Search

Offers advice on computer maintenance with regard to year 2000 (Y2K) computer compliance. Risk with some hardware, Windows operating systems, and applications; Web sites and software utilities to test for and fix problems; Four-part approach to analyzing the Y2K problem; Data debugging; Routine maintenance with defragmenting.

The article focuses on likely problems companies might face in case of unpreparednes for the Y2K. An occasional blackout could result if a noncompliant computer in the grid gets confused about the date. Valid credit cards may be rejected as out of date. Small bank ATMs may only work with a fraction of the supported debit and credit cards. Air Traffic Control problems may arise in the smaller, local airports spawning missed connections for the passengers and load-scheduling problems for air- port hubs. In Sweden, airport police were unable to issue one-year temporary passports after midnight, December 31, 1998. Computers refused to accept a termination date beyond December 31, 1999. Palace Produce sued Tec America Inc. because their system was incapable of handling credit cards with a certain expiration date. They won their case and were awarded $250,000 in damages. Newspapers, magazines and the World Wide Web are replete with similar stories. And there is every expectation these sorts of incidents will continue for the immediate future. Also, consider accounting and spreadsheet software that seem to take on a mind of their own when it comes to manual and automated attempts to reset to correct dates.

Evaluates the Year 2000 (Y2K) computer problem and the amount of time left to fix it. The cause of the problem; Strategies to solve the problem and their drawbacks; Windowing, date expansion, and encapsulation; Author's prediction of the severity of the disruption. INSET: Problems Embedded Everywhere.

Presents the solution to bewildering Y2K problem called "windowing." Advantages of windowing; derivation of century information from 2-digit years; limitations of windowing; need to modify program statements; adaptation of sorting and indexing routines; accurate representation of dates and times; representation of dates by integer days.

This article describes the seven work plans for Year-2000 (Y2K) software upgrade projects. The seven approaches are pruning the business, waiting, replacing the application by a purchase or new build, expanding YY year fields to YYYY, using other "intelligent" digits, dating window(s) and date-shifting of code or data. All seven approaches are easy to understand, especially waiting. Part of the triage approach should be to determine which functions or programs can safely be ignored until next decade because their shortcomings will be cosmetic at worst. At the opposite end of "do nothing" are systems absolutely critical to the business but have a truly prohibitive Y2K compliance cost. If the company will become unprofitable due to that outlay, consider shutting it down or selling it. The third approach could modernize the business, but the users would not be able to regression-test incrementally. The fourth method is the most appealing and elegant Y2K date-fix approach. One can make similar changes to keep up with industry-wide formats. But time is short and resources limited to expand all to YYYY.

The article explores the reasons behind the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem. The primary cause of Y2K problems stems from "punch-card" days. When punch cards became the main form of input to computers and there was no form of storage other than magnetic tape, cards defined single records, 80 columns wide, maximum. The "19" was dropped because of less number of columns in punch cards. As the 21st century approaches, any programs using this format do not know which dates are meant. Having locked themselves in most cases into six places to store dates, and because records have fixed lengths to which countless programs refer in fixed fashion, these programs need a dual solution. First, they need to store the century with the date, still within six characters. The second part of the solution is the expensive one; every program that either enters a date, reads a date or manipulates a date would not know how to read, interpret or update the new representation. Every such program needs correcting. However, the consequent limited view-point engenders such gross errors and will cause others.

All information systems will go berserk when the year 2000 comes, the so-called date crisis everyone is talking about. Dates in most information systems are stored in the form MM⁄DD⁄YY. That's not a problem for months or days, of course. Even though most people say "the 90s" and in many other ways use years as if two digits were enough, we're approaching 2000, when two digits simply aren't sufficient to do the job. No matter how-or if-an enterprise solves its year-2000 date crisis, another one is coming. And the form of the solution chosen for this particular crisis may determine when the next crisis will occur. There is no permanent solution to the date crisis. Whereas months of the year recycle after 12, and days of the months recycle after about 30, years just keep marching on toward infinity. And computers with their finite word lengths cannot hold them forever. The Unix operating system apparently has its own built-in date crisis ticking away like a time bomb, and it's difficult to predict precisely when this particular bomb is going to explode.

In this article, the author presents his concerns regarding rapid change in the software products. The author feels that software packages have far more features and capabilities than the average user needs or wants. He could have gone on happily, using his ancient WordStar word processor, for example, if the computer on which it ran had not up and died on him. It is an interesting example: hardware wears out and breaks, but software never does. Witness all that Y2K software still running long after its programmers decided that two digit years would last the life time of the program. The author appreciates some of Microsoft Word's new features and the newer breed of packages. But, to be honest, he does not think he had missed those features much. There is a reason for the software vendors engaging in rampant features that results in fatware. The reason is to find tricks to convince shoppers they need the new, to eschew the old. There was time when some of changes made sense. The author feels that people might be having mixed feeling for his views.

The article focuses on computer programmers and problems that arose at the turn of the 21st century. Many problems arose in computer software during Y2K. Some asynchronous transfer modes with a four-day, look-ahead feature refused service when the four-day period spanned the turn of the century. A videostore that charged for a video tape assumed to have been checked out in the 1900. A lot of highly visible professional people spoke out on the subject of the Y2K computer problem, although their technical knowledge of the field was basically subzero. It's a commonly acknowledged fact that some fields are burnout-prone. For example, people in the crime⁄corrections field tend to see everyone around them as a potential criminal. But there are many positive things to say about the state of software practice and there was a need to provide a platform from which those things could be said. And given the Y2K nonevent, it's time for the practical programmers who made the computer problems of Y2K fade into obscurity.

Focuses on year 2000 (Y2K) computer date conversion problems of fixing computer code to prevent machine malfunction. People's emotional reaction to Y2K; Uncertainty about what will happen to the world's electronic infrastructure; Possibility of economic downturn caused by manufacturing industry's `just in time' inventory system; Investor concern about Y2K repairs in developing countries; Why investors should avoid stocks such as computer services and software, and property-and-casualty insurance companies.

Provides information on several products to deal with year 2000 date conversion problem (Y2K). McAfee 2000 Toolbox from Network Associates; Norton 2000 from Semantics; Year 2000 BIOS Enabler from AMI2000 Corp.; Millennium/Pro from Unicore Software Inc.

Focuses on the vulnerability of the Material Safety Data Sheet MSDS) software and databases to the Year 2000 problem. Formulation of products and its associated hazards; Management of MSDS documents.

Examines the possibility of chemical plant disasters in the United States caused by the Year 2000 computer bug (Y2K). Factors that lead to chemical accidents; Problems faced by chemical companies; Global implications of a computer fallout.

In the beginning, programming and software architectural design were considered an art. Programmers used their creative skills to build software. Constraints were viewed in terms of "compilers" and "operating systems," not in terms of fundamental design criteria. Quality assurance personnel and testing organizations still are considered to come at the end of the "food chain' and their job is to find any errors that might exist in the software. These people are told, oYou must accept the software product the way it has been designed and programmed, and make it work." The implication is that you are at the mercy of the software developers. The real problem is not inadequate testing. It is the lack of quality controls during the crucial design and coding stages. Insufficient controls at this stage interpolate to insufficient design and architecture. The year 2000 bug is a prime example of the lack of such quality controls. It could have been avoided. Someone is to blame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional contingency planning methods do not work well for logical events, such as year 2000 (Y2K) problems. And although there are many different types of logical event contingency plans, those that work well for some situations may be of no use for others. This article discusses the unique aspects of logical event contingency plans and helps you plan appropriate strategies to deal with logical events. INSETS: Calculating Inputs from Valid Outputs or Outputs from Valid...;Calculating Weakest Precondition for a Simple C Routine;Reverse Engineering;Joint Service Co-Sponsors Encourage Your Attendance at STC '99 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some estimates show that the market for configuration management (CM) tools and services now exceeds $1 billion per year and is still growing rapidly. The market size and growth has led to many of the founding companies in the CM market being acquired by larger companies with no history of involvement in CM. This article summarizes the proven capabilities of CM tools that have created a market of this size and reviews the potential areas for future development--most notably CM control of Web site content. It also summarizes the potential impact of these acquisitions on users and notes the rise of new companies entering the market with good cost-effective products. INSET: New JTA Version Announced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time is closing in on the year 2000 (Y2K) and those software organizations without product configuration baselines risk failure to meet this hard, "drop-dead" conver-sion deadline. The purpose of this article is to provide the basic methods essential to achieve the recapture of a product's software baseline to begin the Y2K conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes how to determine if organizations' PC hardware or software is year 2000 compliant, if data is safe from Y2K corruption or if the workgroup, department of enterprise will keep working into the 21st century. Five-step compliance test; Y2K and software; Y2K and custom applications. INSETS: Is digital armageddon upon us?;Rx for Y2K;What about Windows?;Some other dates to watch out for

Presents guidelines to trial lawyers in the United States for buying computer software. Creation of a list of computer specifications; Warranty; Technical support; Warnings when shopping electronically. INSET: Are you ready for the year 2000? (computer software bug)..

Evaluates several software programs for fixing the Year 2000 date conversion problem in computer systems. Check 2000 PC Deluxe; 2000 ToolBox; IntelliFix 2000; Norton 2000; Know2000. INSETS: Y2K on the Web.;BIOS and CMOS: Beating the clock..

Presents computer-related developments in the chemical industry. Includes solutions for the year 2000 date conversion problem; Acquisition of EA Systems by AEA Technology Plc; Introduction of a document management and workflow solutions by Cimage Enterprise Systems; Release of Hypertrace visualization software by Fluent Inc. INSETS: A quick Y2K check.;Millennium bug exterminators..

Discusses the role of human resource management on the year 2000 computer conversion problem (Y2K). Understanding the Y2K issue; Potential problems Y2K will create in personnel management; Implication on employee benefits.

Presents information on the report released by R.L. Johnson & Associates on the impact of the year 2000 problem on buying, selling and ongoing development of healthcare software. Information on sales growth of the healthcare industry; Significance of purchases on patient-care systems; Development of healthcare information systems.

Presents information on Year 2000 computing crisis (Y2K) testing tools. Platforms of each tool; Companies that use each tool.

Focuses on several oil and gas companies in the United States which turned to enterprise resource planning (ERP) for the year 2000 compliance as they strive to do more with fewer resources. Comment from Andy Noronha of G2 Research Institute; Strategy implemented by the refining and marketing departments of Texaco; Information on the ERP systems of Amoco; Challenge posed by the use of SAP on the companies.

Certification of your systems is key to surviving year 2000 problems but cannot guaran-tee success. Certification by definition can add additional liability problems that can plague an organization after the year 2000. The Air Force has created a certification process with seven tenets that if practiced will help guarantee success in the year 2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looks at companies' continuing concern about the year 2000 (Y2K) computer problem. Possibility that suppliers' or customers' Y2K problems could have a negative impact; Steps being taken; Dutch airline KLM's consideration of cancelling all flights on and around December 31, 1999; The lack of reliable information about Y2K's potential effects.

Presents a guide of ways to fix some computers and home electronics that might be affected by the year 2000 (Y2K) computer date conversion problem. Testing hardware at the PCY2000 Alliance Web site; Software such as Microsoft's Year 2000 Product Analyzer 2.0; Need to check date-dependent files; Effect of Y2K on home-security systems and electronics. INSET: Quick PC tests.

Enumerates the list of affordable and diverse year 2000 testing and remediation software that companies use in the United States. Comments from analysts of Giga Information Group; Percentage of small businesses at risk for the year 2000 data conversion problems (Y2K); Supply of Y2K testing tools for midsize businesses.

Despite the potential catastrophes of failure, a long-term view of solving the Y2K problem provides many positive benefits. The opportunities should be seized for more objective com-munications within the commands and for improved processes within our software shops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on how the year 2000 (Y2K) computer problem will affect litigation. Difficulties faced by insurance companies; Estimated costs of litigation; Question of whether software companies or their customers should be held liable; Software companies offering Y2K help for free; Labeling of software as compliant.

Focuses on the forecasted difficulties associated with the year 2000 computer problem. Longevity of software as a problem; Problems with hardware; Failures of systems that will threaten public safety; Varying preparedness of countries to deal with the problem; Why the problem was not dealt with years ago; How the problem will affect information technology after the year 2000.

Provides information on the year 2000 date conversion software developed by Data Integrity Inc. Features of the software; Competitors of the company; Advantages of the approach used by Data Integrity.

Focuses on the frustration felt by project managers over the failure of software vendors to meet deadlines on the year 2000 compliance testing. Common complaints of project managers; Problems regarding the cost of rendering products on the year 2000 compliant; Reasons for not testing the software the first time around.

Despite overwhelming data regarding the year 2000 (Y2K) problem, there are engineers and laymen who believe the Y2K crises is either overhyped or a sham. Although it is unwise to overreact to the Y2K problem, many in the computer world mistakenly believe that quick solutions and improved technologies will somehow save them from the enormous cost and time pressures associated with Y2K fixes. Although some technologies are producing promising results, no method eliminates the need to properly assess, test, and implement renovated systems. Some systems may not need to be fixed at all, but will still require procedure changes and evaluations to assure Y2K compliance. This article discusses issues associated with the year 2000 and explains why although there may be no true silver bullet, Y2K problems may have a silver lining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on various computer software applications which can assist in fixing the year 2000 millennium problem (Y2K). Features of the Check 2000 Client/Server Enterprise Edition software product developed by the company Greenwich Mean Time; Performance of the Adapt-PC/2000 software product developed by Neomedia Technologies; Information on other software products. INSET: Millennium Master and automated repair.