re: Y2K - It's not over, quite yet
From Network World Fusion:
------------------------------------------
"The Y2K turnover went so smoothly some people outside of IT are already claiming it was much ado over nothing. Fred McClimans says we know better, of course. Still, he cautions there might be some Y2K glitches coming up over the next few weeks as systems come fully back online (how many people were actually using your network this past weekend?).DocFinder: 6141
nwfusion.com
-------------------------------------------
Y2K: Not over just yet
Network World Fusion, 01/03/00
"Well, another flu season is come
and gone ... the Y2K bug that was
supposed to bite didn't. Or did it?
Usually, come January 1, we'd be
talking about predictions for the
New Year. But that will have to wait for next week.
"We're already seeing a Y2K backlash. I've had
several people tell me how "we wasted all that effort."
"The world didn't end," they cry. "The ATM machine
still works," they shout. "The fear is over," they
ignorantly say.
"Of course, it's easy to claim IT professionals were
only crying wolf. But that's because they did their job
so well. The results were phenomenal. Not only did
we avert some pretty heavy failures, we've upgraded
much of our computing infrastructure in the process -
something that will be of great value as we march
along into the 21st century. So rather than cry "foul" at
the lack of Y2K failures, let's give a rousing hand of
applause to all those Y2K managers, all those
overworked programmers and all those critical testers
who made reading this column possible.
"At the same time, don't let your guard down too far.
While failures to date have been minimal, so too has
system usage. Reasonable estimates at this point call
for at least 50% of all Y2K failures in the business
sector to occur later this year as systems are fully
utilized in all their various and sundry configurations.
"And like the Pentagon satellite failure that went
unreported until it was fixed, don't for a minute expect
that all the failures have been (or will be) reported.
"And just to show it wasn't a total nonevent, here are
some interesting Y2K failures:
1.All the slot machines in the state of Delaware
failed when given their 1/1/2000 instructions ...
at 12 noon the day before.
2.A poor video store customer was charged over
$90,000 for a late video rented in 1999 and
returned in 2000.
3.The electric doors failed in a U.S. nuclear plant
(one of seven reactors worldwide that have
reported Y2K problems).
4.Electric doors also failed at some U.S.
government facilities, forcing people to pry
open doors manually.
5.Hospitals in Sweden reported the failure of
critical heart-monitoring systems.
6.Several airports reported sporadic power
problems and wind-shear systems were "blown
away" in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, St. Louis
and Tampa.
"If you've seen an interesting or humorous Y2K bug,
send it in. The most unusual/humorous bug will get a
special, signed, limited edition Y2K t-shirt courtesy of
yours truly." |
