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
Blockbuster Seeking to Bring Movie Downloads to Apple Devices?
Reuters reports today on a deal between TiVo and Blockbuster that will allow TiVo subscribers to download to their set-top boxes films offered through Blockbuster's OnDemand service. Looking beyond the TiVo agreement, a senior executive at Blockbuster revealed the company's intentions to pursue bringing a similar service to Apple's products. "You will see us in a large number of other devices...
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Genius Feature for Movies and TV Shows Activated in iTunes 8.1
After a brief delay, Apple has activated the "Genius" feature for movies and TV shows in iTunes 8.1. It is not entirely clear when Apple flicked the switch, but it appears that reports of the activation date back to late last week.
Similar to the existing feature for music launched in iTunes 8.0, a user can select a movie or TV episode from their library and activate the Genius feature, which ...
China Unicom Web Site Posts iPhone Information, Launching Soon? [Updated]
Macworld reports that a regional branch of China Unicom has posted information [Google translation] related to the iPhone on their web site. The information, which listed smartphones supported by the 3G network China Unicom is building, appeared only on the Web site of the company's Shanghai branch and did not say whether the products would be offered in China.
The site's changes follow media...
Cha-Ching Touch Now Available
Last month, we mentioned that Cha-Ching was coming to the iPhone and iPod touch, so we'd like to provide an update noting that it is now available for purchase [App Store] at an introductory price of $2.99. Cha-Ching features:
- Location based, quick transaction entry
- Simple, fun budgeting
- Multiple account support
- Unlimited Custom Categories
- Synchronization with Cha-Ching for the Mac
...
More Details on Next-Generation iPhone? 3G Netbook Due This Summer?
Boy Genius Report details a source "pretty high up in AT&T's food chain" who reportedly shared several tidbits of information about the next-generation iPhone. While short on details beyond the addition of an iPhone application to control AT&T's U-verse suite of Internet-based products and services and more hints that the iPhone may see increased Wi-Fi browsing speeds up to 7.2 Mbps, the...
Ngmoco Raises Additional $10 Million in Financing
Silicon Alley Insider reports that iPhone game developer ngmoco:) has raised $10 million in series B venture capital financing. Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and iPod touch platform has been a huge hit for gaming, so it's no surprise that one of the iPhone's best game publishers has just closed a new round of financing.
Ngmoco has raised $10 million in series B financing, led by Norwest Venture...
Apple Discontinues iPhone Bluetooth Headset
Last week, MacRumors reader alansmallen noticed that Apple had discontinued their iPhone Bluetooth Headset, which had been released alongside the original iPhone in mid-2007.
At their recent iPhone OS 3.0 media event, Apple revealed that support for A2DP (stereo Bluetooth) will be included in the next-generation iPhone software. The iPhone 3G's hardware is capable of supporting A2DP, and...
OS X 10.5.7 Build 9J34 Seeded to Developers
Over the weekend, Apple seeded Build 9J34 of Mac OS X 10.5.7 to developers. World of Apple publishes the seed notes, which detail ten changes since the previous seed and continue to list a lack of Safari 4 beta compatibility as the only remaining known issue. Apple has this weekend seeded a new build (9J34) of the next update to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. The build comes with improvements to Mail and ...
Next-Generation iPhone to Have "Faster Internet Speeds"?
Silicon Alley Insider reports on rumors from a mobile industry source saying that the next-generation iPhone will have "a significantly faster Internet connection." While no further information is given as to whether this is referring to cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity, Silicon Alley Insider lays out some possibilities based on what is known about the state of the technology. - This can't be...
AT&T Confirms No-Contract iPhone 3G Sales
According to the Associated Press, AT&T has confirmed yesterday's rumor that they will begin offering no-contract iPhone 3Gs to existing mobile customers. The phones will be priced at $599 for the 8 GB model and $699 for the 16 GB model. The new phones will still be "locked" to AT&T and won't work with any other cellular carrier unless they're modified. AT&T will only activate them on the regular ...
Apple Announces Release of HD Movie Sales and Rentals via iTunes
Apple today announced that they are now offering high-definition movie sales and rentals through the iTunes Store. Starting today, movie fans can purchase box office blockbusters for download in HD for $19.99 from iTunes, and films will be available as iTunes Movie Rentals in HD for $4.99 within 30 days after release. Customers can enjoy these films in HD on their Mac or PC and on their...
iPhone OS 3.0 Beta References Four Unknown Products [Updated]
Ars Technica reports that a property list file in the iPhone OS 3.0 beta reveals the existence of four unknown products. The file references products known as "iPhone3,1", "iPod3,1", "iFPGA", and "iProd0,1".
These products are listed in addition to entries for the existing two iPhone models (known as "iPhone1,1" and "iPhone1,2") and two iPod touch models (known as "iPod1,1" and "iPod2,1")....
Apple Preparing to Use OLED Displays for iPhone and Computers?
In an article making a broad sweep of claims, SmartHouse revives rumors that Apple will be moving its computer and iPhone/iPod touch displays to OLED technology, claiming that a representative of display manufacturer LG has confirmed the news.
According to the source, OLED technology will be making its way into Apple's entire lineup of displays, from notebooks and standalone displays to the...
AT&T To Offer No-Contract iPhones to Existing Customers Starting March 26th?
Boy Genius Report claims to have received slides from an internal AT&T training presentation revealing that AT&T will be offering contract-free iPhone 3Gs to existing customers beginning on March 26th. iPhone 3Gs will be priced at $599 for the 8 GB model and $699 for the 16 GB model, and no service agreement or device activation is required.
By limiting the "No-Commit" pricing option to...
Health Cloud Brings Google Health to the iPhone
Google's Mac Blog yesterday highlighted Health Cloud [App Store, Free], an application released last month that serves as a native iPhone and iPod touch client for Google Health. Google Health is a Personal Health Record service that enables users to maintain all of their health records in one central online location. Health Cloud, created by a third-party developer, is the first application to ...
Apple Releases Mini DisplayPort to VGA Firmware Update 1.0
Apple today released Mini DisplayPort to VGA Firmware Update 1.0 for all Mini DisplayPort-enabled Macs. This firmware update addresses intermittent flickering and compatibility issues such as no video on some external displays when using the Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter on your Mini DisplayPort enabled Mac.Apple notes that in order to apply the update, the Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter must...
Highlights of Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 Preview: Copy and Paste, A2DP, MMS, Much More
Apple today hosted a preview event for its upcoming iPhone OS 3.0, highlighting a few of over 1,000 new APIs for developers and over 100 new features for users. Full details are available in our live updates, but here are some of the highlights:
- In-App Purchasing: Allows developers to sell additional content from within applications. Highlighted uses include magazine subscriptions,...
Fandango App Comes to iPhone
Fandango, the popular movie ticketing site, has released a native iPhone and iPod touch application that allows user to search movie showings and purchase movie tickets on the go. Fandango [App Store, Free] also provides access to fan ratings, background information on films and theaters, and trailers. Get movie and theater listings with the flick of your finger. Watch trailers. View fan...
No DRM in Headphones for New iPod Shuffle [Update]
The Mac web has been abuzz over the past few days regarding the possibility of an "authentication" or "DRM" chip included inside the headphones for Apple's new iPod shuffle released last week. After several days of investigation, explanations, and misunderstandings, the chip appears to contain no authorization or encryption component.
Following up on comments from iLounge regarding the...
Boxee Remote for iPhone Now Available
Boxee has announced the availability of boxee remote [App Store, Free], an application for the iPhone and iPod touch that connects via Wi-Fi to act as a remote for the Boxee media center software.
The application provides two different modes for navigation, a traditional "Buttons Mode" and a "Gesture Mode" in which the user touches the Boxee logo and drags it around the screen in order to...
