I found the following two news articles interesting and would welcome any comments:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/extras/007/4046226.htm

QUOTE.... Local Y2K fix hits big time By Ian Grayson 23feb99 A SMALL Australian software company is attracting intense interest around the globe because of a breakthrough it has made with the Year 2000 computer problem. In a sector plagued with companies claiming quick-fix solutions, Sydney-based MFX Research has captured the attention of heavy hitters such as Microsoft, NATO and a number of large European banks. The company has developed an innovative detect-and-modify (DAM) algorithm that scours computer systems for date-related problems. A separate fix tool can then be used to automatically make any required changes. MFX Research director Michael Carr said the algorithm and the tools based on it differed fundamentally from others because they worked at the object code level and were therefore independent of language and platform. "We have had the tools tested and accredited by the United States National Software Testing Lab," he said. "This has provided independent confirmation that they perform as we say." Late last year, the company was invited to provide technical advice on the impact of the Y2K problem on mission-critical NATO software. It also presented its approach to ensuring compliance. MFX Research has also been boosted by the acquisition of 25 per cent of the company by Southern Equity Holdings. The deal values the two-year-old firm at $28 million. Southern Equity Holdings has already invested $2 million in MFX Research, and plans to inject a further $800,000 by June. The company's suite of tools, called MFX 2000, can be used on all systems from personal computers to mainframes. All elements of a system are examined, including the operating system, applications and data. Mr Carr said two reports were generated by the tools, giving a comprehensive summary of all software and every instance in which Y2K-related problems could occur because of two-digit year fields. He said the tools also overcame problems with copyright. Some tools that made changes to source code could be deemed to be breaking copyright, but because MFX2000 operated at the source code level, this problem was avoided. END QUOTE.... Second article:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/extras/007/4045659.htm

QUOTE... Clock card ticks up Y2K fix By DAVID HELLABY 23feb99 A BRISBANE company has developed a PC card designed to eliminate the need to replace non-Y2K-compliant desktop computers. The Micro Y2000 Date Correction card over-rides the motherboard's CMOS real-time clock (RTC), which is the root of the hardware problems in PCs. The card, which requires an 8-bit ISO slot, over-rides the PC's RTC at boot-up, and corrects the date. Managing director of Micro Y2000, Paul Fulloon, said the card would be launched this week at a retail price of less than $200, and could be used in any PC monitored from XT up. He said the idea behind the card was simple, but it had taken 18 months to perfect so it would work in any motherboard. "It sounds stupid when you see how simple the solution is, but there has been a lot of pain getting it completed, because PC architecture is not standard," he said. "The final version that will go to market is actually version three, because we had problems getting the others to work in every PC. "It will actually run in an old XT board. We had some drama with later chip sets because there were some changes in architecture that had not been documentated. "Ironically, it was always the big chip manufacturers that caused the problems, and we had to find out from their competitors about the changes," Mr Fulloon said. The cards will be manufactured in South Australia, and are totally Australian-designed. They would sell for less than similar imported cards, he said. Last week, they were undergoing final testing at the University of Queensland. Mr Fulloon said software fixes provided only a partial solution to Y2K problems in PCs. "They don't actually change the clock, they just redirect calls that applications make to the clock," he said. "But major problems occur if three or more applications attempt to access the date at the same time, as only two can be directed away from the RTC." "A number of operating systems such as Unix directly interrogate the physical clock, and in doing so will get the wrong date." "What this card does is tell the physical clock what the real time is, so it reports the correct date." The card is only a hardware solution and does not cure non-compliant software. END QUOTE.... Funny to also note that in both URL's after the word extras/ comes 007....

-- Anon (anon@abc.com), February 23, 1999

Answers

Hearsay only!

The Lone Ranger is still giving out "Silver Bullets."

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

MFX does indeed have a good hardware fix, but it is relatively expensive. here in the u.s. you can get the best hardware fix for less than $50 and you get to test it for free. you just go to Intelliquis web page at http://www.intelliquis.com and click on Fix2000 box. that will give you a choice of 2 free tests, 1 for hardware and 1 for software. try the hardware one first, as that is the big enchilada. i might add that both the hardware and software fixes are available in the same package deal together, you get both.

a very good deal, and no, i do not work for them or get any commission from them. i'm just trying to get people to wake up and smell the coffee about the RTC issue that still affects about 98% of all PCs and at least 50% of all brand new computers coming off the assembly line today. try the test if you don't believe me.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), February 24, 1999.

oops, i forgot to mention that intelliquis has a partner. if you live outside of north america, you can go to the Eurosoft-UK website at http://www.eurosoft-uk.com. they also have the 2 free tests, although it's a bit harder to find them. they call their hardware test, PC Check, and the software one is called Fix2000. they have other stuff as well, but you should be able to find these 2 free tests.

this company is headquartered in the u.k. pricing is also inexpensive.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), February 24, 1999.

well Anon, in looking at the second article you mentioned, i noticed they discuss a board for $200. both intelliquis and eurosoft-uk also offer a board, for considerably less than that, i think it's around $80 u.s. the board is a very good choice for any computer that gets used by a lot of different people, so good for schools, public terminals, businesse, etc.

the software does the same thing cheaper and is good for home computers, where you don't need to worry about someone purposely deleting it.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), February 24, 1999.

well Anon, it looks like no one cares except you and me, or maybe it's just me, talking to myself.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), February 25, 1999.

Oops!! Sorry jocelyne.

I am finding it hard keeping a track of all the threads. I am trying to cover this thing from all bases. Trying to determine how bad it's going to be --- yet having that ever increasing desire to hear of anything positive that might further the effort to get as much of this problem remediated before the unavoidable deadline.

-- Anon (anon@abc.com), February 25, 1999.

Yes, I am feeling a little schizo today.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), February 25, 1999.