>>>Sorry for the shortage of "good news / not so bad" stories as the media is on the doom and gloom kick BIG TIME.<<<
Here, Cheeky, this one's for you!
Glitches aside, a benign side of Y2K bug exists
By Marilyn Geewax
Americans won't know for another three months whether the Y2K software problem will cause serious computer disruptions on New Year's Day, but optimists already are looking beyond 1-1-00 to see the bright side of the bug.
Given the many headaches that might be caused by Y2K, the rest of us could be excused for not appreciating its up side just yet.
The programming problem will cause many older computers to misunderstand dates starting with Jan. 1, 2000.
The defect has the potential to trigger malfunctions in the equipment used to generate power, control air traffic, deliver water, track billing and much more.
But the sunny-side-uppers cite three reasons to be grateful for the Y2K bug.
* Businesses and governmental agencies have spent tens of billions of dollars fixing millions of lines of software code to ensure computers won't malfunction in January.
Many older computers literally have been thrown into the trash and replaced by the latest models. In many cases, Y2K testing has spurred a top-to-bottom overhaul of information systems.
The Commerce Department says that business investments in computer equipment nearly tripled from $38.9 billion in 1990 to $95 billion in 1998.
These purchases of new equipment and large software packages have left many companies with modernized operations likely to boost productivity early in the next century.
In addition, the Y2K bug is expected to weed out businesses that have lagged technologically and create more growing room for advanced companies.
* Optimists say the Y2K threat also is making people more aware of emergency planning. Each year, millions of Americans find themselves in potentially dangerous situations caused by hurricanes, blizzards, earthquakes, fires and other disasters.
And more often than not, families are poorly prepared to cope with these unexpected events.
For instance, when the power failed recently for hundreds of thousands of people along the East Coast during Hurricane Floyd, many households were caught without flashlights, fresh batteries and emergency radios.
John Koskinen, head of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, said this year's extensive news coverage of the Y2K threat is stirring many families to take stock of their emergency supplies and purchase what they may need, such as battery-operated smoke detectors, bottled water, kerosene heaters and so on.
``We can use Y2K in an important way,' he reminded reporters at a recent Y2K briefing. ``People should be better prepared' to face all sorts of emergencies once Jan. 1 passes.
* Besides boosting productivity for businesses and emergency preparedness for individuals, Y2K also is helping Congress prepare for the next century, according to Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate special committee studying Y2K issues.
Bennett said that because of their work on Y2K, committee members have learned ``how vulnerable we are to computer failure' caused by terrorists or criminals.
Once the Y2K bug has been stamped out, he said he hopes to shift his committee's focus to increasing the security, privacy and reliability of the new wired world.
In light of all that has been learned through dealing with Y2K, ``we have to recognize that the world has changed,' Bennett said.
If the Y2K bug can get fun-loving Americans to plan for bad events and Congress to recognize the world as it exists, Jan. 1 may well go down as one of the biggest turning points in U.S. history.
Marilyn Geewax writes for Cox Newspapers. |
