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
Next Wave of Apple Pay Bank Launches Begins With Navy Federal, USAA, US Bank, PNC
Apple's October 20 debut for Apple Pay included support from many of the biggest banks in the United States, including Chase, Citi, Capital One, and Bank of America, but the company has said it has over 500 other banks working to roll out support for the mobile payments service. A few of the larger ones are listed on Apple's site as launching Apple Pay support "later this year", and it appears...
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Starwood Begins First Phase of Mobile Phone Hotel Room Key Rollout With 10 Properties
Following an initial pilot program at a pair of its properties, hotel chain Starwood today announced the official launch of its SPG Keyless program that will allow hotel guests to use their iPhones or Android phones to check in for their stays and unlock their doors via Bluetooth. The system will go live this Wednesday in ten hotels around the world under Starwood's Aloft, Element, and W brands...
Intel Launches New Broadwell Core M Processors, Likely Destined for Apple's Ultra-Slim Notebook
While Intel's next-generation Broadwell processors for most Macs are not shipping until early 2015 or even later, the company began shipping some ultra low-power Broadwell chips known as Core M a couple of months ago. These chips are designed to run at just 4.5 watts and are intended for next-generation fanless PCs and tablets, fitting perfectly with circulating rumors of a thinner, fanless...
'iPad Pro' Said to Feature 12.2-Inch Display, 7-mm Thickness, Stereo Speakers at Top and Bottom
Apple's rumored "iPad Pro" has reportedly been in the works for some time, although the most recent rumors have indicated the company has pushed back its plans for the device as it seeks to give its manufacturing partners time to catch up to iPhone 6 Plus demand. Development work on the project is likely still continuing and a new report from Mac Otakara claims to share some new details on the...
First Third-Party SSD With Native OS X TRIM Support Launched by Angelbird
With the growing popularity and declining cost of solid-state drives (SSDs) for Macs and other personal computers, users have becoming increasingly interested in putting third-party SSDs into their machines. But one issue Mac users have been running into involves support for TRIM, a system-level command that allows the operating system and the drive to communicate about which areas of the drive...
Microsoft Launches New Outlook for Mac, Next Office for Mac Suite Coming in Second Half of 2015
Microsoft today announced the immediate launch of a new Outlook for Mac for Office 365 users, bringing a new look and a number of improvements as leaked earlier this week.The new Outlook for Mac includes:
- Better performance and reliability as a result of a new threading model and database improvements.
- A new modern user interface with improved scrolling and agility when switching between...
MCX Says Merchants Doing What's Best for Customers, Being Attacked for 'Challenging the Status Quo'
Following the publication of a blog post earlier today outlining some details of its upcoming CurrentC mobile payments solution and disclosure of a hack resulting in unauthorized access to users' email addresses, Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) held a conference call with members of the press to further address questions and concerns.
During the call, MCX CEO Dekkers Davidson and COO Scott...
CurrentC Alerts Users of Unauthorized Access to Email Addresses
Just hours after publishing a blog post answering some questions about its upcoming CurrentC mobile payments system and touting the security of its cloud-based storage of sensitive information, the company behind the effort, Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) has alerted users of unauthorized access to their email addresses.Thank you for your interest in CurrentC. You are receiving this message...
MCX Confirms Retailer Exclusivity for CurrentC Mobile Payments, but No Fines for Leaving Consortium
Much of the Apple news in recent days has centered around Apple Pay and what Tim Cook referred to on Monday as a "skirmish" in which several retailers backing a competing mobile payments initiative known as CurrentC have shut down NFC payment functionality in their stores to prevent customer use of Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and other similar services.
Numerous sources have indicated that...
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Apple Over 2011 MacBook Pro Graphics Issues
Back in January, we highlighted graphics issues being experienced by a number of owners of 2011 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models, with many users needing to pay for (sometimes multiple) expensive logic board replacements due to the issue. The apparent widespread nature of the issue has led to claims that it is a manufacturing defect that should be covered by Apple, with a change.org petition...
iPad Air 2 Material Costs Hold Steady Starting at $275, but New Storage Tiers Erode Profit Margin
As it always does with Apple's major new iOS devices, research firm IHS iSuppli has torn down the new iPad Air 2 in an attempt to estimate Apple's component costs for the device (via Re/code). According to IHS iSuppli's estimates, the 16 GB iPad Air 2 costs Apple roughly $275 to build, just one dollar more than last year's iPad Air.
The report unsurprisingly points out that Apple benefits...
More Details on Next Version of Office for Mac Include Planned Launch in First Half of 2015
Following yesterday's leak of several screenshots from the next version of Microsoft's Outlook for Mac, Chinese site cnBeta now shares much more information [Google Translate] about the upcoming version of Microsoft's productivity suite for Mac.
The report shares several presentation slides outlining some of the features of the next Office for Mac, as well as a timeline showing a planned...
Apple Adds 'Fyi' and 'Feeln' Channels to Apple TV
In yet another addition to the growing stable of channels available on the Apple TV, A&E's Fyi network and Hallmark's streaming family movie channel Feeln have been added to the set-top box today.
As with many other channels, Fyi offers some free content, but complete access to streaming on-demand episodes requires authentication with a participating cable provider. The television, which...
Longtime Apple-Exclusive Studio Algoriddim Brings 'Djay' to Android
Longtime Apple-exclusive developer Algoriddim has made a name for itself with its popular djay app that first found success on the Mac before moving to iPad and eventually iPhone. The app has been featured prominently by Apple over the years, winning an Apple Design Award in 2011 for the original iPad version, and just this month it was featured as a key music app in promotional materials for the ...
Tim Cook on iPod Classic: 'We Couldn't Get the Parts Anymore'
During the Q&A portion of his interview at the WSJ.D conference tonight, Tim Cook was asked about the iPod classic, which was finally discontinued last month five years after its last update.
Cook said Apple primarily stopped making the device because it was no longer possible to source the necessary parts from anywhere in the world. Apple does not have plans to reintroduce the iPod classic...
Wells Fargo Enticing Users to Try Apple Pay With $10-$20 Credits
While some merchants are pushing back against Apple's new Apple Pay mobile payment service as they work on their own competing solution, banks are putting their weight behind Apple's solution that seeks to streamline the current experience of using a credit or debit card.
In an effort to encourage users to adopt Apple Pay, Wells Fargo has just launched a program offering credits of up to $20...
iPad Air 2 Display Praised for Antireflective Coating, but iPad Mini 3 Display Still Lags
With the iPad Air 2, one of Apple's main selling points has been the improved display, which includes a new bonded construction that eliminates the air gap between the display and the cover glass, as well as a new antireflective coating to reduce glare in situations with high ambient light.
Ray Soneira of DisplayMate Technologies has now put the new display to the test, finding that the...
CVS Stores Reportedly Disabling NFC to Shut Down Apple Pay and Google Wallet
Earlier this week, pharmacy chain Rite Aid shut down unofficial support for the Apple Pay and Google Wallet mobile payments systems, resulting in an outcry from users who have been testing out Apple's new system since its launch on Monday. Rite Aid was not an official Apple Pay partner, but the payments system generally works with existing near field communications (NFC) payment terminals anyway, ...
GT Advanced Technologies Officially Announces Sapphire Settlement With Apple
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Apple and its sapphire supplier GT Advanced Technologies had reached an agreement to effectively dissolve their partnership and allow GT to shut down operations at the Apple-owned sapphire production plant in Mesa, Arizona. Under the deal, GT will seek to sell off the over 2,000 sapphire furnaces currently installed at the facility, with the majority of the ...
Foxconn Looking to Build $5.7 Billion iPhone Display Factory to Win Apple Orders
Apple's main assembly partner for iOS devices, Foxconn, is looking to increase its presence in Apple's supply chain as it considers constructing a new plant to provide displays for the popular devices, according to The Wall Street Journal. Total investment in the project could reach $5.7 billion.Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. , is discussing a possible investment with...
