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Orem computers 'in great shape' as Y2K bug gets ready to bite

By Frank Curreri

Deseret News staff writer

Orem  With the new century less than six months away, Orem officials are ready to announce there won't be any widespread electronic meltdowns here.

"We're in great shape," Orem City Manager Jim Reams said Friday. Orem's City Council is scheduled to receive a detailed report Tuesday about many of the measures taken to protect the city of 90,000 from the Y2K problem.

Reams said eight to 10 computer specialists have been working for several years to avert a potential computer-based catastrophe. If not corrected by Jan. 1, 2000, many computers would mistake the year 2000 for the year 1900, a complication that could cause city power supplies such as water, heat, traffic signals and elevators to simply shut down.

Orem's computers are periodically tested to verify whether they are Y2K-ready. Reams said some minor glitches in the system were uncovered.

"The biggest challenge was that we blew a piston on a generator that we had to repair for a waste-treatment plant, so we had to replace it," he said. "Of course, there are things that might come up again. Last week it was the defibrillators for our ambulances . . . but it's always going to be something where you say, 'Oh, we hadn't tested that,' or "We hadn't tested that.' "

If something should go wrong, Congress passed a law on July 1 that will make it difficult for people to sue over Y2K-related problems. The law gives businesses and the government 90 days to fix their computer problems before a lawsuit can be filed against them.

The federal government expects that at least 80 percent of its computers are now equipped to handle Y2K. Orem's prognosis, meanwhile, appears even more optimistic.

Said Reams of the possibility of Y2K wreaking havoc on Orem: "We feel confident that's not going to happen because we've tested it."

-- Sista In 'Da Hood (Sista@Da.Hood), July 06, 1999

Answers

User beware--Y2K compliance claims could be bogus

-- (@ .), July 06, 1999.

Why do I see a middle-aged, bald, fat guy when I read the items you post, Sista?

-- BiGG (supersite@acronet.net), July 07, 1999.