Subject:	Underestimation Kills
Date:	1999/07/10
Author:	Paul Milne <fedinfo@halifax.com>
	Posting History

FINN BULLERS and DAVID HAYES: A false sense of security about Y2K appears to be emerging   Related Sites:  The Star's series: Countdown to Y2k     By DAVID HAYES and FINN BULLERS - Columnist Date: 07/09/99 22:15   Y2K followers are concerned that the country is being lulled into a false sense of security because there haven't been any high-profile, high-impact Millennium Bug failures.   But the false sense of security theme would be a tough sell if you live in New Berlin, Wis., are a passenger with Air France, a business owner in Ohio or a widow in Japan.   In New Berlin, residents were left without water this week after a new computer system designed to sidestep Y2K problems malfunctioned. Two main water tanks drained when computers failed to activate pumps to fill them. Residents had to ration their water.   On the same day that the Air Transport Association of America said 95 percent of its work was done, Air France stranded 4,000 pieces of luggage at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport. The culprit? An unsuccessful attempt to upgrade the airport's baggage computer system to squash the bug. Some travelers were luggage-less for two days.   In Ohio, a new $7 million computer system in the secretary of state's business office has so many bugs it will never run smoothly, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. New corporate filings that once took two weeks now take two months.   Crisis centers surge   America's largest companies are falling behind on their Year 2000 timetables, according to one leading Y2K consulting firm. At the same time, they are more likely to organize Y2K crisis management centers than they were six months ago.     Backup plans?   Although nearly three-fourths of the nation's counties have adopted plans to address Y2K, a new survey by the National Association of Counties shows nearly 60 percent say they have no backup strategy if those plans go awry on Dec. 31.   Of the 500 counties surveyed, 368 had made Y2K plans. Those counties represent 37.2 million people, or 92 percent of the population represented by survey participants.   Some 58 percent of the counties surveyed by phone in May and June said they have not prepared a Y2K backup plan, and 4 percent said they're not sure they will. Nearly half said they were not planning a countywide Y2K test.     More than 70 percent of the country's major corporations had expected to have half of their fixes ready by last Jan. 1. But the current tracking poll issued by Cap Gemini America shows only 55 percent reached that goal.   With efforts going more slowly than expected, Cap Gemini now says 85 percent of the country's biggest firms plan to build crisis centers, more than double the 40 percent planning such facilities in December.   ==============   Won't be long now, pollyannas.   Over half of the responding counties say that they are not even going to  do a county wide test. This is not only a recipe for, but a guarantee of major problems.   Paul Milne

-- a (a@a.a), July 12, 1999

Answers

hate to sound grim, but who,s going to bury all the dead?

-- sad (dogs@zianet.com), July 12, 1999.

Bury them? Hell, by that time they'll start looking like food, don't ya think?

-- Chekyni Toutman (chekyni@safety.net), July 12, 1999.

A false sense of security about Y2K appears to be emerging ?????

http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/business.pat,business/3773 ad14.709,.html

-- Lane Core Jr. (elcore@sgi.net), July 12, 1999.

Lane,

Isn't it amazing? That's the best headline they could do, I guess. What it says to me is that they are not really alarmed about the attitude of business, government, and the population. They look at the situation, give a few good examples of problems, tap into the general public reaction, and then say it "appears" that a false sense of security is emerging.

-- Gordon (gpconnolly@aol.com), July 12, 1999.

Thanks --a

Convincing enough for me, not to say i haven't figured it out already. I'm past the point of printing and distributing it to no avail. Where i work they don't want to here it. My inlaws are having such a comfy time, and don't like "rain clouds". So i'll take the info Mr Milne post and step up my preps one more level........

-- kevin (innxxs@yahoo.com), July 12, 1999.

I don't understand why people are so worried...we are americans. we can remediate 25% of the WORLD'S code with one hand tied behind our backs! This is the Y2K Superbowl and we kick ass...we rule...we bad!

We better make another trip to Sam's Club.

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), July 12, 1999.

I like that,will continue,better living through jingoism.

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), July 12, 1999.