The Bug,
Year 2000 bug scares the masses
By David E. Kalish / Associated Press
Sure, it's just a software bug. But to some anxious folks, the Year
2000 computer problem may well be the next cataclysm of biblical
proportions.
ÿ ÿ The Rev. Steve Wilkins isn't taking any chances. He recently bought
a water purifier and a small mill to grind wheat into flour. Pare down
debt, he advises his Presbyterian flock in Monroe, La. Maybe plant a
vegetable garden.
ÿ ÿ David Tulis, 500 miles away in Chattanooga, Tenn., is stocking up on
dehydrated food and reading about alternate power sources. From time to
time, he drops by Wal-Mart for some extra ammunition.
ÿ ÿ "I try to do a little every day," explains Tulis, a newspaper copy
editor.
ÿ ÿ Firearms for a computer flaw, a software glitch that confuses some
computers into thinking 2000 is a century earlier?
ÿ ÿ Fearful folks scattered across the country are preparing for a
man-made disaster they fear could make hurricanes seem like a summer
breeze. They're sinking assets into gold, installing solar panels,
packing pantries with powdered milk and canned goods.
ÿ ÿ Ammunition? Could be looting and riots.
ÿ ÿ Solar energy? Blackouts, too.
ÿ ÿ Gold? Downed computers may toss banks into a tizzy.
ÿ ÿ The super-cautious crowd may be overreacting, several Year 2000
experts say. Why board up the windows for a mere thunderstorm?
ÿ ÿ "There are people who are running off to the hills and buying Uzis.
I think that's the lunatic fringe," says Peter de Jager, a well-known
Year 2000 pundit who, nevertheless, warns of potentially catastrophic
computer failures.
ÿ ÿ If people "run away screaming into the night," de Jager says, "then
we have given up all hope."
ÿ ÿ Better to be safe than sorry, a minority of others argue. Let
business and government boast of the billions they're spending for
pricey programers, consultants and systems analysts to mend countless
lines of computer code and make software "Year 2000 compliant."
ÿ ÿ That's just hype, in some minds.
ÿ ÿ More than 80 percent of large U.S. firms, in fact, are behind
schedule in fixing their computer bugs by 2000, according to a survey by
the Cap Gemini America consulting firm. Experts say the failure of
computers to correctly read dates could trigger disruptions in commerce,
finance, power supplies and other mainstays of civilization. Some fear
the flaws could even perplex systems such as control panels for nuclear
warheads.
ÿ ÿ Mindful of their valued disaster-relief roles, some religious groups
preach extra caution, urging churches to invest in electric generators
and install temporary living quarters for those caught without heat in
winter.
ÿ ÿ The Presbyterian church in Monroe taped a 90-minute survival video
urging people to stow emergency medicine and buy hand tools that don't
run on electricity. About 200 people have bought the $10 primer.
ÿ ÿ The Southern Baptist denomination goes further, seeing the Year 2000
problem as a recruiting tool to help add to its nearly 16 million
members. The potential for computer woes offers "historic evangelism
opportunities," says a recent article in the Baptist Press, the
denomination's news service.
ÿ ÿ "Whenever there have been significant societal events, such as the
Mississippi River flooding or Hurricane Andrew, Southern Baptists have
been there to minister," says Art Toalston, editor at the Baptist Press.
ÿ ÿ To drive home his point, he cites the New Testament, Luke 4:18:
ÿ ÿ "Jesus says, 'The spirit of the Lord is upon him ... to preach
gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted."'
ÿ ÿ So let computers crash, cityscapes darken, financial markets
evaporate. They'll be ready.
ÿ ÿ Hundreds of customers helped boost sales 40 percent this year at
Emergency Essentials Inc., a small Utah maker of emergency supplies
packed in gallon-size cans that don't rust.
ÿ ÿ Kevin Rogers, a repair shop owner, says he wants to build a shed in
his Chattanooga back yard to stow up to three months' supply of
transmission parts worth $75,000.
ÿ ÿ People such as him will be ready for the high-tech Big One.
ÿ ÿ The worriers stand out in a society numbed by disasters; many people
are only vaguely aware a global computer bug could gum up the societal
works. But among other folks, the world's crazy mesh of phone, cable and
power lines has spurred anxiety; electronics control so much of life,
from bedside alarm clocks to the New York Stock Exchange.
ÿ ÿ "I spoke to my father the other night," Rogers says from his
Tennessee transmission shop. "He's cashing out all of his mutual funds
this year, and taking the penalties and paying the taxes."
ÿ ÿ "I think the odds of there being a crisis is 100 percent," he says.
"The odds of it being serious is impossible to predict."
ÿhttp://detnews.com/1998/biz/9809/08/09080016.htm
Regards,
R.T
Copyright 1998, The Detroit News |
