Hi!

How many of you guys on this forum are computer programmers or related to the computer industry somehow?

Just wondering,

Zipper the Cat

-- Zipper the Java Bean (fearzone@home.com), February 23, 1999

Answers

Zipper,

Someone going by the name of MAP asked a similar question a month ago. Here's what the responses were then...

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000Pn2

"Poll of Y2k awareness"

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), February 23, 1999.

I think enough are. When technologically illiterate scare stories get made, they usually get corrected (sometimes by myself). There's no reason why a majority should be - the implications of Y2K go far outside the realms of IT. I'm sure we all wish it were otherwise!

-- Nigel Arnot (nra@maxwell.ph.kcl.ac.uk), February 23, 1999.

Here's a little info about this forum. You can view this by clicking on the "About" link at the top of the New Questions page:

[snip]

About the TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) Forum (to which you can return) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- This forum is intended for people who are concerned about the impact of the Y2000 problem on their personal lives, and who want to discuss various fallback contingency plans with other like-minded people. It's not intended to provide advice/guidance for solving Y2000 problems within an IT organization.

[snip]

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), February 23, 1999.

Thanks Kevin, I'm certainly not a geek. Eons ago I worked at a small savings and loan branch which had one of the first computer systems connected to the Federal Home Loan Bank in Des Moines. Talk about ancient; it was the size of a small refrigerator, no screen, a wide paper feed, and had to be turned on with a key. New customer information could only be fed through an alpha tape, which we called "feeding Alphie." When we turned it off, it howled like a wolf. All stored data was on microfiche.

Many different systems since then, always newer, faster. Quite a change sitting here in my toasty bathrobe, banging away at 5 AM , just Microsuck and I. Like the "Body Snatchers," it has taken over quite nicely.

-- gilda jessie (jess@listbot.com), February 23, 1999.

I'm a geek (hard-core programmer since '83) - strictly technical, not a manager.

I don't think you will get a representative sample of responses to your query (based on past surveys), but my OPINION, based on what previous posters have indicated about themselves is that this forum is a broad cross-section of the entire workforce. Programmers seem fairly rare here, but there are a few - and a few with a knowledge of electrical engineering (or at least elec-techs).

Most (but not all) of the programmers and system administrators I speak with think that Y2K will be a non-event. I think that Y2K will be just bad enough to act like "the straw that breaks the camel's back" of the world economy. If this happens, I expect war(s).

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@anonymous.com), February 23, 1999.

Curious how so many of the 'experts' hide behind false names and worthless email addresses. Use caution in accepting any claim made across the internet. I do know that several 'experts' from other forums have been exposed as frauds. Flames don't bother me, and my email address is valid, my name is my real name. And I don't have any problem about giving details of where I went to school, etc - have done so many times. Crap, I'll email you my resume if you want the silly thing. How many are willing to do that?

Nothing personal here directed at anyone. Just a warning against believing everything on the Net.

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), February 23, 1999.

There are good reasons why many experts hide behind false e-mail IDS.

the first is that if you use a true one, you'll get it onto a spam list in short order. Next thing you know you'll be bombarded with various get-rich-quick schemes and visit-our-porn-site messages by these scum, which can reduce your productivity, annoy your employer, or even force you to cut loose from one internet service provider and sign up with another just to loose the junk.

The second is that you may have signed non-disclosure agreements that prohibit you from discussing your employer's business. Posting under an alias is an obvious safeguard against an over-zealous company lawyer. (I'm not saying it would protect you if you broke the agreement in a clearly identifiable way, but discussing the degree of panic on the inside of a big xxx company or the fine details of various remediation techniques are probably safe provided your employer's identity is not deducible from your posts)

The third is that you have just as much right to be paranoid as anyone else, and "they" almost certainly do read these groups.

The advice to employ maximum scepticism is good, though. Sadly there are lots of idiots who enjoy pretending to be "in the know", which is behaviour akin to pissing into a well.

-- Nigel Arnot (nra@maxwell.ph.kcl.ac.uk), February 23, 1999.

Zipper,

Read an article in PC Computing mag advising people to use fake name when posting on these forums to protect yourself. I didn't, now I get junk mail as mentioned by Nigel.

Asked one group a political question regarding their web site and they sent me an email with a direct threat to do great bodily harm to me. It's a good idea to disguise. Too late for me these guys can figure you out if you decide to change in midstream.

-- Mark Hillyard (foster@inreach.com), February 23, 1999.

Re unwanted e-mail (spam)--do you folks forward it to the ISP involved (abuse@NAME OF ISP.com) or to the spam folks at your own ISP? Accounts are cancelled, sometimes lawsuits are brought. Please take the time to do it.

Sweetie who is our In-House Computer Professional, has almost enough for an MS Comp Sci and has just passed a Microsoft Visual Basic certification exam--with a 94 (and no big-bucks study course, either). I used to do dBase II programming but that was in an earlier incarnation. (Also used those huge things with the cards and tapes eons ago.)

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 23, 1999.

Hi Zipper. I got my first computer job as a second-shift IBM 360/30 operator while I was still a senior in hi-school in 1968. Got into programming when I graduated and been doing it ever since. I've only been a regular here going on 3 weeks, but have discovered many other pros lurking out there. All kinds here, including people in some of the "critical" Y2K areas. Much good info here with some BS, but easy to ignore the non-sense. Got to go for now - see ya! <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), February 23, 1999.

PS - This has been my handle since the BBS days, and this is a real e-mail address.

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), February 23, 1999.

My husband is a programmer for a global company.

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), February 23, 1999.

Been in the hardware side of the computer and embedded systems world since 1972. Been using a web name since last summer when I got fired for posting about Y2K on the EUY2K forum.

I was discussing something non-related to my then-current employer, but they're Y2K-paranoid (if I was gonna get sued to oblivion over Y2K, I guess I would be too). They moved to quash me after my name came up in the local paper about asking a US Senator about Y2K in a local press conference.

Hence the web name. I don't need a repeat this year.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), February 23, 1999.

Started on IBM1170 (oohhh 4k of ram - but the card chaff was fun at basketball games). On through other flavors of big iron and UCSD Pascal (remember that one?). Now I play with lans and such. BS in systems science. Valid email address.

I've learned a lot on these threads and done my share of contributing. Been studing y2k since '97.

Keep the faith

-- j (sandpine@juno.com), February 23, 1999.

Hi J, question... is the 1170 a relative of the 1130? I played with an 1130 in hi-school, but don't remember hearing anything about an 1170. Although with 4K, maybe it is a 1401 era machine? <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), February 23, 1999.

Hi guys,

I've been 'doing' computers since 1955. Both hardware and software with all sizes of computers. Certificate in Data Processing from the DPMA in 1963 (#973).

BTW, would that 1170 perhaps be the DEC PDP-11/70 from about 1972?

-- Dean T. Miller (dtmiller@nevia.com), February 24, 1999.

Ok, I'll come clean. When I bought my new state-of-the-art Commodore (it even has a color monitor-green) from the guy at the flea market last week, I set it on the table and plugged it in myself. Later on I read the whole sheet of instructions, too!

Wait a minute, wrong thread, damn - which way to the fruitcake wars?

-- Lon Frank (postit@here.com), February 24, 1999.

Real programmer. Nigel listed the reasons for anonymity.

-- No Spam Please (anon@ymous.com), February 24, 1999.

I started with a Tandy (Radio Shack) TRS80 Model-1 a looong time ago (4k RAM, upper case letters only until I modified it), then went through a CPM machine, a Commodore-64, then eventually varions IBM clones. I ran a bulletin board for a hobby, and this led to my first I.T. job doing computer support in a large hospital in 1985. I have worked as an analyst-programmer (JCL, Easytrieve, ISQL etc) on an ancient IBM 4381 mainframe. Up to last year I did PC and network support (CNE3 and CNA4). Now I am learning to grow vegetables and raise chickens in a Permaculture environment.

-- David Harvey (vk2dmh@hotmail.com), February 24, 1999.

Been programming since about 1978, if you count a TI-59 programmable calculator. All desktop since, PCs. If mainframes are only half the trouble as PCs, it's mucho biggo problemo. Granted, all problems can be fixed -- eventually. But, "got resources" (time)? Usually only a small percentage of stuff craps out at one time. Problems can be contained. Get a whole bunch of problems, nationwide, worldwide, and all bets are off.

-- vbProg (vbProg@microsoftSucks.com), February 24, 1999.

Been programming since about 1978, if you count a TI-59 programmable calculator. All desktop since, PCs. If mainframes are only half the trouble as PCs, it's mucho biggo problemo. Granted, all problems can be fixed -- eventually. But, "got resources" (time)? Usually only a small percentage of stuff craps out at one time. Problems can be contained. Get a whole bunch of problems, nationwide, worldwide, all at one time, then bets are off.

-- vbProg (vbProg@microsoftSucks.com), February 24, 1999.

Been programming since about 1978, if you count a TI-59 programmable calculator. All desktop since, PCs. If mainframes are only half the trouble as PCs, it's mucho biggo problemo. Granted, all problems can be fixed -- eventually. But, "got resources" (time)? Usually only a small percentage of stuff craps out at one time. Problems can be contained. Get a whole bunch of problems, nationwide, worldwide, all at one time, then all bets are off.

-- vbProg (vbProg@microsoftSucks.com), February 24, 1999.

Yo, vbProg, your SUBMIT key is stuck! 8-}]

Been in "the computer industry" since 1983. Have admin'd and managed systems, and coded in Forth, C, and UNIX shells (wrote a !@#$%^& access accounting system in C Shell). Have managed million-dollar software development projects, mostly successfully. Have seen more projects miss deadlines than I ever care to. Have seen Y2K projects follow the same path as any other projects. It has not been "different this time", despite what the optimists said...

Just glad that the word's getting out. Maybe we'll see an end to idiotic opinion pieces like the one from what's his face, Somerson, at PC Computing...

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.com), February 24, 1999.