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Technology Stocks : Discuss Year 2000 Issues -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Mansfield who wrote (6362)	7/7/1999 4:29:00 PM
From: J.L. Turner	Respond to of 9818

Ex-secretary takes on Director of MIT laboratory First the director: > >>[QUOTE] > >>Next, keep in mind that only a small fraction of the world's computers are > >>engaged in critical applications. While advising a major international bank, > >>I decided to assess the relative importance of their information systems. > >>So, I asked the staff to stop issuing all 1,200 different kinds of monthly > >>reports they sent to their thousands of employees, and, instead, provide > >>individual reports if and when asked. You can imagine everyone's surprise > >>when after a month, only six people had called for any of the reports. > >>Alternatively, try to imagine how many of the 100 million people using > >>personal computers to do word processing will experience a catastrophe if > >>their computer clocks are suddenly turned to the year 2000. Still not > >>convinced? Let's go back to all the file cabinets in the world: How much > >>would you pay to not have them delivered to your front lawn? Let's face it. > >>The bulk of information out there is not as vital to your life as the hype > >>would like you to think. > >>[END QUOTE] > >> > >> > > I think this is nonsense. No, let's make that stronger. > >I think it's total ignorant bullshit. When I was working as > >a secretary, the absence of a functioning word processor > >would have meant the absence of my job, which would have > >equaled the absence of a paycheck, which would have equaled > >starvation or similar. I was hardly alone in that position. > > > > No, my job could NOT have been done with an electric > >typewriter. No way on the face of the earth. Maybe 8 or 10 > >secretaries, together, could have done with an electric > >typewriter what I could do with a PC....but they'd still > >have to DRAW equations and figures: many, many of them. > > > > Further, he (he?, whatever) has the WRONG idea with his > >analogy of file cabinets delivered to your front yard. The > >whole POINT of computers (and especially the Internet) is > >that you can selectively have the EXACT files you need, and > >only those, delivered to your front yard. One very major > >point anyway. > > > > If someone doesn't even understand this, I would hardly > >respect anything whatsoever they have to say on the subject > >of computers. > > > > Why are no at least semi-intelligent Polly articles ever > >posted to this newsgroup? Do they not EXIST? If they > >exist, would someone please post a few of them? > > > > Pat Meadows > > > >PS -- Well, I went back and clicked on the URL. This guy > >is: > > > > "Michael Dertouzos is director of MIT's Laboratory for > >Computer Science and a columnist for Technology Review. " > > I thought they both had great points! J.L.T.

To: John Mansfield who wrote (6362)	7/7/1999 4:45:00 PM
From: B.K.Myers	Respond to of 9818

John, Thank you for bringing this to my attention. My father lives a couple of miles from the North Carolina Brunswick nuclear power plant. I was please when I read the original audit report, but now I am outraged! I am wondering how the Y2K liability bill will be applied if serious problems develop at a nuclear power plant. What good is 30-90 day cooling down period if another TMI incident occurs? Does anyone know how the Y2K liability bill will be applied in these situations? B.K.