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
iPhone OS 3.0 Beta 4 and iTunes 8.2 Pre-Release to Developers [Blu-Ray Evidence?]
Continuing a pattern of biweekly releases, Apple tonight seeded the fourth beta version of iPhone OS 3.0 to developers. Apple also issued a developer pre-release version of iTunes 8.2, which is required to activate the new beta. No new features in the fourth beta version have been revealed as of yet.
The iPhone OS 3.0 was first demonstrated at a media event in mid-March and will bring...
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Microsoft to Launch iPhone Rival on Verizon Early Next Year?
In a brief report (subscription required), The Wall Street Journal claims that Microsoft and Verizon are in talks to launch an iPhone rival in early 2010. MarketWatch summarizes the report: The Microsoft phone, code-named "Pink," is expected to appear by 2010 and would extend the tech giant's Windows Mobile cellphone operating system, according to the Journal.Similar to Google's Android...
Truphone 3.0 Now Available in App Store
Truphone [App Store, Free], one of the most popular voice-over-IP phone solutions for the iPhone, has been updated to version 3.0. Among the new features are improved voice quality, instant messaging support, and improved performance. Truphone 3.0 release will provide Truphone users with:
- Superior voice call quality
- A slick, new instant messaging service (allowing you to IM and call...
Apple Personnel Moves: Former AMD Chip Executive Hired, Papermaster Finally Begins Work
The Inquirer reports that former ATI chip designer and executive Bob Drebin is apparently now a Senior Director at Apple. Drebin was formerly the Chief Technology Officer for the Graphics Products Group at AMD, assuming the position as part of AMD's acquisition of ATI in 2006. As detailed in his still-active AMD profile, Drebin brings extensive experience in graphics chip design. Bob Drebin is...
Apple Announces 24/7 MobileMe Live Chat Support
Apple today announced on its MobileMe News page that Live Chat support for MobileMe is now available in English 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you encounter an issue while using MobileMe and would like to address it immediately, simply go to MobileMe support. Click on the topics at the bottom left of the page to see if your question has already been answered. If it's not, click the Chat Now...
Apple Corrects 10-Q SEC Filing, Announces Shareholder Approval of 'Say on Pay' Proposal
Apple today announced that it has filed an amended Form 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, correcting errors in the reported vote totals for shareholder-submitted proposals at its most recent annual shareholder meeting. Last week's filing incorrectly reported the voting percentages for shareholder-submitted proposals because abstentions were counted as "No" votes. Very shortly...
Snow Leopard QuickTime X Player to Offer Integrated Video Sharing Features?
AppleInsider reports that QuickTime X Player, slated for release as part of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard later this year, will feature integrated uploading of supported video files to YouTube and MobileMe. In particular, the application will let users take any supported video file and upload it directly to YouTube. Users will be prompted to enter their YouTube username and password, and QuickTime X...
Apple Reduces Retail Workforce by 10% Over Last Quarter
CNET notes that, according Apple's 10-Q document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in association with the release of its earnings for the second fiscal quarter of 2009, Apple reduced the number of employees in its retail store division from 15,600 to approximately 14,000 full-time equivalents during the quarter. The retail arm of the company now employs 14,000 full-time equivalent ...
Apple Announces Winner of 1 Billion App Contest
In a press release issued this morning regarding the App Store's one billion app milestone, Apple announced that the winner of the associated contest was 13-year old Connor Mulcahey of Weston, Connecticut. Connor, who downloaded Bump [App Store] as the milestone application, will receive a $10,000 iTunes gift card, a 32 GB iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a 17" MacBook Pro. "The revolutionary App...
OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Build 10A335 Seeded to Developers
AppleInsider reports that Apple has seeded a new version of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard to developers. The documentation for the new version, termed Build 10A335, reportedly does not carry notice of any significant changes since the last developer seed (Build 10A314) at the beginning of the month, although several known bugs are mentioned. The Cupertino-based company reportedly made no mention of any...
Apple Briefly Approved 'Baby Shaker' App, Issues Apology
A 99-cent application by the name of 'Baby Shaker' appeared briefly in the App Store yesterday, but was quickly removed by Apple after an uproar from users who found it to be inappropriate and offensive. The simple application displayed a crying baby on the screen with the instruction being that users should listen to the crying for as long as possible before shaking the iPhone to make the baby ...
Apple Researching Methods to Offer Customized Control of Browser-Based Audio Content
In a patent application filed in November 2007 and released today, Apple reveals that it is researching methods for providing customized audio control for Internet browser content. The research is targeting the inability for a single system volume setting to address multiple simultaneous audio-generating applications, a common inconvenience for computer users. For example, a user may have audio...
App Store Reaches Milestone: One Billion Apps Downloaded
Apple's front page is now announcing that the App Store has reached one billion downloads. For the past two weeks, Apple has been running a 1 Billion App Countdown promotion, offering a package of Apple prizes valued at over $13,000 for the "entry (either through an app download or through the non-purchase online entry) sent immediately following the download of the 999,999,999th app." The...
Apple Seeds OS X 10.5.7 Build 9J56 to Developers
Apple has yet again seeded a new version of Mac OS X 10.5.7, this one termed Build 9J56, to developers for testing. World of Apple publishes the seed notes, which detail five changes since the previous build issued last week. Despite many expecting that the previous build of Mac OS X 10.5.7 would be the one to see a public release Apple today has released a new build labelled 9J56.
The latest...
Apple Reports $1.21 Billion Profit for Q2 2009
Apple today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Apple posted revenue of $8.16 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.21 billion, or $1.33 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $7.51 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.05 billion, or $1.16 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.4 percent, compared to 32.9 percent in the year-ago...
15" OLED Panel from LG Headed for Apple Notebook This Summer?
SmartHouse reports that LG is preparing to release a 15" display panel based on OLED technology, with the first appearance of the panel to be in a "brand new Apple notebook" in June. A senior executive at LG Display who has been closely involved in the development of display technology for Apple said "The early models will be double, if not triple, the price of an LCD panel however, over time they ...
AT&T Activates 1.6 Million iPhone 3Gs in First Quarter of 2009
AT&T today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2009, and among the highlights was the announcement that AT&T had activated 1.6 million iPhone 3Gs during the quarter. Continuing a trend seen in previous quarters, customers new to AT&T accounted for 40% of iPhone 3G activations. In the first quarter, AT&T's iPhone 3G activations totaled more than 1.6 million, more than 40...
More Details of iPhone OS 3.0 'Voice Control' Emerge
Several weeks ago, we mentioned in passing that configuration files for a feature called "Voice Control" had been unearthed in the iPhone OS 3.0 beta. Ars Technica now provides a few additional details about the feature, although the specifics remain unknown. Chiefly, the feature is apparently code-named "Jibbler" and will enable both voice synthesis and voice recognition on the iPhone OS 3.0. No...
Microsoft to End Support for Office 2004 in October
Macworld reports that Microsoft will end its support of Office 2004 as of October 13, 2009. "In line with Microsoft's standard Support Lifecycle policy, Office 2004 for Mac Mainstream Support will be retired October 13, 2009," the company said in a statement given to Macworld. "The MacBU is continuing to work on updates for Office 2008 for Mac and is hard at work on the next version of Office for...
AT&T Migrating 3G Network to 7.2 Mbps, Planning for 21 Mbps Later This Year?
Telephony Online reports that AT&T is in the process of upgrading its 3G wireless network from the current 3.6 Mbps download standard to 7.2 Mbps. Several recent rumors have suggested that the next-generation iPhone due this summer will be able to take advantage of the higher speeds. AT&T is increasing the downlink capacity on its high-speed packet access (HSPA) from 3.6 megabits per second to...
