Disclaimer: The following is my own opinion and has not been reviewed or approved by my employer.

Rick,

I think you are right on target in advising EU's to get their customer service act together. I would go further: they must go on the PR offensive: they must be seen to be absolutely on top of this issue, because, otherwise, many years of negative experiences (horror stories) will flood into the paranoid consciousness of their customers. Everybody knows that the computers of the world are full of incorrect data; they just don't dare think about how bad it is; Yourdon is telling them exactly how bad it can be. But, while I agree with your confidence that no power company is going to dispatch an army of disconnectors on 1/1/2000, history is on Yourdon's side, so people may believe what seems consistent, even if it's not rational. And, while I don't have any personal horror stories about EU's, I have my share about AT&T and the local motor vehicle department, so I have also been sensititized to this message.

Best Regards, Chris Doutre Year 2000 Test Analyst Intel Corporation

-- Anonymous, March 30, 1998