Siap-siap, Ultrabook Layar Sentuh Segera Menyerbu

Bryan Deaner (eno/inet)
Jakarta - Demi menghadirkan sensasi menggunakan tablet PC pada komputer jinjing, Intel menyatakan siap untuk menghadirkan jajaran ultrabook dengan kemampuan layar sentuh. Seperti apa?

Komputer jinjing dengan layar sentuh memang masih jarang ditemui di pasaran, tapi bukan berarti tidak ada. Intel mengklaim punya puluhan model laptop dari berbagai vendor yang sudah menggunakan layar sentuh.

"Dari 140 model ultrabook yang ada, 40 di antaranya sudah menggunakan layar sentuh. Saya yakin ke depannya akan lebih banyak lagi," kata Bryan Deaner, Brand Manager Intel, saat ditemui di kantor Intel Indonesia, Kamis (22/11/2012).

Ultrabook dengan layar sentuh sepertinya cukup menjanjikan. Pengguna bisa bekerja dengan keyboard, tapi juga bisa berinteraksi lebih banyak dengan layar sentuh. Dan semua itu dijanjikan bakal berjalan mulus pada sistem yang sudah menggunakan prosesor Intel seri Core i.

Komputer jinjing jenis itu pun diprediksi akan menjadi tren dan segera membajiri Tanah Air dalam waktu dekat. Terlebih lagi beberapa produsen komputer seperti Lenovo, Dell, Sony, Samsung, dan lainnya sudah mulai memamerkan perangkat tersebut.

Soal harga memang masih tergolong di kelas premium, yakni sekitar USD 599-699. Itu semua tergantung dari model, spesifikasi, dan fitur yang ditawarkan masing-masing vendor.

"Soal harga memang sepenuhnya ditentukan oleh vendor, tapi kami tetap merekomendasikan harga yang tepat tanpa perlu fungsionalnya. Semoga ini menjadi kado natal yang indah," tandas Deaner.

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Hate illegal robocalls? FTC offers $50,000 to help stop them

Editor's note: Amy Gahran writes about mobile tech for CNN.com. She is a writer and media consultant based in Boulder, Colorado, whose blog, Contentious.com

, explores how people communicate in the online age.
(CNN) -- During election season, phones across the country ring with more unsolicited, automated calls than usual. So it's especially timely that on Thursday the U.S. Federal Trade Commission held a Robocall Summit
to "explore innovations designed to trace robocalls, prevent wrongdoers from faking caller ID data, and stop unwanted calls."

A "robocall" is an automated phone call that plays a prerecorded message. If you hear a live person and it's a telemarketing, advocacy, or survey call, it could still be illegal if it's unsolicited, but it's not a robocall. Robocalls from political campaigns or get-out-the-vote efforts are allowed (and legal) under the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule

, as well as under most state robocall laws (except when made to cell phone numbers and a few other exceptions).

Unsolicited commercial telemarketing calls are illegal, and rampant, in the U.S. According to new FTC statistics

, this problem is getting worse, fast. In the last year, the number of consumer complaints about unwanted telemarketing calls soared 70% to an all-time record of 3,840,572 during fiscal year 2012.

Fed up with the phone spam, over 217 million Americans

have already added themselves to the National Do-Not-Call Registry. But this only solves part of the problem.

Much phone spam comes from companies, groups and scammers that choose to ignore the law. Also, a large proportion of consumer phone spam complaints cannot be investigated because of evasion measures such as "spoofing" -- or hiding -- the originating phone number or caller ID information.

To address the robocall problem, the FTC announced a contest at the Summit to find technological ways to curb illegal robocalls. The FTC Robocall Challenge

challenges the public to suggest plans to block illegal robocalls on landlines and mobile phones. Ideas must include a technical proposal -- so options to, say, prevent caller ID spoofing would qualify, but nontechnical suggestions such as "give phone spammers the death penalty" are not eligible.

The winning solution will receive a $50,000 cash prize, as well as opportunities for promotion, exposure, and recognition by the FTC. Entrants retain ownership of their proposed solutions.

If you're interested in entering, the deadline for entries is January 17, 2013. The winner will be announced April 1, 2013. (Hopefully people won't think it's an April Fool's Day joke.)

For now, here's what to do if you get an unsolicited commercial phone call -- whether a robocall or from a live person:

1. Hang Up. Do not press 1 or any other numbers to get off the list.

2. Consider blocking the number.

3. File a complaint with DoNotCall.gov

. It helps, but isn't necessary, to have the number from which the call was initiated.

Remember that political and get-out-the-vote robocalls are legal, so there's no point in filing complaints about these with DoNotCall.gov. However if these calls really annoy you, then you might consider complaining about them to your government representatives.

The opinions expressed in this post are solely those of Amy Gahran.

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Apparently This Matters: The Boyfriend Pillow

Editor's note: Each week in "Apparently This Matters," CNN's Jarrett Bellini

applies his warped sensibilities to trending topics in social media and random items of interest on the interwebs.
(CNN) -- As you struggle to read this with that one sleepy eye just barely open, you're probably deep into your post-Thanksgiving tryptophan coma, sitting peacefully on the sofa with a laptop balanced by your gut. Maybe you're still trying to rationalize the fact that your projectile shirt button flew across the dinner table and killed Uncle Dave.

"At least he died so I could have more gravy."

"He would've wanted it that way."

But don't worry. Nobody blames you for murdering Uncle Dave; everyone's just too happy to see your sweet punim

back at home. They love you, and it's good to spend quality time with your family during Thanksgiving. Besides, if you get it over with now you won't have to suffer again for another year.

Think of it like an annual physical. Just turn your head to the left and give Nana a kiss.

Of course, the only real alternative to being fat, sleepy and useless in the living room is to actually get out of the house and do some early holiday shopping with the masses. Which is a terribly misguided idea because (A) it involves being around other people and (B) putting on pants. Most retailers sort of require that.

The bottom line is that there's no real point being out in public at this stage of the food coma. Stay home. Embrace the chemicals. Be lazy. And, so long as you've got the laptop out, you might as well join us in 2012 and do all your shopping the way Al Gore intended: Online, half-awake and fully bloated. America!

And, hey, just to make it even easier, I've already uncovered a great trending gift that, while not necessarily new, has gained renewed popularity on the interwebs.

It's called the Boyfriend Pillow

.

Essentially, this thing serves as a bedtime substitute for the missing man in your life. Feel the warmth and security as you curl its plush arm around your body and rest your head on the half-chested slab of memory foam that oddly happens to be wearing a full button-down shirt to bed. Did he just come home drunk from happy hour? Again?

Oh, but you don't care. You still love him.

"Mmmm, let's go to sleep. What do you say, sexy Boyfriend Pillow?"

"I want a Hot Pocket."

For those who prefer the comfort of a woman in bed, they also make the Girlfriend Pillow

. It's essentially the same idea as the male version, but this one has large, and astonishingly disproportionate, memory foam breasts.

The other major difference is that (shocker) the Girlfriend Pillow isn't wearing a shirt, because, clearly, this was designed by a man. And likely one who reads Maxim.

So, if you're actually interested in buying one of these pillows, both the male and female versions run about $30 and are sold by a company called Deluxe Comfort

. Even if you're not interested, you might still find amusement from the descriptions on their website.

In promoting the Boyfriend Pillow, they write: "This fun and cozy snuggle pillow is excellent for people whose partner is away on military leave or work absence. Singles, who desire to feel the touch of a man, without actually having to be with one, will love it too."

It's the second part that concerns me: "...without actually having to be with one."

Are we men really that bad?

Let's just allow their product overview for the Girlfriend Pillow to answer that: "...maybe you enjoy a better sleep when you locate your neck in your girlfriend or wife's breast."

Confirmed. It appears we are, in fact, horrible people. But at least we're consistent.

So, if giving weird, possibly inappropriate gifts is your thing, hop online before they're all gone on Cyber Monday. And maybe get one of these for your dear, sad auntie.

Perhaps she'll enjoy having someone next to her in bed again.

Of course, there's no replacing Uncle Dave.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jarrett Bellini.

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Ilmuwan Ciptakan Kacamata Anti Jet Lag

 Perasaan lelah dan disorientasi akibat jet lag kini bisa diatasi berkat kacamata "pengendali waktu" pertama di dunia.

Kacamata teknologi tinggi ini memancarkan cahaya hijau lembut yang dikatakan bekerja pada jam biologis manusia untuk mengubah pola tidur.

Dengan menggunakan perangkat, yang disebut Re-Timer, penumpang pesawat udara dapat melangkah turun dari pesawat dengan perasaan segar, bahkan setelah penerbangan dari Inggris ke Australia, kata para peneliti tidur yang membuat alat ini.

Menurut penemunya, Profesor Leon Lack, kacamata ini juga bisa membantu penderita insomnia, para pekerja malam, dan membantu para remaja bangun di pagi hari.

"Cahaya dari Re-Timer merangsang bagian otak yang bertanggung jawab untuk mengatur jam biologis tubuh selama 24 jam," kata Profesor Lack, dari Universitas Flindrers di Adelaide, Australia Selatan

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