There are two news media stories regarding Y2K failures on the CNN Financial Network web page (I don't know how to do links). The first one is from the Evening News, Scotland, January 11, 2000. It reports the following: "The millennium bug caused just 67 significant computer failures across the world in the first week of the new year according to figures released today. Mr. Malcolm Marshall, risk management partner of KPMG and the Year 2000 Research Center, states, "The most difficult to detect problems could prove to be a greater threat than dramatic failures such as complete system shutdown, which can be spotted immediately." The second report is from the Patriot Ledger, Quincy, Massachusetts, January 1, 2000. I will quote from the article: "Y2K computer worries won't go away this weekend, even if nothing goes wrong. Glitches are likely weeks, even months, into the new year. And a few may linger until 2001 and beyond." "The Gartner Group, a technology consulting firm, estimates that, despite the widespread belief that Y2K problems will last no more than two weeks, only 10 percent of all Y2K failures will actually occur during the first two weeks of January." "Besides having new problems appear later in the year, glitches that strike on Jan. 1 might go unnoticed initially, even after employees return to work and restart computers. The full effects might not be felt until smaller glitches compound and disrupt business supply chains."

-- Linda (lindasue1@earthlink.net), January 13, 2000

Answers

As our dearly departed Flint might say: The only question worth considering for most of us here is will the number or velocity of future problems out-strip the programmers ability to deal with them? I'm no polly, but I don't think so.

-- Yan (no@no.no), January 13, 2000.

Yan, please check about a dozen threads below the impact that the flu epidemic could have upon performance/quality/speed/sheer availability of programmers precisely when they are most needed (Jan-Feb).

" (oo)++(~~)= Y2K & the flu...

Take care

-- George (jvilches@sminter.com.ar), January 13, 2000.

The biggest problem with corrupted data is: Once the cause of the corruption is found, the users/customers will expect the IT/IS depts to be full experts on the data and rebuild the accurate data. They will not believe it is their responsibility.

-- LL (largent@voyager.net), January 13, 2000.

The biggest threat, IMHO, was always the possibility of the true knockout punch: simultaneous, multi-sector failure.

We've avoided that, which seems to mean TEOTWAWKI cannot happen at this point.

Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean we can't still experience significant economic disruption.

-- Duke1983 (Duke1983@aol.com), January 13, 2000.