The following is the outline of a talk that
I was not able to give to the monthly Y2K
meeting of the local infrastructure. The
meeting was moved 3 hours and I couldn't
attend.
For your perusal.

---

Widespread Year 2000 problems have already started
to appear but awareness is low in the general
population. The media does not follow every event.
The problems are in the thousands but very few have
caused a disruption in business. I'll list a few that
will give an idea of the scope of current problems.

Orlando
Hundreds of teachers, substitute
teachers, bus drivers and other
workers endured incorrect or
missing paychecks after the school
system switched to a complex new
software system in July to become
more efficient and Y2K-compliant.

Wisconsin
Because of software glitches, students who attended summer
school received checks for loans and grants only a few weeks
ago - long after classes were over. And about 4,800 students
expecting payments for the fall semester only recently learned
how much money the school intends to give them - and still
don't know exactly when the cash will arrive.

Philadelphia
Y2K update to computers causes failed checks to hundreds in the
Philadelphia School District employees.

Ottawa
More than 4,000 federal public servants received Canada Savings
Bonds with the wrong names on them this month, thanks to a computer
glitch at the Bank of Canada.

Major flight carriers will cancel most New Year flights.

Norway
3000 went without milk deliveries when a dairy's computer failed
after updating for Y2K

Cap Gemini
44% of corporations will not be ready by years end.
82% of corporations have experienced "Y2K-related failure"
The most common failure (92%) is financial miscalculation or loss.

GartnerGroup
"At this point most companies can handle the increased failures,
but just barely."
"The problem we have is that on Nov. 1 it will go higher and in
December, dramatically higher"
"The failure rate will probably stabilize in January, then drop off
later in the year"

Secretary of Defense William Cohen
"The American people shouldn't fear the potential of seeing US
military forces on the streets of US cities" :-'

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), October 28, 1999