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 Quietly Updates Entry-Level White MacBook
Engadget reports that Apple has quietly updated the entry-level white MacBook, adopting several of the components used in the base aluminum unibody MacBook model. Engadget speculates that the upgrade serves to prepare the last member of Apple's notebook line for the addition of OpenCL in their upcoming OS X Snow Leopard. Updated specs include:
- Processor moved to 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo with...
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Apple's Q1 2009 Earnings Predictions
Apple will release their earnings for the first quarter of the 2009 fiscal year Wednesday afternoon. A number of reports circulating over the past couple of days lend some insight into what we might be able to expect.
AppleInsider discusses a report from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who predicts based on data from research firm NPD that Apple sold between 2.45 million and 2.55 million ...
No Serial Number Required for iWork '09 Retail Box
Apple recently posted a support document revealing that retail boxes of the new iWork '09 suite do not require users to input serial numbers to activate the product. Users who download the iWork '09 30-day trial from Apple's site, however, will still have to input serial numbers upon purchasing the full version online in order to unlock the applications.
The lack of a serial number is not...
Ustream Now Available for iPhone
Ustream Viewing Application [App Store], which enables iPhone and iPod touch users to view live video streaming from Ustream.tv is now available in the App Store. The free app provides access to both live and recorded video, as well as an integrated chat function for supported broadcasts.
Streaming video is available only over Wi-Fi and not 3G or EDGE connections. Video links can be easily...
Apple to Release Q1 2009 Financial Results on January 21st
Apple has posted a media alert announcing details for the January 21st release of their financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009. The results will cover sales from September 28th through December 27th, 2008, and will be released at the close of trading (4:00 PM Eastern / 1:00 PM Pacific) on Wednesday. Apple's conference call discussing the results will follow at 2:00 PM Pacific ...
15" MacBook Air Under Development?
Taiwanese blog Apple.pro reports (Google translation) that Apple is developing larger versions of the MacBook Air, speculating that a 15" version could be in the works. The report provides little information other than that the new MacBook Air would be based on new ultra-low voltage Core 2 processors from Intel, but they promise that more information will be forthcoming in the second half of...
App Store Hits 15,000 Apps, 500 Million Downloads
A banner on Apple's front page proclaims that the App Store has surpassed 15,000 available applications and 500 million downloads. The milestones come just over six months after the App Store's debut.
Apple last reported on December 5th, 2008 that they had surpassed 10,000 available applications and 300 million downloads, and the latest numbers demonstrate a significant acceleration in...
Intel Atom-Based Mac Mini Due in March?
Tom's Hardware reports that the expected Mac mini refresh will be coming in March and will be based on NVIDIA's new Ion platform utilizing Intel's dual-core 1.6 GHz Atom 330 processor. The Ion platform, announced in mid-December, also utilizes the GeForce 9400M integrated graphics found in the current MacBooks and MacBook Pros. An Nvidia partner confirmed to us that Apple was the first to receive ...
iStat for iPhone Coming Soon [Now Available]
TUAW profiles the upcoming iStat iPhone application from Bjango, part of the team that released the original iStat applications for OS X under the iSlayer name. iStat not only displays basic system and network information for your iPhone or iPod touch, but it can also communicate with desktops and laptops running the free iStat Server application to allow users to monitor system stats remotely. Th...
Jobs Health Concerns Related to Food Absorption, Not Cancer?
The New York Times reports that the health issues that have resulted in Steve Jobs taking a medical leave of absence from his role as Apple's CEO stem from a problem with food absorption and not from a recurrence of cancer. Two people who are familiar with Mr. Jobs's current medical treatment said he was not suffering from a recurrence of cancer, but a condition that was preventing his body from...
Apple's US Market Share Growth Slows in 4Q 2008
Gartner has released a preliminary report on U.S. and worldwide PC shipments for the fourth quarter of 2008. The report places Apple in fourth place in U.S market share at 8.0%, up from 6.7% in the fourth quarter of 2007, but down from 9.5% in the third quarter of 2008. The sequential decline in Apple's market share was not entirely unexpected, as Apple's traditionally strong performance in the...
Slacker Radio for iPhone Released
Just days after the BlackBerry version was released at CES, the iPhone version of Slacker Radio [App Store] has been released in the US App Store. Similar in some respects to Pandora Radio, Slacker Radio provides both pre-programmed and personalized Internet radio stations. - Unlimited free access to millions of songs from thousands of artists
- Listen to over 100 stations created by leading...
Security Vulnerability Found in Safari RSS
Open source programmer Brian Mastenbrook has discovered a security flaw in the way that Safari handles RSS feeds. The vulnerability, which affects both Mac and Windows versions of Safari, could allow a malicious website to gain access to sensitive user data. I have discovered that Apple's Safari browser is vulnerable to an attack that allows a malicious web site to read files on a user's hard...
iPhone Nano Coming in June, But Not to United States?
DigiTimes highlights a report from Taiwan's Economic Daily News stating that two chip manufacturers, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and United Microelectronics Corporation, are expected to receive chip orders for Apple's rumored iPhone nano. The report states that orders would likely come in March, leading to a June release of the iPhone nano at the earliest.
Meanwhile, American...
Apple and LG Sign Five-Year Deal for Displays
According to a regulatory filing made today by LG, the display manufacturer has signed a five-year deal to provide LCD panels to Apple, a deal that includes an upfront payment by Apple of $500 million. Reuters cites analyst comments that LG currently supplies displays for 70% of Apple's computer products, so the new deal suggests a strengthening of the existing relationship that should bring...
Chipotle Mobile Ordering Comes to iPhone [Updated]
Burrito restaurant chain Chipotle has launched a new free iPhone application, Chipotle Mobile Ordering [App Store], which builds upon their online ordering system launched in December 2005 and revamped this past October. The application allows iPhone and iPod touch users to customize orders from Chipotle's full menu, pay for their food via credit card, and find directions to their nearest...
'Palm Pre' Smartphone Announced: WebOS, Wireless Charging, App Store
One of the major stories coming out of CES is the revival of Palm with the release of the Palm Pre, the first smartphone to be based on their new webOS platform. The Pre, currently planned for a US release on Sprint sometime in the first half of this year, contains a 3.1-inch, 320x480 touch screen, 8 GB of memory, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 3-megapixel camera with flash, built-in GPS, an...
MWSF iPhone Tidbits: iToner 2, Beejive 2, Zephyr, Keynote Remote
A number of iPhone-related applications have been featured at Macworld Expo, and here are a few that have caught our interest:
iToner 2 from Ambrosia Software enables free, quick ringtone creation and transfer without the need for hacks. The new version adds the ability to easily crop selections, incorporates Cleartone technology for optimizing sound quality for the iPhone speaker, and...
HP MediaSmart Servers Gain Mac Compatibility
One of the more interesting products on display at the Macworld Expo is the HP MediaSmart Server EX485/EX487. The new server, which was the recipient of a Best of Show award, provides a home server solution for cross-platform environments.
The server contains an Intel Celeron 2.0 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM and four hard drive bays, with additional expansion possible via one eSATA and four ...
Macworld Best of Show Awards 2009
Macworld Magazine presented their annual "Best of Show" awards this afternoon, highlighting a number of products showcased on the expo floor.
- WebEx for iPhone - free application allows iPhone users to participate in Cisco WebEx virtual meetings
- DayliteTouch - allows two-way syncing of appointments, calendars, tasks, notes, and projects
- Filemaker Pro 10 - industry-standard database...
