Microsoft admits it underestimated Y2K
bug
by Tim Stammers, Computing
Microsoft has been caught out by its famously casual
attitude to the millennium bug, with an admission that it
has underestimated the amount of software testing to be
done.
Users have forced the industry giant to begin hurried
testing of legacy products it had not previously intended
to certify as Y2K compliant. These include Microsoft Mail,
which the company says is still being used by "hundreds
of thousands" of UK users.
This month, the company will publish its plans for extra
testing, which it promises will be completed to "aggressive
timelines". With fewer than 400 working days to go before
the date change, Microsoft's Year 2000 strategy manager
Jason Matusow said: "We recognise the critical nature of
the problem, and of the time constraint."
Test schedule dates will not be available until the end of
the month.
Microsoft's action was prompted by customer feedback,
Matusow said. In the case of Mail, the company had
overestimated users' enthusiasm to upgrade to products
such as Microsoft Exchange.
Jim Moffatt, marketing manager at rival Lotus UK, said the
issue would be serious for Mail users. "In major
organisations, email is often the critical application. There
will be a lot of people anxious to see the results of the
tests," he said.
A Microsoft spokeswoman said last week that the
company still had no intention of testing versions of Word
5 and lower - even though it concedes there is still a lot of
the software out there.
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