Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Ken who wrote (8358)	8/24/1999 1:48:00 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9818

azstarnet.com Tuesday, 24 August 1999 Forum says prepare for Y2K, don't panic when glitches hit By David Wichner The Arizona Daily Star Work for the best, prepare for the worst. That was the message from government and utility providers last night at a forum on the year 2000 technology problem. ``There is some reason to be concerned,because surely there will be failures' related to Y2K problems, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., told about 450 people who braved a monsoon storm to engage in the ``Y2K Community Conversation' at the Leo Rich Theater. ``The best thing is to be well-informed and take care of your family as you would for any emergency situation,' said Kyl, who sponsored the forum with the city of Tucson, the Y2K Community Partnership and the President's Council on Y2K Conversion. Many computer systems are expected to fail Jan. 1 because they can't properly process the year 2000 in program data. Military computer security and lagging fixes at the Health Care Financing Administration top the concerns of federal officials, said Kyl, who sits on the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Problem. Kyl said the government is concerned that saboteurs will use possible Y2K chaos to mask attempts to steal or destroy data on government computers. ``There are foreign agents that have been active in that area,' Kyl said. ``All of those things have been happening, and we expect that will be exacerbated at that time.' Kyl said the government agencies have made great strides in Y2K readiness since a Senate report in February criticized the Defense Department and other agencies for being behind on preparations. ``Most government agencies are in the 90 percent compliance range,' he said. One audience member asked about a recent report by the U.S. Navy that predicts ``probable' or ``likely' Y2K-related failures in electrical and drinking water systems that serve 60 of roughly 400 naval or Marine installations in many U.S. cities. Citing a White House response to the report, Joel Willemson of the General Accounting Office said the Navy report was based on worst-case scenarios, and systems were considered failure risks if the utility could not document Y2K readiness. Representatives from the Y2K Community Partnership, made up of the city, Pima County, Tucson Electric Power Co. and other local service providers, said they are nearly ready for 2000. Some of the panelists' progress reports: * TEP Vice President Tom Hansen said the utility's computer systems are ready for Y2K and TEP will have a extra fuel stocks - including a 60-day supply of coal - ready in case deliveries are disrupted. The utility also can isolate itself from the nation's power grid, if necessary, to avoid the effects of failures elsewhere, Hansen said. * Bob Weaver of Southwest Gas Corp. said the company's Y2K fixes are 100 percent Y2K ready in Southern Arizona and 99 percent ready overall, with the exception of a systems in Phoenix that should be fixed by the end of September. * U S West has made 100 percent of its telephone switches, customer-related billing systems and 911 links Y2K ready, spokeswoman Louise Rebholz said. Other, desktop computer systems are expected to be ready by the end of the October, she said. ``If you need telephone service at midnight on Dec. 31, it will be there. If you don't need it, don't pick up the phone,' Rebholz said, cautioning that an avalanche of unnecessary calls could paralyze the phone system. * The financial industry is among the best-prepared of the critical services, Kyl said, cautioning audience members against draining their bank accounts. He advised people to incrementally draw a reasonable amount of emergency cash before Jan. 1. * Tucson Water Director David Modeer said the department is about 95 percent Y2K ready and is replacing some billing software that would have failed in January. Added generators will allow the department to deliver a reduced but adequate amount of water even in a prolonged power failure, he said. * The American Red Cross recommends that people prepare for Y2K like any disaster that might disrupt critical services - stocking supplies such as food, water, cash or traveler's checks, batteries, blankets and flashlights. ------- Tucson was listed in the Navy report as "not likely." Karen

To: Ken who wrote (8358)	8/26/1999 10:02:00 AM
From: Edwarda	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9818

Just in case anyone missed this on AP yesterday: Bankers' Words to Dispel Y2K Fears By The Associated Press Wednesday, August 25, 1999; 6:18 p.m. EDT Excerpts from a sample sermon distributed by the American Bankers Association to help clergy dispel fears of a Year 2000 catastrophe. It is titled ''Thinking About Y2K: Moses, Orson Welles and Bill Gates'': I doubt that even the wildly inventive mind of Orson Welles could have dreamed up a fantasy as improbable, yet as convincing, as Y2K. Who would have thought, after all, that America could be done in not by aliens from outer space, but by a bug in a computer? ... You've heard the dire warnings, the off-the-wall forecasts and the downright silly predictions. Life insurance companies, they say, could bill us for coverage for the past 100 years. Airplanes won't get off the ground. And that could be the good news. Our bank accounts will show zero. Our mortgages will require another 100 years of payments. Hospital monitoring equipment will stop monitoring. The lights will go out. The phones will fail. We'll be plunged into a deep, cold winter without heat, electricity, money or -- worst of all -- pizza delivery. ... Quite a few jokes have been made about Y2K as well. Perhaps you've heard that Bill Gates has just announced the official release date for the new Windows 2000 software. It's to be the second quarter of 1901. ... It's especially important that we -- as members of our community, believers in God and members of the family of faith -- set the example. We want to go into the new millennium with hope, eagerness and faith in this new century of promise. We don't want to be crouched in our basements with candles, matches and guns. There are, after all, two ways to cross the Red Sea. With Moses, who with God's help, led the children of Israel into a bright, hopeful future. Or with Pharaoh, who in trying to preserve the old, hurled his chariots, his officers and his army into the sea. ... Things will work. Hospitals will be open. Police and fire departments will be prepared. Power companies will be fully staffed. Banks will keep your money safe. They're backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the FDIC, and the federal banking regulators have examined every bank in the country for Y2K readiness. ... So in preparing for Jan. 1, 2000, do what you can. Trust God. Trust those you love. Be informed. And take a few practical steps. Save copies of your financial records. Keep a few days' worth of cash on you. Have a little extra food and water around the house if that makes you feel better. © Copyright 1999 The Associated Press