Deception on all fronts

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

Seems like the reason everyone is still ignoring Y2K is because most companies are not running compliant code yet. I'll bet they're waiting until the last minute (12/29 or so) to slam in the supposedly compliant code and then hope for the best. Look at Duetsch Bank for an example. Also embedded chips have yet to hit the wall. Look for some pretty crazy things to start happening in about 10 days!

-- why? (......@.....), December 17, 1999

Answers

People are ignoring Y2K because the press tells them everything is fixed, any problems will be solved in three days and few serious problems have been reported so far (even though most organizations have already had Y2K failures/problems). It's hard to believe after spending perhaps $100 bils. on Y2K remediation, "most companies are not running compliant code yet". What specific data led you to that conclusion?

Also, for people expecting serious Y2K problems to be correct, thousands of corporate spokesmen and press releases must be incorrect or deliberate deceiving the public. Could you provide any proof that even one press release or statement is not correct?

-- Richard Greene (Rgreene2@ford.com), December 17, 1999.


Richard, I agree. It is not so much people doubt there will be problems but they are convinced that three days is plenty of time to fix them. Why worry?

-- ghost (fading into the@background.com), December 17, 1999.

I think the reason people are ignoring Y2K goes much further back than the last couple of years. We have grown increasingly soft and have come to feel there is no need whatsoever to be self-reliant. When we pick up the phone, the dial tone is there, when we flick a switch, a light is there, when we call for pizza, viola! It is there! Piping hot, delicious, and we didn't even have to get off our fat asses to make it! If we want to have our groceries delivered via the Internet, hey, we can! First you could get your pictures developed in one hour, now you can buy a digital camera and see them right away! When we call 911, an ambulance shows up. When we DO go to the grocery store, it is fairly bursting with all kinds of food! If we fall on hard times, or just catch a good case of lazyitis, we can get food stamps and go to the store and partake in that virtual feast of the senses. Right now, in this country, you have to TRY to be unemployed. Things are good, many would say. (I say, we have replaced all our old stresses with new, more intense ones....) So it is very hard, if not impossible for most people to entertain the notion that all those things they take for granted might not be there.

-- preparing (preparing@home.com), December 19, 1999.

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