Unfortunately, Apple's approval process for the application required several months and multiple rounds of...
UK Retailer Offering TomTom Car Kit for Pre-Order
NaviGadget reports based on several other European sites that UK retailer Handtec is listing the TomTom GPS car mount kit for pre-order at a price of 99 plus tax. While Handtec's product page seems to claim that that the TomTom iPhone application is included in the price, it remains to be seen how the software will be accessed from the App Store after purchase. Interwebs on the other side of...
Apple to Launch 8 GB iPhone 3GS?
Boy Genius Report has received several tips that Rogers Wireless, Apple's Canadian iPhone partner, is in the process of shipping an 8 GB version of the iPhone 3GS to its retail stores. BGR has also received several photos of what appear to be an internal memo in Rogers' retail computer system announcing the transition to the new model to staff members. We've had a number of unconfirmed tips over...
O2 iPhone Exclusivity in the UK to End October 9th?
Mobile Entertainment claims to have viewed documentation revealing that UK wireless carrier O2's exclusivity contract for the iPhone will expire on October 9th. Rumors of the expiration surfaced last month, but this new report is the first to offer a supposed date for the expiration. Both reports do indicate, however, that O2 may retain exclusivity for the iPhone 3GS, leaving competitors with...
Palm Hires Another Former Apple Employee for its Management Team
PreCentral reports that Palm has recently hired former Apple employee Jeff Zwerner as its Senior Vice President of Brand Design. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that Zwerner, according to his LinkedIn page, has twice been in the employ of Apple - once as the Creative Director for Packaging in 2001-2003 and earlier as a Senior Art Director from 1995-1996. Sure, it's probably likely that some...
Apple's Share of Cellphone Industry Profit Estimated at 32% for First Half of 2009
All Things Digital reports on research from analyst Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein Research that shows Apple holding 32% of the cellphone handset industry's operating profits for the first half of 2009. Apple's profit share is driven by high average selling prices and high margins on the iPhone, which accounts for only 8% of industry revenue and under 2% of industry unit sales. "Our analysis...
New 'iProd1,1' Reference Found in iPhone OS 3.1 Beta Configuration File
Image from Ars Technica
Ars Technica reports that the latest version of the iPhone OS 3.1 beta seeded to developers last week contains an updated configuration file that references two mysterious products known as "iProd0,1" and "iProd1,1". A reference to "iProd0,1" was initially spotted back in March in a version of the same configuration file in an iPhone OS 3.0 beta, but this latest...
Apple Investigating a Range of Tablet Screens From 4 to 12 Inches?
AppleInsider reports on a research note from analysts at Kaufman Bros. claiming that Apple has investigated a range of tablet screen sizes from 4 to 12 inches over the past several years. Many of the orders have reportedly been large enough to account for small production runs of corresponding devices rather than merely a handful of prototypes each. In a research note issued Tuesday, Kaufman...
Apple Executives Headed to China for iPhone Negotiations?
International Business Times covers a report from Chinese news site Sina.com.cn claiming that Apple executives, headed by vice president of iPod and iPhone Product Marketing Greg Joswiak, are headed to Beijing this week to discuss with representatives of wireless carrier China Unicom plans for launching the iPhone there. "Senior officials from Apple Inc are to visit China this week, and they...
Apple Considering Turning iTunes Store Accounts into PayPal Competitor?
Silicon Alley Insider reports that Apple may be considering creating a competitor to eBay's PayPal online payments system, allowing users to make purchases at third-party sites via their iTunes Store accounts. The report does, however, make clear that the rumor is based on gossip and "not confirmed news." Wall Street gossips tell us that Apple executives have dropped hints suggesting the company...
Apple Releases Two New iPhone Ads: 'Share' and 'Travel'
Apple today released two new iPhone commercials, now available on Apple's iPhone ad gallery. Similar to some previous iPhone commercials, the new ads each feature three App Store applications linked by a common theme.
Share: Focuses on the iPhone's ability to easily share data and engage in multiplayer gaming.
- Mover [App Store, Free] - allows users to share photos, text clippings, and...
Apple Releases GarageBand 5.1 [Updated]
Apple today released GarageBand 5.1, addressing general compatibility and stability issues as well as several other minor fixes. This update addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and fixes a number of other minor issues. The issues addressed include:
- GarageBand track effects and Audio Units can now be added to a guitar track
- Improved support for Apogee audio...
Federal Trade Commission to Continue Investigation of Corporate Ties Between Apple and Google
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today released a statement (via CNBC) commending Apple and Google for Google CEO Eric Schmidt's resignation from Apple's Board of Directors. The FTC, however, claims that it will continue to investigate the corporate ties the between two companies for potential anti-competitive activities related to "interlocking directorates". On August 3, 2009, Apple announced...
Apple Tablet Seen by Analyst While Competitors Hold Off to Wait for Details?
Barron's chimes in (subscription required) with its contribution to recent Apple tablet rumors, claiming to have spoken with an unnamed "veteran analyst" who has seen firsthand a prototype of the forthcoming device. Unfortunately, the source provides little detail on the device other than to note that it will excel at displaying video content. The machine impresses with its display of hi-def...
Google CEO Eric Schmidt Resigns From Apple Board of Directors
Apple today announced that Google CEO Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple's Board of Directors due to increasing competition between the two companies and its impact on his effectiveness as an Apple Board member. "Eric has been an excellent Board member for Apple, investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Unfortunately,...
Amazon Begins Accepting Pre-Orders for Mac OS X Snow Leopard
Several MacRumors readers have reported that Amazon has begun taking pre-orders for Apple's forthcoming Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Amazon is currently offering Snow Leopard at Apple's announced price of $29 for OS X Leopard users, and the listing notes that while Snow Leopard is slated for a September release, no official release date has been announced.
Amazon has also prominently featured an...
FCC Investigating Apple's Rejection of Google Voice iPhone Application
The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has opened an inquiry into Apple's rejection of an official Google Voice application for the iPhone as well as the removal of numerous third-party applications offering Google Voice functionality. In particular, the FCC is interested in AT&T's role in the decision-making process. In letters...
Apple Releases iPhone OS 3.0.1 to Address SMS Security Vulnerability
Apple today released iPhone OS 3.0.1, addressing an SMS security vulnerability disclosed at yesterday's Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas. The release of iPhone OS 3.0.1 has been expected since a spokesperson for UK iPhone carrier O2 claimed earlier today that a fix for the issue would be coming from Apple on Saturday.
Apple has also posted a security document describing the...
Apple Unlikely to Directly Enter e-Book Market?
Silicon Alley Insider reports that Apple is unlikely to create its own "iTunes for e-books" and will instead rely on third parties to deliver e-book content through the existing App Store. An e-book industry source has reportedly indicated that while Apple had contemplated directly offering e-book content several years ago, the plans were scrapped once the company fully grasped how difficult the ...
