January 25, 1999, Issue: 718 Section: IT Management -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Y2K Glitches Surface -- Report Shows Diverse Problems Bruce Cladwell

The year 2000 computer problem is already being blamed for a variety of system failures and mix-ups, including faulty taxi meters, employees locked out of their offices, and delays in vendor payments by the U.S. Senate. A new survey by the Information Technology Association of America helps spell out how year 2000 problems are affecting systems.

More than one-third of the 400 respondents to the ITAA survey

. Results of the survey will be posted on the ITAA's Web site (www.itaa.org) by Feb. 1. Respondents range from CEOs and CIOs to engineers and attorneys.

Common problems included data-exchange and accounting errors, database file corruptions, and system crashes (see box). . Also, 71% say simulation tests of remediated software turned up problems that had been missed or had been introduced during the remediation process.Even applications that had been remediated, tested for year 2000 compliance, and put back into production still caused problems for a quarter of the respondents

While 87% of respondents tag the year 2000 dilemma as a national and global crisis, and 52% say their companies will suffer, few are ready to deal with serious problems. Only 3% have completed their contingency plans; 39% are more than halfway done; 53% are less than halfway done; and 5% haven't started.

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....reported year 2000 problems, ranging from computer crashes to embedded chip failures

Even applications that had been remediated, tested for year 2000 compliance, and put back into production still caused problems for a quarter of the respondents

....52% say their companies will suffer, few are ready to deal with serious problems.

....53% are less than halfway done; and 5% haven't started

Pay no attention to the FACTS. Pay no attention to the evidence.Pay no attention to all the firms so far behind. No JoAnne effects are happening. It is all in your mind. The crescendo of failures that are occurring are nothing to worry about. All Is weel. Go to sleeeep.....sleeeeep......sleeeeeeeeeeeep.....

Paul Milne If you live within five miles of a 7-11, you're toast.

-- Paul Milne (fedinfo@halifax.com), January 23, 1999

Answers

Do I hear a pharmacist gloating? ;^}
The facts may be enough of a knock-out. Might need a stronger pill ;]

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), January 23, 1999.

This seems pretty serious;

Questions:

"....53% are less than halfway done; and 5% haven't started "

[When did these 53% start? If they are less than halfway done but they started just three, four, five months ago thats a good sign. Certainly not a terrible one anyway.]

"Common problems included data-exchange and accounting errors, database file corruptions, and system crashes"

[This sounds technically bad, but... how bad are these problems really? Is it the type of thing that can be patched? Or done by hand (albeit a time consuming process)? Which of these problems are affecting which companines? How much of a headache would these things REALLY pose for a company that is dedicated to making the company work no matter what?]

-- (Just asking @ you.com), January 23, 1999.

This sorts well with my modest fifteen years of coding experience. That's why I recently bought an ugly but functional cast-iron boxwood cook stove.

Fixing bugs many times introduces new ones. Many times.

I haven't programmed in nearly as many languages as a lot of the folks in this forum (I know five)...but I do know that one misplaced character such as a quote, semicolon, or colon can cause anything from scrambling an invoice printout, stopping a process dead, or corrupting an entire database file. There are many other examples.

- Computers have no mercy.

-- Delete (del@dos.com), January 23, 1999.

I had a rude awakening when I took a COBOL course. That I could learn the language was ego-boosting. But I almost had a mental breakdown when I realized that my intellect was constently defeated by the DANG TINY PERIOD!

Maybe if I stuck with it I would have developed a period-spotting radar in my brain...

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), January 23, 1999.

Chris, I know what you mean. All these years, and I *still* forget the little 'h' after the numbers, and the assembler keeps thinking they're decimal! Causes some very subtle bugs, not caught at assembly time and only in the field (it seems) at runtime.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), January 23, 1999.