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
MacBook Air 'Ultimate' Configurations Benchmarked
In a follow-up to its benchmarks for the new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models yesterday, Macworld has now gotten its hands on the "ultimate" configurations of the two sizes, allowing for testing on the higher-powered models offering faster processors and more RAM. Our Speedmark 6.5 results show the BTO 11-inch MacBook Air topping its standard configuration version by 12 percent, overall....
Read Full Article • 122 comments
Spotify Making Progress on Deals With U.S. Music Labels
CNET reports that Swedish music streaming service Spotify appears to be getting closer to locking in deals with the major U.S. record labels that would allow the company to launch its free and paid services in the United States. Just yesterday, a rumor surfaced claiming that Apple was in early-stage negotiations with Spotify about an acquisition, but the claim was quickly denied by Spotify...
Apple Developing Custom Built-In SIM Card for iPhone?
GigaOM reports that Apple has partnered with digital security firm Gemalto to create a custom SIM card that would exist as a built-in chip inside the iPhone to allow users to activate their devices with a broad array of carriers without requiring extensive interactions directly with the carriers. It is rumored that Apple and Gemalto have created a SIM card, which is typically a chip that carries ...
Apple Reportedly Holding 'Secret' Conference for Select iOS Developers Next Week
Business Insider reports that Apple is hosting a secret three-day conference at its Cupertino headquarters next week, bringing in an unknown number of iOS developers to meet with Apple staff. Apple is hosting an event for iOS developers in California next week, we've heard from an industry source. The event begins next Tuesday, and runs for three days, we've heard.
We are short on details, and...
New Java-Based Malware Targets Mac OS X, But Threat Level Disputed
Security alert dialog box generated by malware's installation attempts
Yesterday, Mac antivirus firm SecureMac issued an alert regarding a new piece of malware capable of infecting systems running Mac OS X by using a trojan horse method of entry to deploy a Java-based payload enabling a wide variety of nefarious functions. The trojan horse, trojan.osx.boonana.a, is spreading through social...
White iPhone 4 Canceled Entirely?
News about Apple's much-delayed white iPhone 4 continues to fly fast and furious, with a new claim from Boy Genius Report suggesting that the model has been canceled entirely instead of merely delayed until next spring as the company announced yesterday. According to a previous source of ours, we have been told that Apple in fact has no plans to release the white model iPhone 4. Our source...
Shipping Estimates for Entry-Level 11-Inch MacBook Air Slip Slightly
Supplies of Apple's new 11-inch MacBook Air seem to be tightening just a week after the product's launch, with Apple's online stores around the world showing shipping estimates for the entry-level model slipping to 1-3 business days. All other models (11-inch and 13-inch) remain at "within 24 hours" for stock configurations. In addition, a sampling of Apple's retail stores are similarly...
Apple Accused of 'iPad' Trademark Infringement in China
AFP reports that a Chinese firm has accused Apple of trademark infringement for its use of the "iPad" name in that country, seeking up to $800 million to settle the dispute. Proview Technology Co, Ltd, which is based in the southern city of Shenzhen, registered the iPad trademark in January 2000 and still owns the rights to its use in China, the Beijing News said, citing government archives....
White iPhone 4 Delays Due to Light Leakage Affecting Camera Performance?
With Apple's announcement yesterday that it has once again pushed back the launch of the white iPhone 4, this time to next spring, speculation about the reasons for the ongoing delays has continued to run rampant. Previous reports had claimed that either color consistency issues or problems with the device's backlight leaking out around and/or through the white body of the device were...
Foxconn Joining Pegatron for CDMA iPhone Production?
CENS reports that Apple's iPhone manufacturing partner Hon Hai (parent company of Foxconn) has won a share of the production contract for the CDMA version of the iPhone 4, rumored for release early next year. The sources noted that Apple's order for the CDMA iPhone 4 has been shared evenly between Hon Hai and its Taiwanese peer Pegatron Corp., with Hon Hai's shipment of the device projected at...
Garmin Considering Developing GPS Applications for iOS
The Kansas City Star reports that GPS firm Garmin has abandoned its initiative with ASUS to offer Garmin-branded mobile phones, although the two companies will continue a partnership to offer Garmin GPS software on ASUS-branded phones. The shift opens the door for Garmin to offer its GPS software on other platforms such as Apple's iOS. "We obviously didn't want to compete against ourselves,"...
54% of H.264 Web Video Now Available in HTML5
Media search site MeFeedia today released the results of a new survey showing that 54% of H.264-encoded video on the Internet is currently available in HTML5 format, double the share of just five months ago. The rapid increase has been driven by the explosion in the mobile industry, led in part by Apple's iPhone and its lack of support for Adobe's Flash platform. - 54% of web video is now...
Apple's NC Data Center Plot Larger Than Originally Thought
Ongoing investigations over at All Things Digital have revealed that Apple's new data center that is set to open "any day now" in Maiden, North Carolina may be the site of even grander plans than the potential doubling in size discovered late last week. According to that earlier research, Apple's initial proposal to representatives of Catawba County where the project is located included a...
Apple Debuts Chinese Online Store, Chinese Language App Store
Apple today announced that it has launched a Chinese version of its online store, bringing direct sales of Apple's full product lineup, as well as a broad array of third-party accessories, to the site. "We are thrilled to open our newest online store in China," said Tim Cook, Apple's COO. "With personalized engraving, configure-to-order options and free shipping on everything, the Apple Store is ...
White iPhone 4 Delayed Once Again Until Spring 2011
Reuters reports that Apple has once again delayed availability of the white iPhone 4, pushing the launch out to next spring. Apple Inc said on Tuesday that it would delay release of the white iPhone yet again, this time until next spring.
The company has had a difficult time making the white model of the iPhone 4. It released the black version of the smartphone in June.In a statement, an...
Apple in Early-Stage Negotiations to Acquire Spotify? [Updated]
TechCrunch reports that Apple and Swedish music streaming service Spotify have been engaging in very early-stage discussions about a possible acquisition by Apple. Discussions have apparently yet to progress beyond the feeling-out stage, however, with no firm offers on the table at this time. "Apple, Inc. (AAPL) in negotiations to acquire Spotify," read the tip that came in yesterday via email...
AT&T Stores Receive iPads and Displays Ahead of October 28th Launch
Boy Genius Report notes that AT&T retail stores have received their initial shipment of iPads and related display materials, two days before the device is set to go on sale both there and at Verizon retail stores. We have just been told AT&T stores have started receiving iPad display models, iPads for sale, and iPad display accessories. There won't be a separate display area for the iPads, the...
Apple History: Jobs 'Raged' Over Microsoft's 2000 Acquisition of 'Halo' Developer Bungie
Develop offers an interesting teaser from its forthcoming interview with former vice president of game publishing at Microsoft Ed Fries, who notes that he was personally tasked with appeasing Apple CEO Steve Jobs after Microsoft acquired game developer Bungie Studios in 2000. Bungie had been a prominent game developer for the Mac platform, but Microsoft's acquisition enabled it to scoop up...
Apple to Lock Down iTunes Connect Over Thanksgiving and Christmas?
148Apps.biz reports that Apple appears set to lock down its iTunes Connect interface for App Store developers over both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, preventing developers from logging in to make changes to their applications during those times. Heard through the grapevine that in addition to the now traditional lock down of the App Store during the week of Christmas, this year we'll...
'iDOS' Emulator Supports DOS and Windows 3.0 on iOS Devices [Update: Pulled]
iDOS running DOS on an iPad
Our sister site TouchArcade is following the story of iDOS, a new emulator application that appeared in the App Store earlier today which allows users to run DOS and even Windows 3.0 on their iOS devices. Late last night iDOS was released. Based on DOSbox, an open source DOS emulator, iDOS is a universal app that has PC keyboard support, mouse support, multiple...
