| Tribune News Service
In a global spectrum, they also want synchronisation of the Punjabi keyboard and a single universal font for the language so that it can be used on the Net and be accessible to millions of Punjabis abroad as well as others who want to learn the language. Surprisingly, nothing is being done on both fronts, say the scholars, adding that talk of punishment for those who do not use Punjabi in official functioning is the only popular boast of government officials and politicians at functions where they have to speak for safeguarding the interests of the language. The aim to take action against babus not using Punjabi in official communications also remains on paper alone. Noted writer B.S. Bir, whose book Roshni Da Pyramid bagged the Gurmukh Singh Musafir Award at the inaugural function held at the State Language Department today, while talking to TNS, said the situation at present had become such that schoolchildren did not have proficiency in any language.
Apple's latest laptop Macbook Air: Small is in
There's never been a laptop as skinny as the new MacBook Air from Apple. At its thinnest, it measures just about four millimetres. "When you first see MacBook Air, it's hard to believe it's a high-performance notebook with a full-size keyboard and display," gushed Apple CEO Steve Jobs while presenting the new laptop at the keynote speech of the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco. "But it is." The excitement at the Moscone Centre was also sparked in typically reserved observers like Michael Gartenberg, research director at the US market research firm Jupiter Research: "This will become the object of lust for all tech fans this year," Gartenberg said. In advance of the MacWorld Expo, the chatter on many websites was focused on a potential combination of the iPhone and a normal laptop - more or less a retooling of the "Newton" PDA concept that Apple phased out 10 years ago.
Where can you smoke?
That will drastically decrease the amount the government gets off cigarette sales. I'm not a smoker myself, but I was against the ban because it set a very important precedent for banning something because there's a mob of people that don't like it. " .
Universal's American Gangster to be next big HD DVD exclusive
One of the first rumors from Daily Variety to hit following Warner's move was that Universal and Paramount were both poised to make the switch to Blu-ray Disc, but Graffeo refutes such reports. "I want to say that none of those rumors were substantiated. Nobody ever talked to us. I know nobody talked to Paramount ... This is business as usual for us and there are no plans to make any changes." One part of HD DVD's new strategy is on lower prices and selling the hardware's ability to upscale regular DVD movies. Graffeo explained the logic behind the new push, "Consumers right now are buying upconverting players – they are outselling the next-gen players combined by 10 to 1 every month. They are affordable because they are under $200 – the average price is $85 – and consumers want to see their movies better.
Customer service that's way up there in irk factor
Manning a complaint line requires a certain amount of patience and je ne sais quoi to listen to both sides of a story without succumbing to the urge to throttle the party that is clearly in the wrong. During the day, I do my best to control my opinions and frustration when facing obstinacy, or as I'm researching all available facts. The paper pays me to be compassionate, kind and nonjudgmental. .
Jittery retailers seek answers in wee hours
One of the biggest shopping days of the year got off to a record early start on Friday with stores such as Kohl's and J.C. Penney opening as early as 4 a.m., a mark of how aggressively retailers are pursuing shoppers in what is predicted to be the slowest-growth holiday retail season in five years.
Monica Zepeda, 25, an assembly-line worker from Chicago, began shopping with out-of-town guests at 5 a.m. The group snapped up bargains on a Sony DVD player and Nautica jogging suits. Getting up before dawn was worth it, she said.
"I'm trying to spend less," she said. "Gas hits the pocketbook real hard."
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