Next week at CES every tech company in the world is going to cram under one roof and show off all their products that they hope will change the world. Well every company except Apple that is.

Even though Apple won’t have a presence at CES this year, we’ll see their influence everywhere, from ultrabooks to smartphones. But the biggest influence Apple will have on CES 2013 is with a product they haven’t even released yet – the mythical iTV.

Everyone is scared of what will happen if Apple launches an iTV because it will give them a virtual monopoly on all consumer screens (smartphones, laptops, tablets, and televisions). So naturally we’re going to see a lot of Smart TVs as everyone attempts to predict what Apple’s going to do, and then try to get there first.

Every TV manufacturer on the planet is racing out with a smart TV to compete with the rumored Apple television set that may or may not be released in 2013 or 2014. Rather than waiting to see what happens, Intel is ready to jump into the action with their own device.

According to a new report, Intel has developed a virtual cable TV service along with a set top box that they think will help them win the war to control your living room.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWyZUszyJHg

Apple just posted its new iPad mini ad, “I’ll Be Home,” in which an adorable young girl, shown on an iPad, plays “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” on the ukulele via FaceTime to her Grandfather, who is shown on an iPad mini.

It’s thirty seconds of holiday cheer, presented without comment or text, with only an Apple logo and some suggestion of snow at the very end. It’s a sweet little video, and honestly, Apple, you had me at ukulele music.

Source: YouTube

It’s December, a traditionally slow news month, and it seems this December is even slower than most, because even organizations as solidly grounded in reality as All Things D are now posting elaborate wishful thinking exercises about what the much rumored Apple HDTV will actually be. This one, however, is more interesting and plausible than some… at least in a few key regards.

If you have faith in the supernatural deity named Gene Munster, and believe with all your heart that Apple is going to release the iTV in 2013, then you’ve probably got all your pennies saved so you can drop some fat stacks on Apple’s flatscreen next year.

Apple products usually aren’t cheap, and we figure the iTV will be no different if Apple ever releases one, but according to a new survey, over 46% of Americans are totally fine with having to pay over $1,000 for an iTV.

If you’re an Apple TV owner, you’ve likely been looking forward to the day when Apple finally announces support for apps and games. We don’t know why it’s taking so long, but it looks as though the new feature could be just around the corner. Visit the store on your Apple TV, and you’ll notice Apple has added a number of banners advertising apps and games for the holiday season.

Either Apple’s trying to tell us a big feature is on its way, or someone inside Cupertino has gotten their graphics all mixed up.

On Tuesday I went to a party at San Francisco’s Cafe Du Nord to celebrate the launch of Fuze For Mac, a nifty cloud-based videoconferencing tool from FuzeBox.

I heard several interesting things about Steve Jobs and some intriguing Apple TV rumors. One of the rumors made me think that Tim Cook’s new Mac — the one that is going to be made in the U.S.A. — might actually be a big-screen Apple TV.

Here’s what I heard:

• The software was developed at the behest of Steve Jobs himself, who persuaded FuzeBox to make the software not just for the Mac, but for an upcoming Apple TV.
• Steve Jobs gave the company a special dev lab on Apple’s campus.
• According to FuzeBox’s CEO, the upcoming Apple TV has a 60-inch screen. It has no inputs whatsoever, except an AC power cord. No wires. You can’t plug in a cable box or a game console. Nothing.
• It does have Gigabit wireless Wi-Fi and gesture controls, equivalent to Microsoft’s Kinect accessory for the Xbox.
• And finally, the story of how FuzeBox got an ultra rare meeting with Steve Jobs is worth telling — details below.

Now, I’m the first to admit that not all of this adds up. I got it from Jeff Cavins, FuzeBox’s CEO, who told a good tale, especially after I’d had a couple of pints. While I was fascinated and entertained, it didn’t get to pin him down on details. The party was loud and crowded, and we were constantly interrupted. So mostly for entertainment purposes, this is what he said:

Apple CEO Tim Cook practically never grants interviews, and rarer still, one where he talks with such candor about the future of Apple, the legacy of Steve Jobs, and why Apple products aren’t currently made here in the USA, but soon will be.

Join us on our newest CultCast as we discuss Mr. Cook’s recent interviews, his frank comments about Apple’s “intense interest” in TV, and why that new Apple-stamped mystery set could be built right here in the U.S. of A.

All that and more on our newest CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes, or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App.

Remember those goofy VHS interactive video board games they had back in the early 90s? I had one, based on Star Trek: The Next Generation. It came out in 1993, so you can pick one up from eBay for about $24 these days. I remember being just super excited that I could play a board game and fake-interact with klingons on the television set, remote in hand to pause, fast forward, and rewind as the board game told me what to do.

Imagine my surprise now when I can have a party at my house with up to 15 iOS device owners, playing a drawing charades game on a huge flat screen TV with nothing but a tiny computer that everyone brought into the house with them, their fingers, and a tiny hockey-puck sized device connected to the television. Now that would feel like science-fiction.

Draw-It, Push-It, a new game for iOS devices, purports to do just that.

The Apple TV has become a mythical creature. Sustaining itself off the delicious nectar of Gene Munster’s wishful rumors, its remained hidden for years and who knows if it’ll ever make an appearance in the real world.

The latest rumor is that Apple will announce their TV set next year. If Apple does make a TV it’s likely to bring some huge changes to the cable television industry, and Time Warner’s CEO can’t wait.