Apple predicted to come out with camera, TV, iOS PC in 2013

Some analysts try to figure out what new products Apple is developing based on reports from component suppliers and other sources. Others just talk out of their asses.
Here’s a second batch of tech industry predictions from around the Web, this time dealing with Apple. Whether these predictions are born of insider knowledge or complete bullshit, I can only guess.

2013 tech predictions, part two:

1. Apple launches iOS-based PC

Apple will come out with a hybrid tablet-notebook PC running its iOS mobile operating system, says Tim Bajarin, tech industry analyst and president of Creative Strategies, writing on Tech.pinions.
“Imagine a sleekly designed hybrid that perhaps has the design lines of the MacBook Air but the iPad screen detaches from its ultra-thin keyboard. For lack of a better term, I call it the Macbook AirPad or iPadAir,” Bajarin said.
Bajarin admits that he’s “going out on a limb” with that prediction. But if Google Android and Microsoft Windows tablet-laptop combos catch on, Apple could be forced to enter the market, he says.
Berenberg Capital Markets technology hardware analyst Adnaan Ahmad also thinks Apple will launch a “MacBook Air with iOS functionality.”

2. Apple debuts iOS-based camera

Apple’s next big move into consumer electronics could be in digital imaging.
Howard Lindzon, co-founder and CEO of Stocktwits, believes Apple will come out with a state-of-the-art camera running iOS software.
“Photos are still the big thing for chronicling life and so I expect more fireworks in the photo and camera space,” he said.
Lindzon doubts Apple will make a television because there is not enough margin or money in that business in 2013.

3. Apple comes out with a smart TV or improved set-top box

Some analysts are doubling-down on bets for Apple’s long-rumored iTV smart television.
Berenberg’s Ahmad thinks an Apple smart TV will debut in the second half of the year. It will be differentiated through a combination of hardware, software and services, he says.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has predicted an Apple television for years. He thinks it will launch in November, cost $1,500 to $2,000, and come in screen sizes of 42- to 55-inches.
Perhaps hedging his bets, Munster also is predicting Apple will update its Apple TV set-top box to accept apps from developers in March.
Cnet Editor Josh Lowensohn wasn’t willing to stick his neck out for an Apple television, but did say a revamped set-top box is in the wings.
“While a full-fledged TV set is a possibility, expect Apple to roll out a smarter set-top box with better ways to view TV programming and control basic TV functions – two things Apple’s current models can’t do,” Lowensohn said. He called it “Apple TV, take four.”

4. Apple switches on streaming music service

Munster thinks Apple will reveal an “iTunes radio product” in March.
Lowensohn agrees that an Apple subscription online music service is on the way. He dubbed it “iRadio.” It would take on companies like Pandora, Spotify and Rdio.

5. Modest upgrades to iPhone and iPad lines

March could bring a refreshed iPad Mini with a Retina display, Munster says.
September could see a “modest upgrade” to the iPhone 5 called the iPhone 5S, he says. And the next generation full-size iPad tablets will get a redesign to look more like the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini, Munster predicts.
But Berenberg’s Ahmad made a bolder prediction. He thinks Apple will come out with a “mini” iPhone in mid-2013.

Photo: Apple’s retail store on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

TSA employee hall of shame growing

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has a knack for hiring criminals and miscreants.
Last November, I documented a bunch of these terrible hires in a couple of articles on Tech-media-tainment. (See “10 airport screeners accused of sex crimes” and “Thieves and other miscreants.”)
Here is a third batch of shameful hires.

TSA agent busted for stealing iPads from checked bags

A TSA baggage inspector at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is accused of stealing Apple iPad tablets from checked luggage.
Clayton Keith Dovel, 36, was charged this month with theft by a public servant after police recovered eight stolen iPads from his home, according to reports by NBC, Fox News and the Daily.
Thieving TSA agents have a thing for iPads, consumer advocate Christopher Elliott writes on the Huffington Post.
In January, police arrested a TSA worker at Miami International Airport on charges that he stuffed items from passengers’ bags into a hidden pocket in his work jacket, the Miami Herald said. Michael Pujol, 33, was arrested after an iPad he is accused of stealing was traced to a Craigslist sale.

TSA officers plead guilty in drug smuggling case

Two TSA officers have admitted to roles in a painkiller-trafficking ring.
Jonathan Best, 30, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., pleaded guilty April 17 to federal charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone.
Authorities say Best took cash in exchange for letting narcotics through airport security without detection.
Another TSA officer, Christopher Allen, pleaded guilty on April 16 to similar charges.
(See articles by the Hartford Courant and Fox News.)
TSA agents have been arrested for similar drug-smuggling operations.
In January, a TSA behavioral detection officer at Buffalo Niagara International Airport in New York was sentenced to 24 months in prison for allowing narcotics traffickers to bypass security procedures. Minnetta Walker, 44, of Buffalo, N.Y., was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, the FBI said.

TSA agent hurls hot coffee on pilot

A TSA screener was arrested at JFK airport in New York for throwing a full cup of hot coffee on an American Airlines pilot who told her and some colleagues to tone down a profanity-laced conversation in a terminal.
The pilot told the TSA workers that they should “conduct themselves more professionally in uniform and not use profanity or the n-word,” a source told the New York Post.
Lateisha El, 30, was charged with harassment and misdemeanor assault in the March 28 incident.

TSA officer moonlights as a pimp

A TSA supervisor at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia was arrested on prostitution-related charges after police broke up a sex party at a Silver Spring, Md., hotel on Feb. 15.
Bryant Jermaine Livingston, 39, of Manassas, Va., was charged with five counts of prostitution on March 16. Police say he used Craigslist to set up encounters at the hotel.
(See stories by NBC 4 Washington, Fox News and WTOP.)

More TSA agents nabbed for child porn

TSA agents being arrested on child pornography charges has become a regular occurrence.
Maybe they are attracted to a profession that allows them to legally grope children under the guise of national security.
A TSA agent assigned to Logan International Airport in Boston – Jose E. Salgado, 59, of Chelsea – was arrested on charges of possessing and distributing child porn, the Boston Herald reported April 11.
TSA screener Scott Wilson, 41, of Perry Hall, Md., was indicted on federal child porn charges last month. He had worked as a TSA agent at BWI Thurgood Marshall International Airport in Baltimore. (See articles by ABC 2 News and Prison Planet.)

TSA officers trash Miami area hotel room, shoot gun

Miami Beach police say two TSA officers trashed their South Beach hotel room and then picked up a semi-automatic handgun and shot six rounds out the window last month. The two agents were partying a little too hard, the Miami Herald reported.
The agents – Jeffrey Piccolella, 27, and Nicholas Anthony Puccio, 25 – were arrested March 27 and charged with criminal mischief and use of a firearm while under the influence.

TSA trainer admits to taking bribe

A training instructor for the TSA at Philadelphia International Airport pleaded guilty Feb. 28 to taking a bribe from a security officer.
Shannon Gilliam, 29, of Sharon Hill, Pa., said she took a $200 bribe in exchange for a passing grade on the TSA certification exam. Gilliam was responsible for training TSA passenger and baggage screeners for the airport.
(See articles at Philly.com and the AP.)

Uniformed TSA screener busted in drug raid

A TSA screener at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey recently was busted in a major heroin den near her workplace while she was “still wearing her spiffy, government-issued uniform,” the New York Post reported.
Samirah Saunders, 22, was charged with heroin possession.

TSA air marshal accused of mugging Occupy Boston protestor

Boston police arrested TSA air marshal Adam Marshall on Dec. 10, 2011, after a conflict with Occupy protestors.
Police reports say Marshall argued with the protestors, called some of them prostitutes, struck one in the face, grabbed her iPhone and then fled, according to Wired.

TSA agent pretended to find cocaine in flyers’ bags

I missed this one in my last roundup and it’s a doozy.
A TSA officer was fired after pulling jokes on travelers by pretending to find cocaine in their luggage, the Consumerist reported in November 2010.
The white powder was creatine that the officer was supposed to use to test bomb detection gear.

TSA baggage screeners fired for not doing their jobs

In January, the TSA said it was pursuing disciplinary action against six baggage screeners at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport — including some suspected of sleeping during part of their shifts, the Associated Press reported.
In December, the TSA said it was seeking to remove 12 workers for improperly screening checked luggage at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, CNN says.

TSA agent steals $5,000 from passenger’s coat pocket

Police say a TSA agent stole $5,000 from a passenger’s jacket as he was going through security at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
The agent, Alexandra Schmid, is accused of taking the cash from the jacket as it went along an X-ray conveyor on Feb. 1, according to the Daily Mail.
Theft is rampant among TSA workers.
CBS New York reported in March that JFK airport alone is experiencing 200 thefts a day.

Photo: TSA workers smoking in a no-smoking zone. I guess they’re above the law.
One of several photos in a series taken by comedian Chris Burns. This one is from Twitter user Rebecca, a.k.a. @Not_a_Criminal.
Here’s a second photo from Burns’ Twitter account @chrisburns and a third from legal humor blog Lowering the Bar.

Digital culture timeline: Major events in the transition to pure digital media

The other day I wrote about mourning the loss of cultural businesses – those selling music, movies, books and video games.
Here’s a timeline of major events in the transition of entertainment from a retail business to an online activity.

Music

October 1982: First music album on Compact Disc (CD) released.

June 1999: Online music file-sharing service Napster launched.

July 2001: Napster shut down by court order for copyright violations.

October 2001: Apple debuts the iPod portable music player.

April 2003: Apple opens the iTunes store for legal music downloads.

December 2006: Last Tower Records store in U.S. closes after bankruptcy liquidation. At its peak, the chain had nearly 200 stores in 21 states.

March 2009: Virgin Megastores announces plan to close all of its U.S. record stores.

News articles:

The Graying of the Record Store (New York Times; July 16, 2006)

A Broken Record Store: Industry Icon Tower Is Bankrupt and on the Block (Washington Post; Aug. 23, 2006)

For Tower Records, End of Disc (Washington Post; Dec. 11, 2006)

Record stores closing in U.S. at record rates (Associated Press; March 30, 2008)

Retailing Era Closes With Music Megastore (New York Times; June 14, 2009)

Rough Trade and the future of the record store (Wired; May 27, 2010)

‘I Need That Record!’ Film Explores Plight of Indie Record Stores (AOL; July 27, 2010)

Movies

October 1977: VHS videocassette tapes introduced. VHS became the dominant home video format in the mid-1980s after a protracted format war with Betamax.

October 1985: Movie rental chain Blockbuster opens its first store, located in Dallas.

March 1997: DVD optical disc format introduced to U.S. market. It would become the most popular movie rental format in June 2003, surpassing VHS tapes.

December 1999: Netflix debuts its subscription DVD-by-mail service. The company now has 15 million subscribers nationwide.

May 2004: Redbox installs its first 12 machines, at McDonald’s restaurants in Denver, after two years of testing. Redbox now has 23,000 kiosk locations nationwide. It rents movies for $1 a night.

January 2007: Netflix debuts its online streaming video service, but only to PCs initially. It started streaming to TVs, first with the Roku set-top box, in May 2008.

March 2008: Online streaming video service Hulu is launched. Hulu is owned by the parent companies of ABC, NBC and Fox.

May 2010: Video rental store chain Movie Gallery announces that it will close all of its stores. At its peak, the chain had 4,700 stores in North America.

News articles:

Video rental stores fading to black (The Boston Globe; Feb. 23, 2010)

Hollywood Video Closes Doors (Wall Street Journal; May 3, 2010)

It’s A Wrap: Movie Gallery To Close All U.S. Locations (PaidContent.org; May 4, 2010)

A Timeline: The Blockbuster Life Cycle (Forbes.com; May 18, 2010)

Analyst: Blockbuster’s Last Gasp to Occur in 2011 (Gizmodo; July 11, 2010)

Blockbuster Hangs On For Dear Life (TheStreet.com; July 29, 2010)

Video games

1978: Space Invaders arcade game debuts, ushering in the start of the golden age of arcade video games. It’s soon followed by Asteroids, Pac Man, Donkey Kong and others.

1985: Nintendo’s NES console along with breakout hit game “Super Mario Bros.” fuels the home video game market.

1995: Software retailer Babbage’s begins a series of mergers and acquisitions that lead to the creation of GameStop, the largest specialty retailer of video game software. Its acquisitions include Software Etc. (1995), Funcoland (2000) and Electronics Boutique (2005).

2002: Microsoft launches its Xbox Live service for online multiplayer gaming. An updated version of the service for the Xbox 360 console, launched in November 2005, added game and video downloads.

News articles:

As Blockbuster Falls, Is GameStop Also Doomed? (Seeking Alpha; March 18, 2010)

New GameStop CEO’s Half-Baked Plan to Avoid Blockbuster’s Fate (BNet; July 22, 2010)

GameStop Is Bulking Up to Battle New Rivals (Bloomberg BusinessWeek; July 22, 2010)

A Game-Changer for GameStop? (The Motley Fool: July 30, 2010)

Books

November 2007: Amazon.com debuts its Kindle e-book reader. The first-generation product cost $399.

April 2010: Apple starts selling its iPad media tablet. The entry level model costs $499.

July 2010: Amazon.com unveils its third-generation Kindle, which starts at $139.

News articles:

Borders Seeks e-Book Strategy (Seeking Alpha; May 9, 2010)

Barnes & Noble Planning Big Push to Increase Nook Sales (New York Times; July 29, 2010)

Kindle to Go 'Mass Market' (Wall Street Journal; July 28, 2010)

Photos (from top): Gerosa Records in Brookfield, Conn.; Blockbuster Video store; Space Invaders arcade game and screenshot; and Amazon.com’s third-generation Kindle e-book reader.

What will happen to cover girls when magazines go digital?

Being the cover subject of a magazine is a big deal. It’s a major achievement for models, actors, business people, politicians and others of importance.
But it’s becoming less of a big deal.
As magazines decline in circulation and more people read articles and look at photos online, the future of magazine covers is in doubt.
Getting your face on a magazine cover means widespread exposure. Your photo is seen on newsstands nationwide, perhaps worldwide. It is something you can hold and admire, even frame for posterity.
But declining readership of magazines is a fact. (See Silicon Alley Insider chart “Nobody Wants To Buy Magazines Anymore.”) And publishers now are hoping that they can transition their paper magazines to electronic readers, such as Amazon.com's Kindle and Apple's iPad.
Going from a tangible product that can last for years to digital ones and zeros that can be erased in a microsecond will greatly diminish being on a magazine cover. Add to that the fact that digital magazines aren’t displayed on newsstands in public.
In the past, being the cover girl for Vogue and other fashion magazines meant that a model had made it big. Being the cover girl for men’s magazine Playboy had a different sort of cachet.
CoverGirl is even the name of a popular brand of cosmetics owned by Procter & Gamble.
Last week, Sports Illustrated made a slash about Brooklyn Decker landing the coveted cover of its annual Swimsuit Edition. (Examples: The Huffington Post and New York Post.)
SI is likely to continue to make a big deal about the Swimsuit cover, even as the magazine fades and transitions to digital.
But will it still resonate with the public?
I have my doubts.

This is the latest in a series of articles called “The Failed Promise of Digital Content.”

Photo: Cover of Sports Illustrated’s 2010 Swimsuit Edition featuring Brooklyn Decker.